Overview

Religious leaders require tremendous skill in emotional intelligence, yet their training very rarely addresses how to develop the practical skills needed—from self-awareness to resilience. Emotional Intelligence Religious Leaders draws on the latest research in business, psychology, and theology to offer religious leaders the information and tools they need to increase their emotional intelligence and enhance their relationships, communication and conflict management skills, spirituality, and overall well-being. The book offers both a deep understanding of how to develop emotional intelligence and also prescriptive insights about how to practice it that will be helpful for religious leaders in many settings, including congregational ministry, lay ministry, spiritual direction, pastoral counseling, and more.

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9781538109137

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As a pastor and professional counselor, this book does an excellent job in describing emotional intelligence both theologically and psychologically. The authors have a great understanding of the proper balance of what God expects of leaders and the unrealistic expectations we can place on ourselves. Each chapter contains in-depth analysis and practical applications for all leaders.--Ken Pott, LPC, Executive Director of BridgePoint and Transition Counseling Centers For decades, we have mistakenly downplayed the importance of pastoral leadership. And yet, congregations succeed or fail in their mission, oftentimes, in direct relation to the effectiveness of their pastors. Emotional Intelligence for Religious Leaders recognizes not only the importance of pastor leadership but emotionally intelligent and healthy pastoral leadership. It is a must read for any pastor seeking to maximize her/his potential as a spiritual leader.--John Wimberly, congregational consultant As I finished reading Emotional Intelligence for Religious Leaders, my first thought was how valuable this would have been over 20 years ago when I started ministry. I was equipped with Biblical knowledge, but I was clueless of the internal demands and stresses of ministry. My degrees were beneficial, but all three were sorely lacking in the area of emotional intelligence.--Barry Park, senior minister, University Christian Church C.S. Lewis said, in reference to his writings, Until the theologians and the ordained clergy begin to communicate with ordinary people in the vernacular, in a way that they can understand, I'm going to have to do this sort of thing. Thanks to libraries, bookstores, and websites we have Lewis. Thanks to John West and his fellow writers, whom I strongly suspect already see through the wry scholar's eyes, there is added hope for our generations of clergy and lay professionals. Emotional Intelligence for Religious Leaders offers no less than collaborative brilliance. It serves up fresh insight and access to tools already at work in the helping sciences. Some in the clergy cringe at the mere mention of psychology. They shouldn't. The word originates in the Greek, and psych translates as soul and suffix logy or logos translates as premise, discourse or opinion. Discourse of the soul is shared territory for pastors and psychologists alike. It's the same turf. Clergy moves in these arenas this just ably as the behavioralists. Perhaps even more so, for a fire burns in the souls of pastors and lay leaders alike, a fire unrestrained by limits of reason, hypothesis, or the scientific method. Clergy should know that wisdoms lay on the other side, answers that address the ordinary, irksome issues that confront faith professionals almost daily. The writers share their own stories. They share how added skills in communication, sensitivity, and emotional intelligence worked for them; how they've shed administrative weights. They've separated the wheat from the chaff for us, and, in doing so, served the readers with a rich menu of ideas. They offer an approachable, understandable frame of reference that serves the cause of our faith without undermining any of the orthodoxy in its mission. Please, check it out.--Mark Sellers, founder, New Covenant Soul Care

As a pastor and professional counselor, this book does an excellent job in describing emotional intelligence both theologically and psychologically. The authors have a great understanding of the proper balance of what God expects of leaders and the unrealistic expectations we can place on ourselves. Each chapter contains in-depth analysis and practical applications for all leaders. -- Ken Pott, LPC, Executive Director of BridgePoint and Transition Counseling Centers

Author Information

John Lee West served as a Baptist pastor and has also treated pastors as a licensed professional counselor. He has held the position of university dean and currently serves as a higher education consultant and faculty member. His unique combination of education and experiences, combined with his own successes and failures in ministry, provide the motivation for his research and authorship regarding emotional intelligence and religious leaders. Roy M. Oswald is an ordained Lutheran (ELCA) pastor who is emeritus executive director at the Center for Emotional Intelligence and Human Relations Skills. He served as a senior consultant for the Alban Institute for thirty-one years after serving as a church pastor. He is author or co-author of sixteen books on churches and ministry, including his most recent The Emotional Intelligence of Jesus: Relational Smarts for Religious Leaders. Nadyne Guzmán is an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ. Her ministry includes service as a hospital chaplain and as a consultant and coach for international organizations, developing programs for leadership development, inclusivity, transformation, and spiritual care. She has served as a professor of leadership, a researcher, and as an administrator in public schools and higher education.

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