The Healthy Church Staff Podcast
We're all about helping create a healthy, positive, and spiritually positive environment for church staff members and leadership teams.
The Healthy Church Staff Podcast
The Cult of the Long Tenure Pastor
Long-tenured pastors often become untouchable in their churches, creating a culture where accountability disappears and feedback feels like betrayal. This quiet danger threatens church health when pastoral loyalty morphs into blind allegiance.
• Warning signs include elder boards filled with yes-men and hand-picked loyalists
• Staff members afraid to speak honestly in meetings for fear of retribution
• New ideas subtly shut down with "we've tried that before" statements
• Pastors going years without formal job reviews or evaluations
• Critique labeled as disloyalty or division rather than healthy feedback
• What feels like stability can actually mask stagnation and dysfunction
• Most churches don't realize this is happening because longevity feels like health
• Boards often fear conflict and feel unqualified to question long-serving pastors
• Time served should never equal immunity from accountability
Reach out to me at podcast@chemistrystaffing.com if you're experiencing this in your church and need help navigating these challenging waters. I'm available to hop on a Zoom call to discuss your situation and explore potential paths forward.
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What happens when pastoral longevity goes from admirable to untouchable. We're going to tackle what, in some churches, is a really sensitive but it's a critical topic on how long tenured pastors can, unintentionally or even intentionally, become immune to accountability, immune to innovation and even immune sometimes to correction. You know, loyalty is a virtue, but when it turns into blind allegiance, the church your church could suffer. So we're going to unpack some of the signs of that toxic tenure and explore how exactly this happens on today. Unpack some of the signs of that toxic tenure and explore how exactly this happens. On today's episode of the Healthy Church Staff Podcast. Hi there, my name is Todd Rhodes and I am one of the co-founders over at chemistrystaffingcom and your host right here every day, monday through Friday, on the Healthy Church Staff Podcast. I'm not sure how you found us. I'm not sure if you're brand new or a seasoned listener. This is episode number 374, so maybe some of you have been with us since the start. I don't know, but I'm glad you're here and glad that we get to spend a little bit of time together today. What if the very thing that your church celebrates is actually what's holding it back, is actually what's holding it back? I mean we love loyal pastors and we honor long tenure. Part of what we do at Chemistry Staffing is trying to find for churches what we call a healthy long-term fit, which is a pastor or a church staff person that can stay at your church for at least the next five years. We love that long tenure. But what happens when that loyalty turns into untouchability, when no one questions decisions, when feedback feels like betrayal? What happens when tenure kind of becomes a trap? Well, we're going to talk about that quiet danger of the long tenure pastor and how addressing it might actually save your church later. So if you are a board member, a staff member, even a pastor, we're going to talk very briefly today we could talk for hours probably on this subject, but just for a few minutes today on how we can break the cycle without breaking trust. Okay, so let's start here.
Speaker 1:Long-tenured pastors are often beloved and sometimes when I'm talking long tenure, I'm talking 20, 30, sometimes 40 years. I mean they've buried your grandma, they've married your kids, they've walked with your church through every season. They've earned really deep trust and absolutely they've earned that trust and they should be honored. Trust, and absolutely they've earned that trust and they should be honored. But sometimes, over time, that trust can kind of morph into a subtle kind of control. Now, it's usually not. Sometimes it is, but usually not out of malice, but more out of habit. I mean, the pastor knows best, the pastor always leads, the pastor makes the final call and soon there's no room left to question or challenge and everybody's kind of walking on eggshells waiting to see what the pastor's going to do. Have you ever been in a staff meeting where the lead pastor spoke and that was the end of the conversation? That's what we're talking about here. You know, pastors often walk with a very large shadow that they never see, but everyone around them does. So a lot of times there are just and this is what we're going to talk about today the red flags of untouchability.
Speaker 1:So how do you know if tenure, if the longness, the long tenure of someone, is starting to turn toxic? Well, I think there are a few warning signs that you can watch for, and these may or may not be true in your instance or in every instance, but here's some signs to watch for. Is the elder board full of handpicked loyalists? Are they, yes, men? Do you have staff that won't speak honestly in meetings because they're for fear of retribution or they just don't. They know their opinion won't be valued.
Speaker 1:Our new idea is being subtly shut down with. You know, we've tried that before. Maybe the pastor hasn't had a formal job review in years. I see this all the time. Maybe any critique is labeled as disloyal or divisive. Now hear me, these are not just quirks. They're not just quirks. These are symptoms of a culture of pastoral protectionism. And that culture doesn't just affect leadership. It has the potential to stifle your entire mission.
Speaker 1:But it's hard to call out. It's really hard to call out. Here's the hard part. Most churches don't even realize this is happening. Why? Because longevity, that long tenure, it feels like health. Right, that's what we want. And many boards on the other side of it just fear conflict and they assume hey, you know, pastor Bill's been here 20 years. Who am I, who are we to question him? Plus, the relational capital is so deep, I mean, it feels wrong to confront anything, even if there's drift, even if there's decline, even if there's dysfunction. That's the reason a lot of churches really don't have succession discussions until it's too late, because you've got a longer-term pastor there and nobody wants to broach the topic. But here's the truth, truth Time served doesn't equal immunity. It never should. And good pastors good pastors are going to want accountability, not blind loyalty, even if they feel like they've earned it Okay. So how do you build healthy longevity instead? How do we shift the culture without burning our bridges? And man, I realize this is much easier to say than to do. This is tough stuff. If this is kind of you know, you've got a long-term pastor and all of this is happening. Here's some ideas.
Speaker 1:Though Boards, you can reestablish regular and honest reviews not performance-based, but health-based. This is vital, particularly when it comes to being close to retirement or succession. You have to start having those conversations, not to bash, not to hit with a baseball bat. Not performance-based, but health-based, okay, staff, create space for upward feedback. If it's not safe to speak, then something's wrong. And elders and board members and other team members, you have a place to help make this happen. And pastors this is difficult but you need to invite accountability. You need to model that transparency. You need to show your team that tenure doesn't mean that you're untouchable. Long-term leadership is powerful. It is, there's no getting around that. But it's only powerful when it stays rooted in humility and curiosity and shared responsibility. Let me leave you with this. Okay, tenure I don't believe tenure is the problem. Untouchability is Honor your pastor, but don't enshrine them. The church is the healthiest when everyone yes, even the lead pastor is growing and learning and accountable.
Speaker 1:Maybe you're in a church where you have this going on and you're like Todd, I don't know what to do. Maybe you're the pastor that you're like Todd, you're describing me and I don't want that to be me. Maybe you're an elder or a board member and you're like this is our pastor and we need to start having these conversations or else this is just not going to end. Well, if there's any way that I can help I mean, we have people on our team and I do a lot of this work as well I would love to talk with you, reach out and tell me your story, tell me where you are. Let's hop on a quick Zoom call See if there's any way that I can help. I would love to be able to help and come alongside and partner. If that's what we determined would be great for your church. You can reach out to me anytime.
Speaker 1:Podcast at chemistrystaffingcom. That's podcast at chemistrystaffingcom, and this is a big deal and this is. I don't know that I've ever seen a resource or a podcast, listened to a podcast or read a blog post about this, but this is so, so important, and I do believe this is one of the main reasons why we're not having more succession discussions than we are. It's because we don't want to broach the subject with a pastor. That is actually beyond accountable at this point. All right, thanks so much. Podcast to Chemistry Staffing. If you want to talk, I'm here. Thanks so much. I will talk to you tomorrow right here on the Healthy Church Staff Podcast. You.
