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About

In this episode of the Resilient Pastor podcast, hosts Glenn Packiam, Rich Villodas, and Sharon Miller dive into practical conversations about building healthy, resilient ministry teams. Joined by special guest Jay Kim, lead pastor of Westgate Church in Silicon Valley and author of Analog Christian and Analog Church, they explore intentional rhythms for starting the new year, cultivating team health, balancing soul care with role expectations, and fostering trust, feedback, and relational connection in church staff culture.

From frozen grapes to leadership frameworks, this engaging discussion offers pastors and church leaders actionable insights on team development, staff retreats, feedback culture, generational expectations, and building trust through both character and competence. Whether you're a lead pastor, executive pastor, or part of a ministry team, this episode is packed with wisdom for creating healthy, aligned, and flourishing teams in 2025 and beyond.

Key Takeaways

• Start the new year with intentional rhythms: staff retreats that balance fun, vision casting, prayer, and strategic planning.
• Hold soul and role together — care deeply for your team members as people while maintaining clear expectations and performance standards.
• Build unhurried relational connection into meetings before diving into strategy; it shapes culture and equips you to lead through pain points.
• Use practical tools like EBIs (“Even Better If”), RASCI, “What’s Right/Wrong/Missing/Confused,” and regular celebration of wins to strengthen feedback and team morale.
• Define leadership components (motivational, strategic, directional, relational, and galvanizing) when building teams to ensure aspirational chemistry and better hiring decisions.
• Emerging generations want more frequent, consistent feedback loops rather than high autonomy with rare check-ins.
• Trust is earned through both strong character and demonstrated competence — reliability, consistency, and execution matter.
• Healthy boards support pastors best by being “noses in, fingers out” — engaged but not micromanaging — and through regular agenda-less relational meals.

Highlights

• “Making it for yourself at home is really smart because it’s a nice treat… it tastes like candy.” – Glenn on frozen grapes (and healthy snacks)
• “We really want to be clear around expectations… but we always start out relational.” – Sharon Miller on holding soul and role together
• “The first ten, fifteen, twenty minutes are often about just checking in… that easy connection shapes culture.” – Rich Villodas
• “I spend two to three days a week in the office for unscheduled, leisurely check-ins. That caring for people is the x-factor.” – Glenn Packiam
• “We’ve really tried to do some work in terms of navigating… aspirational chemistry.” – Jay Kim on building healthy teams
• “Emerging leaders are actually looking for much more consistent feedback loops.” – Jay Kim on generational shifts
• “The best way you can support this young man is to be a board that is noses in and fingers out.” – Nancy Ortberg’s wisdom shared by Jay Kim
• “You can’t let it live only in you. You have to externalize the soul of the organization.” – Glenn Packiam

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