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The Generational Divide That's Coming for Your Church · The Healthy Church Staff Podcast

• 0:08
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, I ran across some barna research this week that really kind of caught me off guard.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_00: Here's what it said.
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_00: 44% of millennials say that AI's spiritual advice is just as trustworthy as their pastors.
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_00: We're gonna talk about that today here on the Healthy Church Staff Podcast.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_00: Hi there, my name is Todd Rhodes.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_00: I'm one of the co-founders here at ChemistryStaffing.com, and I am so glad that you're here today.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, one thing before we get started, we are just starting our 2026 Church Staff Health Assessment.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_00: And it's open.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_00: And if you haven't taken it yet, I'd love for you to take it.
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_00: It's absolutely free.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_00: It gives us incredible information that we're going to compile into a huge report in January of 2027 on the state of church staff health in America.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_00: So if you could help me out and head over to Church Staff Assessment, just make a note of it now and at the end of the podcast, if you've got a couple seconds, go over to Church Staff Health Assessment and take the assessment.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_00: Take about 10 minutes or so.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_00: 44% as I led the podcast today, 44% of millennials say that AI's spiritual guidance is just as trustworthy as their pastors.
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_00: Matter of fact, 39% of Gen Z adults feel the same way.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_00: And the kicker really is this that includes not just French people, the nuns or the people that aren't a part of your church.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_00: That includes practicing Christians, not the ones who left, not the ones that haven't been to your church in six months or a year or five years.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_00: These are the ones that are showing up on Sunday morning two or three times a week at your church.
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_00: And if you're on staff at a church, this this podcast is not about whether or not you should get a Chat GPT card.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_00: This is about something way bigger.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_00: Because what looks like a technology trend, and it is a technology trend, it's more than that, though.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_00: It's actually revealing something that we've been ignoring, I think, for probably more than a decade.
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_00: And this isn't about AI being good, it's about pastoral authority being weak.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, when half of your congregation trusts an algorithm as much as they trust you, that's not a tech endorsement, that's a relationship gap.
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_00: They're not saying AI is amazing, we love AI.
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_00: They're saying we haven't given them anything better.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_00: Ouch.
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_00: And before you blame the culture or the phones or tick, here's what I think has happened.
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_00: We've spent the last 20 years, in the most part, for the most part, and I'm over, I'm oversimplifying here, but we spent the last 25 years, 20, 25 years, building weekend experiences, okay?
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_00: Everything that goes into that, and that's not bad.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_00: Lights, music, graphics, sermon series with killer branding, all that's great.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_00: But we also assume that discipleship would just happen, right?
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_00: We assumed that people would connect with that incredible weekend programming, that they would just connect the dots between Sunday and Monday morning or Tuesday.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_00: But guess what?
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_00: They didn't.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_00: They didn't.
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_00: So when AI showed up and offered personalized spiritual advice at two o'clock in the morning on a Tuesday, it felt a lot more accessible than anything that we had given them at the church.
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_00: Not deeper, don't hear me say that, just closer and available 24-7.
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_00: So I want you to make sure that you don't hear me say that I don't think the weekend matters.
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_00: The weekend incredibly matters.
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_00: It matters more now than ever.
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_00: That community aspect that you get in the weekend service is incredibly valuable.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm not saying that your sermons are failing.
• 4:01
  SPEAKER_00: Don't hear me say that.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_00: We have got to figure out how to shift from content delivery to relational discipleship.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_00: And that doesn't mean another small group sign-up form.
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_00: It means your staff needs to know 10 people deeply, not a hundred people shallowly.
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_00: Let me say that again.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_00: I think your staff needs to know, it's more important for them to know 10 people really deeply, and not other people on staff, people that aren't on staff.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_00: 10 people really deeply than a hundred people shallowly.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_00: It means creating rhythms where spiritual formation happens in conversation, not just in rows on a weekend service.
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_00: When somebody asks AI, is this a sin?
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_00: What they're really asking is who can trust with this mess of my life that I'm trying to live?
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_00: And if your answer, and if the answer isn't a real person at your church, then you've lost that person before the app even loads.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_00: So here's the truth I want to leave with you today, kind of lay some hard truth on you.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_00: AI can give information.
• 5:09
  SPEAKER_00: We all know that.
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_00: We use AI, I use AI every single day.
• 5:13
  SPEAKER_00: But it can't sit with somebody in grief and it can't pray over them after a miscarriage, and it can't show up with groceries when their marriage is falling apart.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_00: That is your edge.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_00: That's what church is for.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_00: That's what your staff was absolutely made for.
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_00: So what does this look like practically?
• 5:33
  SPEAKER_00: How can I lead my team through this discussion?
• 5:37
  SPEAKER_00: I think it starts with a discussion.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_00: You actually have to start talking about this right now in your next staff meeting.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_00: Don't treat it as a threat, okay?
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_00: It is a threat, but don't treat it as a threat.
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_00: Treat it as a reality check.
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_00: Ask something like, hey, if someone in our church has a spiritual crisis at midnight, who do they text?
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_00: Who do they call?
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_00: And if the answer, honestly, and this is a huge question, if the answer is no one, that's your starting point.
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_00: That's your starting point.
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_00: Shift your staff's job descriptions from program management to people development.
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_00: Your worship pastor shouldn't just plan set lists, they should know their band members' prayer requests.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_00: Your youth pastor shouldn't just run all those events.
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_00: They have to run those events.
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_00: That's part of their job.
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_00: But they should have students who actually confide in them.
• 6:23
  SPEAKER_00: That's what accessibility and trust is all about.
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_00: It's not just theology that we're trying to disseminate here.
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_00: It's accessibility and it's trust because Gen Z isn't asking, for the most part, is your doctrine sound?
• 6:38
  SPEAKER_00: They're asking, are you safe?
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_00: Are you real?
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_00: And are you available?
• 6:44
  SPEAKER_00: Here's a bottom line for today.
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_00: AI isn't your competition.
• 6:48
  SPEAKER_00: Anonymity is.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_00: The next five years are gonna really define what it means to pass through rebuilding.
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_00: And your team gets to lead the way.
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_00: This is an absolutely incredible time to be in ministry.
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_00: You get to lead the way.
• 7:05
  SPEAKER_00: But it starts today, and it starts with this accessibility issue.
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_00: I hope this has been helpful to you.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_00: You can reach out to me anytime, podcast at chemistry staffing.com.
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_00: If there's any healthy church staff initiatives that or questions that you need help with, uh email me.
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_00: I've got people on my team that can help you if I can't, that specialize in all different kinds of areas of church hiring and firing and church staff health, podcast at chemistry staffing.com.
• 7:32
  SPEAKER_00: And before you leave, don't forget, we just started the 2026 Church Staff Health Assessment.
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_00: It is available for you to take right now.
• 7:42
  SPEAKER_00: And I hope that you will take that.
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_00: It's absolutely free at Church Staff Assessment.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_00: Church Staff Assessment dot coming.