Silent Alarm: The Myth of 'Just Find the Unicorn'

We tackle a harmful church hiring myth: the fantasy of finding the "unicorn" or perfect candidate with impossible qualifications at a modest salary. While churches wait for this mythical person, positions remain open, current staff get overloaded, volunteer morale drops, and the congregation suffers.

• Churches waste months or years holding out for candidates with conflicting qualifications (seminary trained but relatable, visionary but administrative)
• The perfect candidate is not coming, but great staff members might be right in front of you
• Phrases like "we're waiting for the right person" often mask unclear hiring priorities
• Prolonged vacancies hurt your team culture, volunteers, and congregational health
• Clarify your non-negotiables and distinguish between ideal and essential qualifications
• Hire for trajectory not perfection - the best leaders become great, they don't arrive that way
• Consider internal candidates, marketplace leaders, and people who don't fit your traditional mold
• Ask if you're looking for someone to lead a role or rescue your church - the latter is unrealistic

For more on this topic, get my new book "Silent Alarm: The Quiet Collapse of the Church Staff Pipeline and How to Rebuild it Before it's Too Late" at chemistrystaffing.com/silentalarm or on Amazon.

Have questions or comments?  Send to podcast@chemistrystaffing.com

Be sure to subscribe to The Healthy Church Staff Podcast wherever you regularly listen to podcasts.

- - - - -

Is Your Church Hiring?
If your church is searching for a new staff member, reach out to Todd for a conversation on how he might be able to help.

Are You Looking for a New Ministry Role?
If you are open to a new church role in the next few months, add your free resume and profile at ChemistryStaffing.com.

Transcript

Welcome to Silent Alarm Series

Speaker 1 0:08

Hey there , welcome back to the Healthy Church Staff Podcast . I'm Todd Rhodes and we are on episode number four of our Silent Alarm series 10 hard-hitting , hope-filled hopefully hope-filled conversations about what's broken in the church staff pipeline and what you and your church

The Myth of the Unicorn Hire

Speaker 1 0:26

can do about it . And today we're going to tackle a hiring myth that's hurting a lot of churches more than they realize , and we're going to talk about the fantasy of finding a unicorn , finding the perfect candidate . Okay , the type . They're seminary trained but also a compelling communicator . They're culturally savvy but deeply theologically grounded . They're young enough to reach Gen Z and mature enough to win over boomers . They're a strong leader , a humble team player , a mentor . They're a visionary . They're a systems thinker , oh , and they're willing to move across the country for about $45,000 or $55,000 in no housing allowance .

Speaker 1 1:07

This is a unicorn hire , and churches are wasting months , even years , holding out for them . We talked about this last week on the podcast , but let me say it again here very plainly your unicorn , your perfect candidate , is not coming , but your next great staff member might be standing right in front of you if you change how

The Cost of Unrealistic Expectations

Speaker 1 1:30

you look at things . All right , the myth of the unicorn hire shows up in phrases like we just want . We just want to wait for the right person . We'll know it when we see it . We just haven't found it . We haven't found the right fit . Yet we're holding out for somebody really special .

Speaker 1 1:49

Now . Are high character , high capacity , high alignment leaders out there ? Absolutely . But are they applying to every new church job opening on churchstaffingcom ? Nope , they're not . And are they going to be a perfect fit from day one ? Also nope . Are they likely to have every single attribute your search team is dreaming up on the whiteboard Triple nope .

Speaker 1 2:14

But here's what happens . While you wait for a unicorn , the position is going to stay open for a really long time and your current team is going to carry the weight of that . Your volunteer morale drops because they have to step up and do the work of the youth pastor . Because there is no youth pastor and , believe it or not , people leave quietly , volunteers leave quietly , congregation members leave quietly . Sometimes staff leave quietly because they see no hope for getting any help on their staff and your culture suffers . All because you're just chasing this fantasy of a perfect . If we just find the perfect person , all of our troubles will go away . You're chasing this fantasy instead of investing in what's real . Here's your truth bomb for today . Perfect candidates and perfect unicorns aren't real , and holding out for one is usually just code , for we don't really know what we're looking for yet . All right , so let's talk a little bit about the cost of unrealistic expectations . And in my work at Chemistry Staffing , here's what I'm seeing over and over again . Chemistry staffing here's what I'm seeing over and over again .

Speaker 1 3:27

Churches many times create impossibly long job descriptions with conflicting priorities . They want a creative visionary who loves administration Good luck with that right . They want someone experienced but not set in their ways Again opposing there . Sometimes . They want somebody who'll challenge the team but not ruffle any feathers . Now come on right . They want someone who's led a church of 2,000 , but is excited to move to a town of 800 . Seriously , sometimes it happens , but it's very rarely the case . And when those candidates don't show up , they say God must not be leading anybody right now . But often it's not a spiritual problem , it's more of a strategic one .

Speaker 1 4:11

So let me give some ideas about what you can do

Practical Solutions for Better Hiring

Speaker 1 4:15

instead . Let's be constructive and here's how to shift . Okay , first of all , clarify your non-negotiables what really matters Character , theology , leadership , style . First of all , clarify your non-negotiables . What really matters ? Character , theology , leadership , style . Be honest what do you have to have , what are your non-negotiables , what are your nice-to-have and what are the things that you just absolutely have to have ? You need to make this distinguish the distinction between ideal and essential .

Speaker 1 4:47

Don't load every church hope into one hire . That's too much to put on one person and even if you find somebody that you think is the perfect candidate , they're going to buckle under that pressure because that's way too much pressure for one person . Hire for trajectory , not perfection . You don't need a plug-and-play candidate . Are they teachable ? Do they grow ? Can they lead with support and widen the lens ?

Speaker 1 5:11

Look at internal candidates and marketplace leaders and people who don't necessarily match your old mold but fit your mission . We tell churches all the time we are surprised when we start a search for a church . We are often surprised at what we find and we love it when this happens , when we find somebody who doesn't necessarily fit the mold . But man oh man , would they be a great addition to your staff if you just are willing to take a look ? They'd be a great addition to your staff if you just are willing to take a look and you're going to have to invest in development . The best leaders often come great . Best leaders often become great but not arrive great . Okay , let me repeat that again , because I goofed it up . The best leaders often become great . They don't arrive great , so arrive great . I goofed it up again . Man , build them up and , most importantly , ask are we looking for someone to lead this role or to rescue our church ? Because if it's the latter , no higher , as I said , will ever be enough . So here's your bottom line

Book Announcement and Next Episode Preview

Speaker 1 6:15

for today .

Speaker 1 6:15

This episode is based on the realities that I write in my new book , silent Alarm . It's called the Quiet Collapse of the Church Staff Pipeline and how to Rebuild it Before it's Too Late . And if this struck a nerve , if you've been chasing that perfect candidate , that unicorn , or you're holding out for perfect in your search , I think this book will really unpack and give you ideas to give you a better framework for what hiring can and should be in today's church . And I'm pretty proud of it . It's my first book . I'd love for you to have a copy . You can get your copy today at chemistrystaffingcom slash silentalarm . You can order it over to Amazon . You probably have it tomorrow and you can follow along as we continue on for our series of the rest of this week and into next week .

Speaker 1 7:02

Speaking of that series , tomorrow we're going to look at a painful irony Even healthy churches are struggling to hire and even if you've got a good culture and solid team and fair pay , sometimes you still find that nobody's applying . And we're going to unpack why tomorrow right here on the Healthy Church Staff Podcast on episode number five of our Silent Alarm series . And if you'd love to reach out to me and just ask me any questions or give me some feedback on today or the series or the book , I would love to hear it . Just be nice , right , you can reach out to me anytime . Podcast at chemistrystaffingcom . We're here each and every weekday , monday through Friday , with a brand new episode , something , hopefully , that you will find interesting in your journey as you serve the Lord in your church as a church staff member . All right , we'll see you back here again tomorrow . Have a great day you .