By Michael R. Ruhl

 

For several years now, there has been considerable dialog and learning about something called emotional intelligence.  Emotional Intelligence is a concept focused on how effectively people work with others. Emotional Intelligence skills are unique from a person's technical skills and cognitive abilities. Multiple studies have shown that Emotional Intelligence competencies often account for the difference between star performers and average performers, particularly in positions of leadership.  The Emotional Intelligence model developed by Daniel Goleman and others identifies four components:(1) Self Awareness (2) Self Management (3) Social Awareness and (4) Relationship Management.

It is no great secret or mystery that God Himself initiates, plants and grows the church through His appointed "means of grace" (the Word, the Sacraments and the Holy Spirit).  And yet missionary leaders and congregations can limit, block or slow the God-intended growth (Kingdom Impact) of the local church through failure to apply appropriate emotional intelligence. 

Can we take some liberty and speak of missional intelligence as a synonym for emotional intelligence in the church of Jesus Christ?  The word missional comes from the New Testament Greek verb apostello ... to send someone on an important mission.  It is often summarized by the word "sent" which is mindful of how God has sent the saints of the church to go and make disciples of all the nations (Matthew 28:18-20).  And the word intelligence reminds us of how Jesus advised the 72 disciples when he sent them into the mission field:  Be wise as serpents and harmless as doves (KJV-Matthew 10:16).  In other words, always be biblical and pure (innocent and harmless) in theology and motivation ... but also be wise and informed in the posturing decisions you make so as to build effective communication bridges with people who are far away from God.

One very fine tool for helping us to understand and augment our missional intelligence is called Leadership Stool by David Olson.  The instrument is based on the premise that effective missionary leadership includes (1) SPIRITUALITY (everything that it means to love God)  (2) CHEMISTRY (everything that it means to love people) and (3) STRATEGY (everything that it means to love the world by fulfilling the mission of God for the world).

The Leadership Stool is a no-cost, online feedback survey which takes only 5 - 10 minutes to complete, and is based on the example of Jesus.  The inventory can shed light on missional intelligence and is designed for both Senior Pastors/Planters  www.leadershipstool.com/seniorpastor.php and Christian Leaders  www.leadershipstool.com/christianleader.php.  A computer-generated report is returned to you immediately after completing the survey.  While one cannot place total or blind trust in the results of surveys, this instrument can provide fertile self-assessment for measuring our capacity for missional intelligence.