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In this episode of the 'Healthy Church Staff' podcast, host Todd Rhoades discusses the challenges of dealing with a staff member who subtly resists church leadership and vision. This passive resistance, referred to as the 'silent saboteur,' can erode unity and stall momentum within a church. Todd provides insights on identifying these behaviors and offers strategies for addressing them without overreacting, emphasizing the importance of curiosity over confrontation.• Passive resistance from within can threaten church missions.• Identifying subtle signs of resistance, like contradicting actions or selective memory.• Understanding motivations behind resistance, such as fear of change or lack of vision clarity.• Importance of addressing resistance through private, curious conversations.• Leading with empathy and setting boundaries if needed.• Unified teamwork and clear communication are essential for overcoming internal resistance.
Not every threat to your church mission comes from the outside. Honestly, sometimes the biggest resistance is inside. It's internal and it's subtle. And today on the podcast, we're going to talk about the staff member who isn't overly toxic, but who keeps passively pushing back on leadership or vision or momentum. And we're going to help you spot the signs to understand what's really going on and hopefully how to respond with wisdom instead of frustration.
Hi there. You're listening to the Healthy Church Staff Podcast, and my name is Todd Rhodes. I'm your host. Now they're not the loudest voice in the room. They're not throwing chairs or sending angry emails, but something's off. They nod in meetings and then they do the opposite. They say one thing and then maybe they do the other. They forget the new plan or maybe slow roll their responsibilities. Maybe you've got somebody that you're thinking of right now, but you know the type of thing I'm talking about. Today, we're talking about the silent saboteur. It's a cool word. The silent saboteur on your church staff and what to do when a team member is passively resisting the very thing that God's calling your church to pursue. Man, it's frustrating as a leader, right? You spot that passive resistance, and man, it just doesn't show up as full-on rebellion. It'd be a lot easier to deal with if you could just look at the person and say, you're being rebellious. It's more like quiet disengagement
or maybe selective memory, maybe some chronic delays on tasks that they don't like or they're not overly gifted in. Maybe it's a pattern of questions that seem helpful but always seem to cast doubt. It's kind of like the death of a thousand death by a thousand hesitations. Over time, this kind of resistance erodes your unity, it saps your energy, and it stalls momentum. And if you're not looking for it, it m you might just call it personality differences or maybe some seasonal burnout. But that's not what's happening. What's happening is resistance. And most people don't resist because they're bad people. Most people don't resist because they're evil. They do resist maybe because they're afraid of change or the direction that you're headed. Maybe they're unconvinced by the vision. Maybe you haven't done a good enough job talking about that. Maybe they're carrying some unprocessed hurt. Maybe they got a lot of stuff going on at home. Maybe they're struggling with pride or envy or control issues. Passive resistance is often the only safe way that they feel that they can push back without getting fired. So instead of clarity, you get a tug of war beneath the surface and it's driving
you crazy. So how do you respond? Because you can't overreact, and that's not don't overreact, okay? How do you respond without overreacting? First, you've got to figure out what it is. Name it. Not to them, but to yourself. Ask, is this a pattern with this person? Do I see this happening over and over all of a sudden over the last few weeks or months? Or was that just a one-off thing? And if you determine that it's that there's some kind of a pattern there that you need to have a conversation about, then meet privately. Be curious, not confrontational. Try something like, hey, I've noticed a few things, wanted to check in with you. How are you doing with the direction we're headed? You know, ask some clarifying questions. Again, be curious but not confrontational. Questions, what part of the vision is hardest for you right now? What's not making sense? What would help you get a little bit more clarity or confidence? And then put those questions out there and then just be quiet. Give them some space to share. Sometimes all they need is to be heard, to know that that you hear that you know how they're feeling. Sometimes it reveals maybe a deeper problem that needs more action. That can happen too. And if it is sabotage, not just fear or confusion, then you'll need to draw some boundaries there and make some hard calls to protect your team.
Alright, here's the final thought. The big idea for today not all resistance is rebellion, but you do need to not ignore it. If you ignore it, you're failing in your leadership. Your team deserves alignment and your mission needs unity. And that quiet saboteur, they need clarity and care. And sometimes, yeah, sometimes, there need to be some consequences. All right, that's it for
today. Maybe you've got somebody that's a saboteur on your staff and you'd like to have a conversation with me and say, Todd, what should I do? Get some advice. I'd love to have that conversation with you. Reach out to me anytime, podcast at chemistry staffing.com. And if there's any way that I can help your church with a staffing need or anything healthy church staff related or any kind of problems or dilemmas you've got going on, I'd love to see if there's a way that I or somebody here at Chemistry Staffing on RT could be able to help you. All right, that's it for today. Hope you have a great day, and I'll talk to you right back here.
