COVER STORY: DEVELOPMENT IS STEWARDSHIP

The one where the staff development Substack talks about staff development.

I’ve been around church leaders who seemed to find the idea of “development” to be a bit of a nuisance. “What does ‘development’ even mean?,” I once heard a leader ask aloud, rather dismissively. It might be a good question. But the ambiguity shouldn’t lower the priority.

Because development is stewardship.

And I mean that two ways.

First, I mean that churches are good stewards when they intentionally develop their staff members. Whether a church has one staff member or hundreds, it is largely through staff members that the church’s ministry is sown and harvested, day after day. Of course sharpening staff members’ skills and maturing their spiritual lives should be among our highest priorities. A multiplied harvest comes from every staff member who is a little more wise, mature, or skilled than they were last month.

But secondly, when I say “Development is stewardship,” I also mean that individuals are good stewards when we seek our own development. Your leaders may not be intentionally developing you, or their development may be poor. But stewarding the talents, experiences, and knowledge God has given us requires increasing them. Finding development is a duty, not just a desire.

In both of these ideas, the Parable of the Talents applies. The Master has entrusted his servants with resources He expects to be invested and grown. The resources are the skills, wisdom, spiritual walks, experiences, expertise, spiritual gifts, and other gifts given to staff members. Finding ways to grow those resources is simply stewardship.

TO LEARN DEEPER…

The goal here is to convince you (or help you convince others) that development is not only noble or enjoyable, but also expected. Here are a few resources to dig deeper on development and what it can look like. (FYI: I earn a little bit when people buy something via Amazon links.)

• Please read this all-you-need post from Ministry Architects: “Beyond Onboarding: Why are we so bad at church staff development?” This is the article to fire you up, to see what good development looks like (for you or others), and to pass on to church leaders (even anonymously!).

• I appreciate this article’s quick reframing of the goals and methods of staff development. It helped me realize I gravitate toward Educational development – but there are two other categories to explore!

• As usual, Seth Godin gets to the point. You could be developing yourself every day, simply by jotting down 5 quick notes.

• Meanwhile, this Christian Leadership Alliance article goes longer but deeper – and directly ties development to stewardship. Its “four unconventional strategies,” for those who can help develop others, are gold.

• Some solid podcasts: I stumbled on Jeremy Albrecht on Growth & Development for Leaders – very practical for growing yourself. (I haven’t yet listened to the follow-up on developing others.) The first 6 minutes of this 5 Leadership Questions episode discusses the state of church staff dev (spoiler: the state is not great). The rest of the podcast gets a little more detailed, for managers specifically.

• And a book: I’ve just started Mindset for my PhD studies and can tell it’s revolutionary for this area. Lots of people are held back from seeking development by a “fixed mindset.” Could you or your coworkers be?

THE BLURBS

INCREASING VOLUNTEER SUPPLY

A key source of volunteers should be those who already receive.

One of the best places to recruit volunteers is right under our noses – among those already benefitting from the ministry. This is also a great discipleship move. “Serving deeper” may happen naturally (e.g., a women’s ministry participant becomes a table leader). But sometimes you need to make it happen. High schoolers could volunteer within their own Student Ministry, for instance. Children may not be able to volunteer in Children’s Ministry, but their parents are also beneficiaries of the ministry – so they should probably be asked to consider volunteering occasionally. Even in community ministries, it’s actually quite dignifying and developing for those who receive aid to be invited to participate in the effort.

Takeaway questions:

1. If your department uses volunteers at all, how many of those are currently (or once were) impacted by it?

2. How could you invite other “receivers” in the ministry to become part of the “giver” crew?

GOOD MEASURE

When managers are evaluated, are they evaluated on their managing?

I once noticed that a church asked for manager feedback on its yearly review form (so important!). But the review timeline started at the top. This meant each manager was reviewed by higher-ups before their direct reports actually shared feedback about their managing. So the managers weren’t actually reviewed on their managing.

This Wharton article lays out the case for sharing feedback on managers (which should be standard for churches, right?). Radical Candor has a slew of ways to draw this kind of feedback out of direct reports. And if you’re a manager, you should be asking for this kind of feedback (even if your church doesn’t do regular reviews).

Takeaway: Higher-level leaders have to measure – someway, somehow – how well their employees are managing people under them. Otherwise, one of the most important parts of a manager’s job description – managing – isn’t being evaluated.

OTHER DEVELOPMENT DROPS

A few things you might find useful

• Staff Dev Verses: This For the Church article unpacks all the times New Testament leaders are told to avoid certain people / discussions. Fascinating, and feels timely to me.

• Develop your time management: Regardless of your role, you can probably apply most of these 15 practical tips. Those in more pastoral roles can add 3 principles.

• A great way to develop yourself is by running toward cringe moments. This long article in The Athletic is a lot of fun.

• Tithely’s 2026 Church Staffing Playbook. From ratios to salaries to checklists, these kinds of reports are always interesting reads.

• I’m about to take my team through Lead by Paul David Tripp. A lot of great, practical development here – and it’s written directly for church staff members.

• “Organizations don’t lose great leaders because they are difficult. They lose them because they misdiagnose what makes them difficult.” (HBR article) Church staff might seem “difficult” for various reasons: character, chemistry, or something else. The “difficult” label could be dead-on; it could be a bad rap.

Thanks for serving on staff – it matters. See you in a few weeks.

–Benson

AFTERTHOUGHT (FOR THE CHURCH NERDS)

I talked the other day with a guy whose church staff has gone through plenty of positive changes. But people and processes of the past tend to have their positives, too… and those positives have left noticeable holes. I wonder: Do we recognize the passion that’s missing when that founding pastor with the “fiery personality” retires? Did we realize that switching from Sunday schools to home groups meant losing access to the benefits of “medium-sized community”? Etc. Audits and autopsies, even on “old wineskins,” might allow us to realize benefits we’ve lost. Then we can decide what to do about it (if anything).

COVER STORY: A BETTER DEFINITION FOR BURNOUT

Burnout lurks on church staffs. It helps to know what it actually is.

For 15 months I faced the fog of burnout, on staff at a church. It was awful. And yet God used it in my life, profoundly. I’ll tell that story sometime.

But one bright lamp in the fog was discovering solid descriptions of “burnout,” instead of the hazy ways people tend to use the word. Getting a more accurate definition for burnout helped start my road to recovery.

Burnout is actually a well-researched – and pretty well defined – issue. For example, I learned that exhaustion by itself does not equal burnout; it just equals exhaustion! A good definition also helps us realize that burnout’s causes can be complex, which means it doesn’t always arise from wrong actions or an unhealthy heart.

Two learnings put my puzzle together more than any other:

1. Burnout arises from the gap between what someone expects for their their job (their ideals) and what’s actually taking place (the reality).

2. The full spectrum of burnout includes 3 ingredients (not just 1):

• Detachment or cynicism

• A strong sense of personal ineffectiveness

• Exhaustion

This useful two-pager is one fruit from my burnout season. It highlights burnout’s definition, it’s main causes, and a path forward. This has already been useful for several coworkers who seemed to be facing the burnout monster.

TO LEARN DEEPER…

It’s not easy to find Christian resources that start with a solid definition of burnout, but here are some resources, Christian and otherwise, if you’d like to explore further. (FYI: I earn a little bit when people buy something via my Amazon links.)

• HBR Ideacast interviews Christina Maslach (podcast & transcript), perhaps the leading burnout researcher. Distills a lot of the research + adds how leaders can help those facing workplace burnout.

• My journey toward a better description (and therefore a better prescription) started with The End of Burnout. This unique book brings the research alive and includes faith elements. (I found the early chapters more useful than his recommendations for orgs/systems.) Email me if you want my takeaways.

• HR Ministry Solutions (video) treats burnout as the complex issue it is, even if it could have defined burnout more clearly. Includes good ideas on helping heal. Very useful for church world, especially when paired with the two-pager.

• Dr. Arianna Molloy of Biola University speaks about “healthy calling” at THINQ (she wrote a related book). The video starts from a solid burnout definition, then expands to discussing burnout from one’s larger calling.

• Disillusionment Assessment: A checkup measuring the components of burnout. Connected to an interesting-looking book from Peter Greer & Chris Horst about combating ministry idealism. (Idealism was a big factor in my own burnout story.)

THE BLURBS

YOU’VE HEARD THAT IT WAS SAID…

“DBMP;BMS” only sounds like great managing

“Don’t bring me problems; bring me solutions.” This pithy statement is common manager-speak. Church managers love how positive and edifying it sounds.

But it’s not good managing. Better managers encourage their people to bring up concerns/questions/problems, even if they don’t have a solution. This article provides great reasons to avoid this common statement. Adam Grant argues faster in this YouTube short (which autoplays – sorry).

Takeaway: Every church leader should help employees know candor isn’t only tolerated, but desired. “BMP;WSIT”: Bring me problems; we’ll solve it together.1 (And really, why would a manager want folks hiding their concerns?)

LEADING UP

But if you do have a problem to bring up…

While leaders should welcome hearing about problems (see above), tact still matters. This is sticky because (a) no one likes bad news, (b) leaders might feel dumb for not noticing the problem, and (c) they might have caused the problem.

So if you notice an issue, be wise when you talk about it. (Especially important if you’re a problem-pouncer like me.)

Checklist: When you bring up a problem to a leader,

• Imagine the approach they will be receive best

• Come with a possible solution if you can – even a half-solution, the start of a solution, a dumb solution – whatever shows you’re a problem-solving partner

• Even better: Bring a few options (many leaders LOVE options)

• Prepare to hear, “I’ve thought about that, and…” (Maybe they have!)

• At the very least, let them know you’re IN to help solve

OTHER DEVELOPMENT DROPS

A few things you might find useful

• Staff Dev Verses: If you’re facing the fire (from congregation or fellow staff), read Jeremiah 1 with me. I’m helped by God’s insistence that Jeremiah IS ready for his calling – or more accurately, God is ready for Jeremiah’s calling.

• Do you regularly lead group discussions? I recently stumbled on these six tips for better Bible discussion – insightful (and a little stretching).

• Should you fix your job description – or others’? This upcoming webinar from HR Ministry Solutions will tackle better church job descriptions and why they matter.

• Leading Change is a key staff development topic, so I’m intrigued by this creative IVP Press / Tod Bolsinger bundle.

• Many church staffs prefer Celsius, Monster, Ghost to gold, frankincense, myrrh. I’ve recently been recalibrating my caffeine intake; this article helped.

Thanks for serving on staff – it matters. See you in a few weeks.

–Benson

AFTERTHOUGHT (FOR THE CHURCH NERDS)

I’ve recently been thinking about whether there’s a Practical–Idealist spectrum for churches and church staffs. Practical churches gravitate toward what works. Idealist churches lean toward what’s ideal. Going overboard on Practical becomes unprincipled; too far into Idealist creates unwise or unworkable expectations. Categories I’m chewing on.

I believe many church staff members would love more development, and this Substack is meant to fill that gap in a realistic, straightforward way.

The goal: A strong chance you will find something useful in every issue.

Patterned after some of my favorite “digest”-style emails – like What’s In My Now?, James Clear’s 3-2-1, and The Weekend Reader – the plan is for each issue to have:

• A feature topic (first one’s on a more helpful definition for burnout)

• 2 to 3 easily digested blurbs on development topics: focused ideas on leading up, managing people well, new ministry tools, church staff myths, Best Practices…

• Links! I will list develop-y resources you might care about, as well as upcoming development opportunities (like webinars, podcasts, etc.)

You can read more – including my hopes for involving YOU – on the About page. Or just subscribe to try it out. If you don’t find anything valuable in the first few issues, you can always unsubscribe!