Do You Cry First? You Are An Emotional Leader
I listened to a podcast recently with Caroline Leaf and Elaine Arons. Arons is a pioneering researcher on Highly Sensitive people. This is a technical term used to describe people who process things more deeply and intuit the emotions of the world around them. I loved one of the things Arons said about this characteristic: it makes these people emotional leaders. She explained:
“Since we are more emotional (for example, cry more easily), we are what I call emotional leaders. Why are we more emotional? It’s inevitable–we process everything more deeply, sensing its full emotional as well as intellectual consequences. And it’s not that we only feel negative emotions more–we also feel more love, joy, pride, awe, and all the other positive emotions. When others are not yet conscious of what they are feeling, we often are. So we can be the emotional sensors. If this is an appropriate time to cry, rage, run in panic, express gratitude, give a hug, not give a casual hug, and so forth, we often do it first–or refrain from doing it–so that others do the same.”
I realized Emotional Leadership is a gift, and it’s certainly a gift in the church. The emotional leaders among us are the first to cry at a baptism or a death or a touching video or song. They “give us permission” to cry by going first. Song leaders themselves are often emotional leaders. They often choose their songs to follow a progression of emotion to lead us to a certain point of joy or lament or triumph or awe. David demonstrated this with his psalms and his singing and dancing. Other emotional leaders who are visual artists or poets or playwrights can also lead us emotionally in church by the art they produce for our worship.
As I looked through the scriptures, I realized even Nature leads us emotionally. Isaiah 55 proclaims:
“You will go out in joy
and be led forth in peace;
and the mountains and hills
will burst into song before you,
and all the trees of the field
will clap their hands.”
Isn’t that a celebratory image?! We experience joy and rejoice with the trees and hills.
The New Testament tells us that “the creation waits in eager expectation” and “the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth . . . and we ourselves . . . groan inwardly as we wait eagerly.” Romans 8:19,22,23. Maybe creation has always led us in emotional response and that’s why nature is so moving to so many people and draws them close to God.
So if you always cry first, or hug everybody first, or jump up to dance when the music starts, own your role as an Emotional Leader. And look for how God wants you to use it for his church.
Here’s a link if you want to investigate the characteristics of a highly sensitive person:https://hsperson.com/benefits-of-being-highly-sensitive/
