In the journey of strengthening our core as leaders in ministry, we've explored two key components of effective leadership: skills intelligence (SI) and relational intelligence (RI). SI equips leaders with the practical know-how to navigate tasks, systems, and strategic goals. RI helps leaders connect with people, build trust, and cultivate healthy teams. But to bring these two together in a meaningful and lasting way, one more essential element is needed: emotional intelligence (EI).

What is Emotional Intelligence?

Emotional intelligence is the ability to understand, manage, and respond to emotions in a healthy and productive way. For ministry leaders, this means recognizing emotions in themselves and others, handling conflict with wisdom, and creating an environment where people feel heard and valued. Without EI, even the most talented and relational leaders can struggle to lead well under pressure or build teams that thrive.

The Apostle Paul models EI in his letters to the early church. In 2 Corinthians 1:3-4, Paul demonstrates both empathy and emotional awareness, writing, "Praise be to the God...who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God." Paul recognizes the power of emotional awareness in strengthening relationships and ministering to others.

So what are some key aspects of Emotional Intelligence in ministry leadership?

Why Relational Intelligence (PI) Matters

In our last post, we explored how SI—skills intelligence—lays the foundation for leadership. It gives leaders the strategic insight, problem-solving ability, and clarity needed to make wise decisions. But leadership is more than just having the right answers or the best strategies. Leaders lead real people. And that’s where RI—relational intelligence—comes in.

If SI provides the blueprint, RI is what breathes life into a leader’s relationships. It’s the art of leadership—the ability to understand yourself and others so you can build trust, foster collaboration, and create an environment where people thrive. Without strong RI, leadership becomes transactional rather than transformational.

So what does high RI look like in action? Here are three defining traits of leaders with strong RI, along with practical examples of how they shape ministry teams and church communities.

What Does It Take to Be a Good Leader?

This question isn’t easy to answer. Depending on who you ask, you might hear a dozen different responses. Leadership can seem like an endless checklist of traits to develop—inspirational, organized, daring, effective, sacrificial, innovative, and the list goes on. It’s easy to get overwhelmed trying to tackle everything at once.

So, where should you start if you want to grow as a leader? What’s most important?

We're at the end of our four-part series on healthy conflict. We have explored how conflict can actually be beneficial, the causes of conflict, and how to navigate it in a productive way. Now, to put a bow on this topic, we’ll focus on maintaining a culture where healthy conflict is the norm.

As we continue our series on conflict, it’s important to ask a key question: we know conflict can be both positive and negative, and that understanding the causes is crucial—but how do we navigate conflict in a way that’s healthy and strengthens our team?

As we continue our four-part series on conflict, it's essential to examine the causes of conflict within teams and relationships. Understanding the root causes is crucial because when you're aware of what typically sparks conflict, you can better anticipate, prepare for, and manage it. In fact, knowing the causes of conflict may allow you to address issues before they escalate. Here are our top four causes of conflict:

Can conflict be good? For most people it doesn’t feel that way. When we hear conflict we think of fighting, raw emotions, and broken relationships. 

Yet when people have conflict in a healthy way, it can be a very productive thing for everyone. How?

What is the first thing that pops into your mind when you hear “leadership development”?

Be honest…

If you’re like me, most of your thoughts go something like this.

Let me tell you a story about two pastors and their church plants.

Both pastors were gifted preachers and relational connectors. Both were passionate about Jesus and wanting others to know Him. Both had many years of ministry experience, and a team of supportive members. Despite all this in common, only one pastor and church made it.

During the safety briefing, flight attendants always remind passengers to place their oxygen mask on first before helping others in an emergency. This is a foundational insight into leadership.

But isn’t leadership about how I direct other people?

Yes leadership does inherently involve others, but how you lead must start with you. There is an old saying attributed to many that states “you cannot give what you do not have”. The idea here is that the best leaders are drawing from a personal well of self-awareness and experience that they are able to access when they lead others. So how can we grow in self-awareness to lead ourselves and others well?

Front Porch Partnership exists to equip leaders to succeed in their calling context. We have a foundational belief that the health of churches is in many ways directly tied to the health of its leaders. Our goal is not to tell you how to do ministry or organize the church, but rather to develop you as a leader where you can fulfill your calling to the best of your ability.

One of the reasons we stepped into this space was because we were seeing indifference or a lack of developing leaders in the church.

Shouldn’t identifying and raising up new leaders be an emphasis of the church?

The Apostle Paul seems to think so in Galatians 4:12 when he notes one of the main roles of church leaders is to “equip the saints for the work of ministry”.

Notice the emphasis on the saints. Paul did not encourage processes, pipelines, or programs. He said it was people that needed to be built up to do the work ministry, for the good of the church!

So we asked ourselves, what is getting in the way?