Have you ever caught yourself picking a fight over traditions or cultural issues within your church, especially during times when unity should be at the forefront? Join me, Todd Rhoades, as we explore the Silver Rule's transformative potential in today's episode. Churches around the globe are facing divisive times, with scandals and cultural conflicts threatening the fabric of our faith communities. This discussion is not just an academic exploration but a deep dive into the practical application of the Silver Rule, a counterpart to the Golden Rule that emphasizes what NOT to do to others as a guide for our interactions. In a world where sides are being picked and lines are being drawn even within the sanctuary, we ponder how these ancient principles might be the salve needed to heal our churches.
Listen as I share candid experiences from the front lines of church staffing, where the consequences of ignoring such wisdom have led to chaos and distrust. We reflect on the recent Easter controversies and the unnecessary discord they've brought about, revealing a dangerous propensity among us to fight battles that don't need to be fought. Through personal anecdotes and heart-to-heart conversation, we'll consider together how embracing the Silver Rule could usher in healthier church dynamics. Whether you're clergy or congregation, this dialogue promises insights into fostering a culture of consideration and selflessness, paving the way for a more unified body of Christ.
Have you ever caught yourself picking a fight over traditions or cultural issues within your church, especially during times when unity should be at the forefront? Join me, Todd Rhoades, as we explore the Silver Rule's transformative potential in today's episode. Churches around the globe are facing divisive times, with scandals and cultural conflicts threatening the fabric of our faith communities. This discussion is not just an academic exploration but a deep dive into the practical application of the Silver Rule, a counterpart to the Golden Rule that emphasizes what NOT to do to others as a guide for our interactions. In a world where sides are being picked and lines are being drawn even within the sanctuary, we ponder how these ancient principles might be the salve needed to heal our churches.
Listen as I share candid experiences from the front lines of church staffing, where the consequences of ignoring such wisdom have led to chaos and distrust. We reflect on the recent Easter controversies and the unnecessary discord they've brought about, revealing a dangerous propensity among us to fight battles that don't need to be fought. Through personal anecdotes and heart-to-heart conversation, we'll consider together how embracing the Silver Rule could usher in healthier church dynamics. Whether you're clergy or congregation, this dialogue promises insights into fostering a culture of consideration and selflessness, paving the way for a more unified body of Christ.
Okay, my guess is you've probably heard about the golden rule and even probably even know what that is, but have you ever heard about the silver rule? Let's talk about that today here on the Healthy Church Staff Podcast. Thanks so much for joining us. We are here every weekday, monday through Friday, for five to ten minutes of, hopefully, some good conversation with yours truly, todd Rhodes, one of the co-founders of our chemistry staffing, and you, and today we're going to be talking about the silver rule, particularly when it comes to your church and when it comes to staffing your church. We've all heard of the golden rule, right, chances are, you've probably been taught it since birth. It's really outlined in Matthew 7, verse 12. It says do unto others what you would like them to do to you. That's the golden rule. But have you ever heard of the silver rule? It takes the golden rule and puts a different spin on it. Instead of do to others what you would like them to do to you, the silver rule says don't do to others what you don't want them to do to you.
Speaker 1:
Is it just me, or is the world going a little bit crazy these last particularly four years, but even a little bit longer than that it seems like everybody in our culture has picked a side and they're sticking to it on everything inside the church outside of the church. Currently, in the church, we're having significant scandals, rocking movements, denominations are crumbling right before our eyes or splintering right before our eyes, particularly in mainline and evangelical churches, and what I want to talk about today is how do we deal with this in our culture, how do we deal with the changes that are happening and everybody taken aside, and how do we stop this from happening in the future? And this really gets me down sometimes. We just went through Easter a couple days ago and I saw a couple of threads and received an email. Last week I sent out an email to many of you that are on our chemistry staffing email list and just said hey, easter's coming up, we're for you, Hang in there, it's going to be great. God's got some great things. Just a word of encouragement and got at least one email back from someone that just was very offended that I even used the word Easter because it's a pagan holiday and that we celebrate Christ's resurrection every Sunday, not just on one pagan holiday. And all of that that coincided with another threat I saw on one of the Facebook groups.
Speaker 1:
I'm a part of just people staff, people at churches being upset that their staff, that their church, ran an ad inviting people to Easter services because Easter is a horrible pagan holiday and I don't know. It just seems like sometimes we're picking scabs that don't need to be picked or picking fights that don't need to be fought, and that's where I want to go with this is how do we stop this from happening in the future? How do you stop it from happening in your life and your relationships? How do you stop it from happening in your church? And I think and maybe this is pretty simplistic, I'm sure it is I have a pretty simple mind, but it could be as simple as the golden and the silver rules. First of all, the golden rule treat everyone the way you want them to treat you. It's a simple concept. It's simple, but it's hard to do because we're usually thinking about ourselves before others. There was a reason that this rule, kind of rule, had to be put out there, so it's much harder to do in truth than what it is to say, but the truth is, if we really treated people, others, the way that we hoped that they would treat us, the world would be a different place it would be if everybody did that. And not only would the world be a different place, the church would be a different place.
Speaker 1:
I talk with churches and staff people every day that have violated the golden rule and they're a mess. They're a mess. Relationships blow up, chaos reigns, ministry suffers, sins come out into the open. People lose their jobs and their livelihood over this. When they get out of whack with even the simple rule of treating everybody the way that you would like them to treat you. Churches that don't regularly apply the golden rule from top down are oftentimes very unhealthy services Churches, and many times it starts with someone thinking about themselves over others. Of course it's not that easy, but honestly it's just you and me talking here. In many cases it is, or at least it should be right. When we put other people above ourselves, we treat them differently.
Speaker 1:
I like what Romans 12, 18 and 19 says. It gives us some great advice. It says carefully, consider what's right in the eyes of everybody, if it's possible on your part. If it's possible on your part. If it's possible on your part. It's not always possible, but a lot of times it is. Most of the time it is, if it's possible on your part, live at peace with everyone. The world and the church would be a better place if we took these words seriously. But that's only the half of it. That's just the golden part of the rule.
Speaker 1:
The silver part of the rule says don't treat others the way that you don't want them to treat you. Have you ever been mistreated Honestly? Have you ever been mistreated in the church? Treating people harshly, maybe? Shading the truth, manipulation, entitled thinking, maybe somebody not keeping their promise? I can think. I think that we could probably all agree that we don't want to be treated like this. And here's the simple reality If you don't want to be treated like this, then don't treat others like this period period.
Speaker 1:
Perhaps the situations that we currently find ourselves in could really come down just to these two rules and, as leaders, let's learn from what's going on around us and the moment we elevate ourselves over another brother or sister in Christ, we have a high likelihood of violating either the golden rule or the silver rule, or both of these rules. You can't control other people in your church. You can't control other people in your staff. You can't control other people that you come in contact with, but you can control yourself. As leaders, we need to learn what's going on around us, and the moment that we elevate ourselves over another brother or sister in Christ, we have a high likelihood that we're going to violate one or the other of these two rules and, as we're finding out, it hardly ever ends well.
Speaker 1:
I'd love to hear your feedback on this, or maybe you've got another topic you would love for me to talk about here on the Healthy Church Step Podcast, reach out to me anytime. I read each and every email that comes in. Just send me an email at podcast at chemistrystaffingcom podcast at chemistrystaffingcom and if there's any way that I can serve you or your ministry, reach out to me at that email address. I would love to have a conversation with you and see if there's a way that we can work together. I hope you'll join us again tomorrow on the Healthy Church Staff Podcast Tomorrow we're going to talk about, we're going to ask kind of a probing question. I hope you'll come back for it. Do you really have what it takes to be a really great church staff member? I hope you'll join us again tomorrow.