The Healthy Church Staff Podcast
We're all about helping create a healthy, positive, and spiritually positive environment for church staff members and leadership teams.
The Healthy Church Staff Podcast
Church Job Interview: Red Flags That Scream “RUN!"
Church job interviews are a two-way street where candidates must protect their calling by identifying red flags before accepting a position that could lead to burnout and regret. Proper due diligence through strategic questioning can reveal hidden problems and save ministry professionals from walking into toxic environments.
• Ask to see the church budget and watch for evasive answers that might indicate financial problems
• Investigate staff turnover and longevity to uncover potential cultural or leadership issues
• Classify concerns as red flags (deal-breakers), yellow flags (needs clarification), or green flags (alignment)
• Three essential questions: how vision impacts daily ministry, what support staff receive, and how decisions are made
• Pay attention to consistency between what different leaders say in different settings
• Trust your gut feelings when something seems off during the interview process
Reach out to us at podcast@chemistrystaffing.com if you need help as a candidate looking for a healthy church position or as a church seeking staff alignment.
Have questions or comments? Send to podcast@chemistrystaffing.com
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Okay, you're stepping into what could be a new chapter in your ministry, but before you say yes to that job offer, let's make sure it's not a trap. I hear this all the time that candidates come to us and say my last church was a total bait and switch. Well, today on the podcast, we're going to unpack some of the red flags you've got to watch out for in any church job interview. I mean, it could be anything from sketchy finances to toxic turnover. We're going to help you spot those danger zones. So I hope you'll continue until the end of today's podcast. Hi there, my name is Todd Rhodes. I'm one of the co-founders over at chemistrystaffingcom and I'm your host right here on the Healthy Church Staff Podcast.
Speaker 1:So what do you do if the church you're interviewing at looks great on the outside but is quietly a disaster behind closed doors? And before you accept that role, you really need to know how to spot the signs. Retrospect, you know. Six months, nine months, 18 months down the road, all these red flags came out because you didn't ask the right questions or you didn't see what you should have saw. Oh, my goodness, we hear that story so often Because red flags? Here's the truth. They don't wave their hands and say red flag, red flag. Here's the truth. They don't wave their hands and say red flag, red flag. They whisper, and if you miss them you could step into a nightmare. Maybe you've done that in the past, but we talk to church folks all the time that just you know. They're 18 months in and they're like man, I've walked into a literal flaming dumpster fire. Okay, so let's talk about this.
Speaker 1:I've got a couple things that I want to kind of share here, and the first point that I think is really important is that you need to know what questions are the right questions. Let me start with a story. Okay, I heard of a pastor that took a job at a growing church. Everything looked great, the building was beautiful, the worship was great, vibrant Leadership team seemed really sharp. But 90 days later, three months later, he realized he was expected to work 70 hours a week. He had no support. He was expected to work 70 hours a week, he had no support, and the elders let's just say they made the decisions in a holy huddle without him even being involved. Moral of that story the questions he didn't ask in the interview cost him dearly. So do your homework. Every church has a story, and not every one of them is healthy.
Speaker 1:Interviews are not just about impressing the church. They're about protecting your calling. They're about protecting you and your family, okay. So it's really important that you ask really good questions, and those questions are going to help you unveil some of those red flags, and we always tell people you know there are red flags and yellow flags and green flags. Green flags, you're in agreement, the church is in agreement, no problem, red flags are.
Speaker 1:I don't think, if I knew this to be true, I don't think I could serve here longer than a year or two years. Okay, it would be very short term if I knew this. That's a red flag, and what we tell churches and candidates both is that if there's one red flag, run, this is not the candidate for you, this is not the church for you. Even one, one red flag is too many, okay. A lot of times, there are yellow flags, though, and yellow flags can go either way. You can, once you ask the right questions, you can either turn those yellow flags into reds, in which case you run, or you can turn it into a green, which, in which case, it's like. I thought this might be a big deal. But after talking about it, no, it's not a big deal. I think we're actually on the same page. Sometimes they stay yellow and sometimes the yellows are fine, as long as you know that they're yellows right Before you take the job.
Speaker 1:So when it comes right down to it, a few points here. If during your job interview you ask a question and you get a vague or an evasive answer, let's say about finances, okay, that should be a flag for you. If the church won't show you their budget, if they act nervous when you ask, they're probably hiding something. A healthy church is going to be transparent with how they steward God's money. Maybe there are unrealistic expectations. Can you preach, lead worship, run youth group and oversee the tech? If the job description feels like three roles in one, you need to get some clarification. But you need to walk away or at least renegotiate before you accept that job role, or else it could really bite you right.
Speaker 1:Ask if there's been high staff turnover. Ask about staff longevity. You know I was talking to a church a couple days ago where four people on the call, the least tenure was seven years and it was a church of 12, there was a church plant 12 years ago, so that's incredibly healthy. We talked with other churches where they don't have anybody that's been on staff longer than a couple, three years. So ask about that staff longevity. If people are cycling through every one to two years, there's likely a deeper dysfunction or some reason that you need to try and uncover as to why people are. Maybe there's a good reason, but you need to try and uncover that, because often it's tied to leadership or culture or burnout or expectations. Okay, the interview, finally, is your chance to shine. Okay, this isn't just them interviewing you, it's you interviewing them.
Speaker 1:I just had a conversation with a pastor this morning about this. It used to be where you just asked the candidate questions and you know, everybody was like, yeah, I'd love to work at your church. It's to be where you just asked the candidate questions and everybody was like, yeah, I'd love to work at your church. It's not like that anymore. You are interviewing them, but they are interviewing you as well.
Speaker 1:If you're a church and if you're a candidate, you need to do these questions. Here are three quick questions. There are more, but let me just give you three quick questions that you can ask. Here's the first one how would you describe your church's vision and how it shows up in daily ministry? Okay, if they have a problem answering that question, there's going to be some work to do right. Second question what kind of support does staff receive spiritually, emotionally and practically? If they can't answer that question, it's probably because they're not offering a whole lot of sport, spiritually, emotionally or practically. Right? And number three how are major decisions made here? What's the process? Who's involved in the process? Just these three questions alone. They reveal not just what the church values but how they lead. And last thing Decoding the answers.
Speaker 1:You need to pay attention to tone, not just the content. Are they consistent? If you hear one version from a pastor and a different one from a board member, red flag. And you need to ask these questions in different contexts, right, of different people in different rooms. Okay, are their answers consistent? Do they answer your questions directly? Do you feel kind of like they're dancing around, like it's kind of a verbal game of dodgeball? And trust your gut, if something feels off, chances are it probably is, Because here's the bottom line you matter and your well-being matters and your family matters. So don't ignore the red flags because you're desperate for a job. That's a fast track to burnout and bitterness. Okay, so these are some keys to really what I find.
Speaker 1:Most often, when people get kind of blindsided, it's because they didn't take the time to ask really good questions, to uncover some of this stuff before they actually take the job. And if you don't uncover it and you take the job, you will find out. It might be two weeks, it might be three months, it might be 18 months, but if you find that there are real areas of red flags that you should have found out about, you're going to be talking to me saying, todd, like the old Arrested Development episodes anybody that watches Arrested Development the ongoing line there was I've made a huge mistake. You don't want to call me and say, todd, I made a huge mistake. So ask these questions as they're going into the interview. It'll really help you out. It'll protect you and your family going forward.
Speaker 1:Hey, if there's any way that I can help you as a candidate, you can always reach out to me. Podcast at chemistrystaffingcom. I'm here to help you. I'm here to help your church as well. If you're a part of a church and you're looking to hire some people, some new staff members, or you just need some staff realignment. Reach out to me podcast at chemistrystaffingcom. I'd love to be able to see if there's a way that either myself or someone on our team can come alongside and help you and your church. All right, thanks so much for joining me here on the Healthy Church Staff Podcast. It's Friday if you're listening, on the day that this was released. I hope you have a great weekend. If not, I'll see you next time you
