Naively, I thought that planting a church was about preaching powerful sermons. I had no concept of hiring, firing, budgeting, negotiating rental facilities, vision-casting, or developing systems and processes so the vision could move from theory to practice. Oh yeah, and I had no idea of what it meant to develop a sermon series which would reinforce and move the vision forward in a life-transforming way into the life of the congregation.
In the last several years, God, through leadership books, mentors and life-experiences, has taught me a lot. I’d like to share with you what I’m learning on the importance of “Emotional Intelligence.”
Emotional intelligence is a term coined by Dr. Daniel Goleman. He says that emotional intelligence is the ability to manage ourselves and our relationships effectively.
SELF-AWARENESS:
The ability to recognize our emotions and the impact they have on work performance and professional relationships.
ACCURATE SELF-ASSESSMENT:
The ability to realistically appraise our strengths and limitations.
SELF-CONFIDENCE:
The ability to have a strong and positive sense of self-worth.
SELF-MANAGEMENT:
The ability to keep disruptive emotions and impulses under control.
SOCIAL AWARENESS:
The ability to have empathy, which is the skill of sensing other’s emotions, understanding their perspective, and taking interest in their concerns.
How would you evaluate your emotional intelligence? I’ve found that that more I learn “to walk in the Spirit,” the more I grow in emotional intelligence. Let’s finish this blog post by prayerfully reading Galatians 5:22-25 NLT.
“But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to His cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.”
