Church Staff Book Club
A podcast for church leaders who want to grow but don’t have time to read every book. Join authors Jonathan Malm and Jason Young as they break down leadership books chapter by chapter, sharing practical insights and real-life ministry applications along the way. Whether you’re reading along or just listening in, this is your go-to resource for becoming a better leader... One conversation at a time.
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Stop Expecting Your Church Staff to Be Someone They’ve Shown You They’re Not
<p>Stop expecting your church staff to be someone they've shown you they're not. That's the challenge at the center of Chapter 3 of How to Work with Complicated People by Ryan Leak, and in this episode of the Church Staff Book Club, Jonathan Malm and Jason Young get practical about what it takes to stop being surprised, frustrated, and disappointed by the people you work with.</p><p>Most of the frustration we feel with a staff member or volunteer lives in the gap between what they did and what we expected them to do. The problem is we rarely...
The Most Annoying Person on Your Church Staff Might Be Your Best Teacher
<p>The person on your church staff who drives you crazy might be the one you have the most to learn from. In this episode of the Church Staff Book Club, Jonathan Malm and Jason Young dig into Chapter 2 of How to Work with Complicated People by Ryan Leak, and why it's worth doing the hard work of understanding difficult coworkers instead of writing them off.</p><p>Jonathan opens with a confession. When he was younger, he learned from everyone because he assumed every adult had it figured out. Now he sees dysfunction faster, dismisses people quicker, and learns...
The 4 Ways to Handle Difficult People at Church (Only One Works)
<p>There are four ways to handle a difficult person at church: avoid them, change them, cancel them, or understand them. Three of those feel easier. Only one actually works. In this episode of the Church Staff Book Club, Jonathan Malm and Jason Young kick off a new book, How to Work with Complicated People by Ryan Leak, and dig into Chapter 1. </p><p>Everyone has someone in mind when they hear that title. A volunteer who never shows up on time. A pastor who doesn't respect your ideas. A coworker whose voice alone sets you off. But the first...
The 6-Month Rule for Surviving Any Church Staff Transition
<p>Getting promoted over your friends is one of the hardest transitions on church staff. On Friday they were your peers. On Monday they report to you. In the final episode of our Likable Leader series, Jonathan Malm and Jason Young talk through Chapter 11, Forged in the Fire, and what happens to your leadership when things get hard: conflict, disappointment, transitions, and chaos.</p><p>Anyone can be likable when the church is healthy and everyone agrees with you. The real test comes when a friend doesn't get the promotion you got, when a volunteer talks trash behind your back...
Is Fun Killing Your Team's Productivity? (No, and Here's the Proof)
<p>Is having fun at work killing your church's productivity? Short answer: no. In this episode of the Church Staff Book Club, Jonathan Malm and Jason Young walk through Chapter 10 of their book Likable Leader and take apart the idea that fun and productivity are enemies. If your church staff culture feels tense, quiet, or overly serious, it's probably not because your team lacks personality. Something is blocking the fun, and there's a good chance it's coming from leadership.</p><p>People naturally have fun together. Put strangers in a park and eventually someone pulls out a frisbee. So when...
The Real Reason Church Staff Quit (It's Not the Pay)
<p>Why do good church staff quit? It's usually not the paycheck. In this episode of the Church Staff Book Club, Jonathan Malm and Jason Young unpack Chapter 9 of their book Likable Leader and get honest about the real reason church employees walk away: leaders who take from their team instead of investing in them.</p><p>If you lead church staff or volunteers, you've probably felt the fear. You encourage someone, they realize how talented they are, and they leave. So you hold back. But holding back is exactly what pushes people out the door. Jonathan shares the story...
Facts Tell People What Matters. Stories Make them Feel It.
<p>You can have the best content in the room and still lose the room. But the right story, even a short one, can turn a hostile audience into a leaned-in one before you've said anything else of substance.</p><p>In this episode, Jonathan Malm and Jason Young dig into Chapter 8 of Likable Leader, making the case that storytelling isn't just a communication skill; it's one of the most powerful trust-building tools a leader has. From why Jason opens every emotional intelligence workshop by admitting he was once told he had none, to why announcements at church consistently fail...
Humility Is Making Room for Everyone Else
<p>Arrogance makes leadership about the leader. Humility makes leadership big enough for other people. And the difference between the two might be the thing your team is waiting for you to figure out.</p><p>In this episode, Jonathan Malm and Jason Young dig into Chapter 7 of Likable Leader, reframing what humility actually means for leaders and why it has nothing to do with downplaying yourself or deflecting every compliment. From false humility that argues with people trying to encourage you, to ego quietly becoming part of your organization's operating system, this conversation goes places most leadership books won't.<...
Clarity is the New Kindness
<p>You don't have to have all the answers. You just have to know the next step and have the courage to say it out loud.</p><p>In this episode, Jonathan Malm and Jason Young dig into Chapter 6 of Likable Leader, making the case that clarity isn't just a communication skill; it's one of the most profound acts of care a leader can offer their team. Because ambiguity doesn't just slow people down. It exhausts them, puts them in survival mode, and quietly chips away at everything you've built together.</p><p>In this episode, you'll learn:</p>Why...
Do You Show Up to Monitor or to Support?
<p>In this episode, Jonathan Malm and Jason Young dig into Chapter 5 of Likable Leader, unpacking what it actually means to support and invest in the people you lead. Jason shares the story of implementing a scheduling change that caused 210 volunteers to quit overnight and what his pastoral team said to him in that moment that changed everything. Jonathan reflects on the difference between leaders who show up to inspect and leaders who show up to encourage, and why your team can feel the difference immediately.</p><p>In this episode, you'll learn:</p>Why the most overlooked form of...
