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The Political Elephant in Your Staff Room · The Healthy Church Staff Podcast

• 0:10
  SPEAKER_00: During a staff meeting on a Wednesday morning and somebody makes an offhand comment about a recent headline in the news, and all of a sudden you notice a shift.
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_00: The room gets really weird.
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_00: Half of your team just goes absolutely silent on a couple people shift in their seats.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_00: Somebody forces a laugh and changes the subject, and you realize all of a sudden that your staff doesn't all vote the same way, but nobody's supposed to say that out loud.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_00: That sounds familiar.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_00: We're going to talk about that today.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_00: The day after Labor Day, right here on the Healthy Church Staff podcast.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_00: Here's what most church leaders don't understand.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_00: Your staff room is probably, most probably, more politically diverse now than you think it is.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_00: I was reading recently that half of Gen Z says Trump support keeps them out of the church.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_00: Not doctrine, not theology, but political alignment.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_00: And in our work at Chemistry Staffing, we have noticed this in the past, oh, ever since COVID anyway, but probably the last 10 years anyway, is that the church is getting more and more polarized, not doctrinally, we've always been polarized doctrinally, but we're getting more and more polarized politically.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_00: And here's the thing, that same dynamic is probably, almost probably in 2026 starting to play out if it hasn't already on your team.
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_00: You've got a worship leader who's maybe progressive on more progressive than you on social issues, maybe a youth pastor who listens to conservative podcasts on the way to work, maybe an executive pastor who's an independent and is just exhausted by both sides.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_00: But when it comes to staff meeting, they're all sitting in the same meeting.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_00: They're all loving Jesus, no question about that, and they're all assuming that they just can't talk about it.
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_00: So what happens when we just ignore this?
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_00: There could be a drift, okay?
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_00: People start making assumptions about each other.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_00: They hear a comment and immediately categorize that as, oh, they're one of those people.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_00: Trust erodes, not because of theology, but because of politics.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_00: We're seeing this happen more and more in churches and on elder teams and on staffs.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_00: Your team starts self-editing in mit in meetings because they just don't want to deal with it.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_00: They stop bringing up their whole selves to work because part of them they feel isn't safe.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_00: And here's the kicker.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_00: So your staff feels pressured to perform a political identity that might not even be theirs.
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_00: I know that we're not trying to be divisive by acknowledging this, and but I do think it's important to talk about.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_00: We're trying to lead people, real people, in a real moment.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_00: And ignoring political diversity doesn't make your team more unified.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_00: It just makes them quieter.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_00: Now, I also want to hear you don't want you to hear me saying that we need to make politics a bigger point.
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_00: I think we need to make politics less of a point, but we need to at least be able to have conversations, okay?
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_00: Conversations are really important.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_00: So what do you do?
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_00: What do you do?
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_00: Let me give you three moves as you lead through this, as you see this kind of rear its head in your staff and even in your board.
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_00: The first thing is name it before it names you.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_00: You don't have to make it a big deal.
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_00: I don't want you to make it a big deal, but you do need to acknowledge a reality.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_00: In a staff meeting or one-on-one, say hey, something like this.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, I know we don't all vote the same way, and that's okay.
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_00: Just saying that out loud kind of releases pressure.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_00: And I know there's some here listening that say, no, we do need to vote all the same way.
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_00: That's another topic for another podcast, okay?
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_00: You can email me if you want to have that debate, that's fine.
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_00: But just saying that kind of thing out loud kind of releases some of the pressure, and it gives permission for people to be human, not just employees.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_00: Okay?
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_00: So that's number one is just saying it out loud.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_00: Name it before it names you.
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_00: Number two, anchor to the mission, not the party.
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, your unity is not found in a platform or a political party.
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_00: Your unity on your staff, on your team, on your elder board, on your governing board is found in the gospel.
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_00: Make it clear.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_00: We're not going to be political around here, Republicans or Democrats.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_00: We're not taking any platform.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_00: We're here to make disciples, to love Jesus, and to point them to Jesus.
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_00: And when mission is clear, political differences become background noise instead of fault lines.
• 4:37
  SPEAKER_00: And that's really important.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, and then finally, number three, model curiosity not judge.
• 4:43
  SPEAKER_00: When political stuff comes up, don't shut it down, but don't let it spiral out of control either.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_00: Ask good questions.
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_00: Help me understand why that matters to you.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_00: Show your team that disagreement doesn't equal disloyalty.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_00: It doesn't equal being fired or pushed off the team.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_00: You can respect someone and still see the world a little bit differently.
• 5:03
  SPEAKER_00: That's not compromise, that's maturity.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_00: So here's why this matters a little bit more than you think.
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_00: If your staff cannot navigate political diversity, your church isn't going to be able to do it either.
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_00: Your team is the training ground for the kind of unity that the world desperately needs to see.
• 5:23
  SPEAKER_00: Paul said it in Ephesians, we're one body with different gifts, different stories, and different perspectives.
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_00: And yeah, that sometimes includes politics.
• 5:33
  SPEAKER_00: The moment you require a political litmus test or uniformity to be on your team, you've shrunk the kingdom.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_00: And you've told a generation of potential leaders that we started the podcast off with today, all those chenziers, hey, you don't belong here unless you think like us.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_00: Here's your bottom line for today your staff's unity isn't threatened by political diversity.
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_00: It's threatened by pretending that it doesn't exist.
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_00: Leading through cultural tension is not easy.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_00: No one ever said it is.
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_00: Leading the church is never easy.
• 6:05
  SPEAKER_00: But it's exactly what the church is called to do.
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks for listening to the Healthy Church Staff Podcast.
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_00: If this helped, share it with another leader who needs to hear it.
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_00: Tomorrow we are going to be taking a look at terminations and how to prepare for a termination on your staff.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_00: It'll be a dicey one, so I hope you'll join me right here.
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_00: Just you and me here on the Healthy Church Staff Podcast.
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_00: You can email me anytime, podcast at chemistry staffing.com.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_00: All right, that's it for today.
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_00: Have a great one.
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_00: Talk to you tomorrow.