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The Nine-Hour Problem Your Church Staff Isn't Talking About · The Healthy Church Staff Podcast

• 0:08
  SPEAKER_00: Came across a stat from Relevant Magazine recently that just made me stop and think.
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_00: Gen Z is averaging about nine hours a day.
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_00: Nine hours a day on screen.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_00: Nine hours.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_00: Can you believe that?
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_00: And it's not just growing social media.
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_00: It's starting to replace sleep.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_00: It's starting to replace movement, in-person conversation, and here's the kicker.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_00: Your church staff is not exempt.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_00: They're planning ministry on screens.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_00: They're texting volunteers on screens.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_00: They're watching sermons on screens and unwinding on screens.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_00: If you've noticed this on your younger staff members, particularly Gen Z, let's talk about that today here on the podcast.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_00: Hi there, my name's Todd Rhodes, one of the co-founders over chemistry staffing.com.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm glad you're here for this conversation today because this isn't just a Gen Z problem.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_00: This is a church staff problem that we're pretending a lot of times just isn't happening.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_00: But here is the reality, okay?
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_00: Your staff members are more exhausted than ever, but they're not moving.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_00: They're sitting, they're staring, they're clicking, they're refreshing their screens.
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_00: Ministry used to be embodied.
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_00: You got out of the office, you did hospital visits and coffee meetings and walked the hallways, did all kinds of things, and a lot of those were physical.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_00: But now, a lot of it is maybe Slack or Zoom or email or planning center or Instagram stories.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_00: We've digitized discipleship and wondered why everybody's burned out.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_00: The screen promised efficiency, but in a lot of ways it has delivered isolation.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_00: And here's kind of the part that we kind of hide and don't even actually think about it.
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_00: The worship pastor scrolls TikTok to decompress after leading.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_00: Your youth pastor binges Netflix because they're too tired to read a book on youth ministry.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_00: Your admin stays glued to email just in case something urgent comes in.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_00: And let's talk about you for a second.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_00: You're on your phone in bed telling yourself that you're staying connected, but connection really isn't happening as much as we think it is.
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_00: Actually, presence.
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_00: The presence that we used to enjoy and take for granted is slowly evaporating.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_00: We've normalized constant digital engagement.
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_00: And at the same time, we've called it productivity.
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_00: And meanwhile, our bodies are breaking down, our minds are getting foggier, our souls are feeling a little bit thin.
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_00: So I need you to hear me.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not against technology.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_00: I am pro-technology.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_00: I love technology, so I'm not anti-technology at all.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_00: Churches need it, you need it, but we've let it become the water we swim in without even realizing that we might be drowning.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_00: So what do you actually need to do for your staff?
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_00: You need to start naming it in your staff meetings, not as a sermon for everybody, but as a confession.
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, I've been on screens way too much.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_00: It's affecting my clarity.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_00: Anybody else?
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_00: Lead by example.
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_00: Give permission for honesty before you demand any kind of change.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_00: And then try to create some actual rhythms, not rules, but rhythms that actually help push back.
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_00: One staff meeting a month, take a walk outside, no phones.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_00: Just do a walking staff meeting.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_00: Encourage your team to block off one evening a week with zero screens.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_00: A digital fast is great.
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_00: Not because you're legalistic, but because you care about their actual health.
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_00: And then make sure you model it yourself.
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_00: Announce when you're offline.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_00: Don't apologize for it.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_00: Make embodied ministry, the ministry that actually has contact with people, face to face, person to person, make that a value again, not just a nostalgic memory.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_00: Because there's really a lot at stake.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_00: Your church staff, your church is watching your staff, and if your team is constantly glued to devices, the congregation learns that's normal.
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_00: Matter of fact, that is normal for a lot of our congregants, right?
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_00: And if your staff never rests, your people probably will never rest either.
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_00: If your leaders can disconnect, you're preaching a gospel of exhaustion.
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_00: So if you really want your community to experience real community, it's really important that you model it on your team first.
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_00: You know, Jesus didn't disciple with a direct message.
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_00: Todd, Jesus didn't have a cell phone, I know, but Jesus walked, look at what he did.
• 4:37
  SPEAKER_00: He walked, he ate, and he lingered.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_00: He wasn't in a hurry.
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_00: Digital tools are fine.
• 4:43
  SPEAKER_00: Matter of fact, they're great.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_00: But they're tools.
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_00: They're not the ministry itself.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_00: Matter of fact, ministry, digital tools, and can I say this, AI in particular, is they're important tools, but they should be tools that help you actually save time so that you can spend more time doing the things that only you can do, and that's face-to-face ministry.
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_00: So when screens replace presence, we lose kind of that incarnational heart of what we do.
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_00: So here's your bottom line for today.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_00: You can't pastor people if you're never really fully present.
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_00: And neither can your staff really does need the permission to push back, and they're waiting for you, probably, to go first.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_00: You're leading in a digital age, but you're shaping and shepherding embodied souls.
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_00: So don't let those tools meant to help you end up hollowing you out.
• 5:37
  SPEAKER_00: This resonated with you today.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe made you think about this through a little bit different lens.
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_00: If so, I'd love to hear from you, love to hear your story.
• 5:44
  SPEAKER_00: And if there's any way I can help you or your church or any of my colleagues here at Chemistry Staffing can help your church in any of the areas of church health, I would love to be able to help you do that.
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_00: You can reach out to me, podcast at chemistry staffing.com.
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_00: Also, today, be one of the very first people to take our 2026 Church Staff Health Assessment.
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_00: It is available and live for absolutely free right now at churchstaffassessment.com.
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_00: That's churchstaffassessment.com.
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_00: Your input will help us write a massive report at the beginning of 2027 on the state of church staff health in America.
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_00: All right, that's it for today, churchstaffassessment.com.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_00: Go take that now.
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_00: It would be a favor to me and a favor for listening to this podcast.
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_00: All right, that's it.
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_00: We'll be back here tomorrow on the Healthy Church Staff Podcast.
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_00: I'm Tom Rhodes.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_00: Hope you'll join me now.