Emotional Self Control
–John English, Spiritual Pilgrims
Instructions
- The authors of both of this assignment’s texts agree that those who serve in religious organizations are not immune to a disconnect between what they profess and how they actually live their lives. Pastors who explode, emotionally, at meetings are
really issuing a cry for help. So are religious servants that hide a lifestyle manipulation, domestic violence, moral failures, or other
unacceptable behaviors. Ruth Haley Barton’s chapter suggests that ministry is often the tool of the minister’s conversion.
Through our interactions with others we often discover what lurks, previously undetected, underneath the surface. West, Guzman,
and Oswald zero in on the issue of self-control and the myriad excuses that leaders often make when their lack of self-control is
showing. For this assignment, you will become more familiar with emotional self-control. - Reread:
a. Chapter 3, “The Place of Our Own Conversion,” in Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership.
b. Chapter 4, “Utilizing Emotional Self-Control,” in Emotional Intelligence for Religious Leaders. - For this assignment, you will be writing a short Bible study on the subject of self-control that you would be able to share in a clergy
study group. So, your audience is not the congregation or the agency/institution where you practice ministry, your audience is a
leader’s accountability group. - Begin by engaging in a biblical study of the spiritual grace of self-control. Search both the Old and the New Testaments: some
spiritual notables that come to mind are Moses (who broke the two tables of the Law in anger and displayed a few other outbursts that
indicate a lack of self-control. Peter also comes to mind, making rash statements and cutting off ears!). You are looking for both
positive and negative examples of Bible characters that kept their emotions under control and those who lost control. - Next, outline Chapter 4, of Emotional Intelligence for Religious Leaders as though you were presenting the chapter in a study
group of leaders. Carefully define terms like denial, repression, and sublimation. Provide examples of these so that your
participants will be able to understand what these look like in real-time. At the end of your study, spend time with the author’s
suggestions for developing emotional self-control. - Format your Bible Study:
a. Give it a title
b. Present an outline detailed enough so that someone else could
teach the study in your absence.
c. Your study needs to include
a. An opening prayer
b. Biblical texts
c. An outline of Chapter 4 in Emotional Intelligence
d. A place for prayerful response
e. Information about, or flyers from any helpful resources you might find in your local community: AA or NA groups, anger management groups, etc.
f. A closing prayer. - This is an assignment that may defy Chicago Style(new tab) formatting. However, you are responsible for ensuring proper documentation for quotes or “borrowed” ideas. You may supplement your submission with digital media as long as it is
accompanied by a substantive written submission.
Answer preview for Emotional Self Control
APA
900 Words