Loving Your Neighbor – Why EQ is Essential for Cultural Intelligence
With adaptations from Mary Gunther’s Focus Podcast A Look at ICC’s Vital Skills through the Lens of Spiritual Formation After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands… (Revelation 7:9, ESV) We live in an interconnected world where crossing geographical, cultural, and ideological boundaries is no longer an optional experience for our students – it is a routine reality. Whether they are navigating a diverse university campus, entering a global workplace, or simply interacting with…
A Discerning Mind – Why EQ is Essential for Critical Thinking
With adaptations from Mary Gunther’s Focus Podcast A Look at ICC’s Vital Skills through the Lens of Spiritual Formation “But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.” (Hebrews 5:14, ESV) We live in an information landscape that doesn’t just want our attention – it wants our outrage. Every day, our students are bombarded with headlines, social media algorithms, and peer commentary designed to bypass logic and trigger an immediate emotional reaction. (In fact, students in the Institute have been wrestling with this pivotal societal problem in our Round Table exercise this year.)…
Many Parts, One Body – Why EQ is Essential for True Collaboration
With adaptations from Mary Gunther’s Focus Podcast A Look at ICC’s Vital Skills through the Lens of Spiritual Formation “There should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other….Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.” (1 Corinthians 12: 25, 27) Working together is easy when things go your way. Collaboration is really about what happens when they don’t. Whether it’s a group project at school, a family chores list, or a youth ministry team, working with others is genuinely hard. Not hard in a logistical way – hard…
The Heart of the Matter – Why EQ is a Kingdom Skill
I had just finished speaking to a group of parent educators when a mom approached me, her brow furrowed. “I’m not as worried about my son’s public speaking skills,” she said. “I just want him to have good character. I want him to be a person who actually cares about others.” I smiled, because I hear this often. We tend to put “skills” (like speaking, leadership, or academics) in one bucket and “character” (like empathy, kindness, and self-control) in another. But in my years of coaching students to be ready to speak, I’ve discovered a vital truth: You only cultivate world-changing skills with Emotional Intelligence. What is EQ,…
Finding Confidence to Speak Through Logos
Youth pastor Simeon Bell had spent years working in ministry, but he noticed one particularly great challenge among his students. They were paralyzed when it came to sharing the gospel. As Pastor Bell shares his experience, he underscores that even if they wanted to, and even if they were empowered with the words to say, they didn’t know how to share it. They lacked the competence to speak up. Their faith and motivation were drowned in a fair of failure. I’m the president of an organization that hosts conferences called Ready to Speak. We talk about how in order to be truly ready for our Great Commission, we…
