Dr. Maurice Graham, counselor and coach to ministers for over 35 years, started wrestling with that question more than 20 years ago.
He began in-depth research that revealed a hard truth: despite a minister’s talents, gifts, and preaching ability, too often, the minister withdrew from vocational ministry.

His research also revealed that if a minister and/or the congregation could not manage their emotions, the effectiveness of the minister and the congregation was severely diminished.

After compiling and analyzing data from more than 3,000 clergy, Dr. Graham formulated his model for helping ministers integrate emotional learning with theological awareness and named Pastoral Intelligence™.

Pastoral Intelligence™ empowers pastors to stay in ministry.

Dr. Graham found that pastors are often not equipped to manage their own emotions or the emotions of their congregation. That can lead pastors to engage in unhealthy behaviors, to burnout, or to abandon their call and ministry.

Along with insights, guidance, and resources, each chapter will end with questions designed by Dr. Graham to move pastors beyond ideas and theory to practical application.

It’s time for pastors to rediscover their call and identity in a world that needs Christ.

Dr. Graham’s hope is that Pastoral Intelligence will help as many pastors as possible to stay in ministry to help meet that need.

Dr. Graham’s Pastoral Intelligence™ training has been proven to help equip pastors by integrating two areas of intelligence: theological and emotional.

And now, his ground-breaking research is documented in his book Pastoral Intelligence: Why Your Emotional Health is the Key to Your Church’s Health.

Pastoral Intelligence: Now available at Amazon.com.

“Maurice Graham embodies the life-giving evidence of Pastoral Intelligence he writes about so well—capacities every pastor especially needs in this difficult era. The Holy Spirit has nurtured these qualities in Graham’s life through ordinary and exceptional experiences, challenges, and crises. This rich book is a balm for a pastor’s heart and an inspiration to develop pastoral intelligence that can bring life, wisdom, resilience, and courage to both pastor and people alike.”

—Rev. Dr. Mark Labberton, President Emeritus, Fuller Theological Seminary

“Pastoral Intelligence is a thoughtful, honest, and accessible resource that fills a critical gap that too many of us in formal theological education have left unaddressed: how do we integrate emotional and relational learning alongside the intellectual formation that happens in seminary such that Christian leaders are equipped to navigate the emotional challenges that await them in the ministry context? We understand the importance of learning skills related to biblical exegesis, hermeneutics, and homiletics. But how about equally relevant skills such as knowing and navigating one’s own emotions and the emotions of others? I commend Maurice for tackling this much-needed topic with honesty and vulnerability, and with accessible tools and insights. And I am thrilled to see this resource reach the hands of leaders and ministry contexts where it is needed most.”

—David C. Wang, Th.M., Ph.D., Cliff and Joyce Penner Chair for the Formation of Emotionally Healthy Leaders, Fuller Theological Seminary, and Editor, Journal of Psychology and Theology

“Dr. Graham’s work on Pastoral Intelligence is groundbreaking and a must-read for everyone in ministry, regardless of position or tenure. Everyone wins when pastors are healthy, and this book will be a major tool in that goal!”

—Dr. Brian C. Hughes, Senior and Founding Pastor, Passion Community Church, Virginia.

“Emotional intelligence is critical to the success of any leader. Dr. Maurice Graham applies the field of emotional intelligence to the realities of pastoral ministry, doing so in a way that is biblically based and very practical. I highly recommend!”

—Steve Stroope, Founding Pastor LakePointe Church and Kingdom Consultant

“It takes a minimal search of the news to know that pastors are not immune from the broken behaviors that lead to moral failings, which quickly undermine the witness of Jesus in our communities. Those of us who have been in ministry for any length of time know how it feels to find ourselves injured by a life event, triggered or feeling inadequate, and needing someone to come alongside the Holy Spirit to bind us up and help us sort through our early imprints, thoughts, and belief-systems so that we can step into the fullness of the Lord’s call on our lives. In Pastoral Intelligence, Maurice beautifully addresses how to properly care for leaders young and old, providing a practical, steady guide for quality pastoral care.”

—Jay Pathak, National Director of Vineyard USA

“Maurice Graham both identifies and offers a game plan for overcoming one of the greatest saboteurs of pastoral ministry: A robust understanding of scripture coupled with a faulty understanding of people. Use its helpful insights for self-diagnoses and for helping those you lead and mentor.”

—Larry Osborne, North Coast Church

“Through his depth of experience in working with pastors, Dr. Maurice Graham has produced a much-needed resource for them and their support networks. Pastoral Intelligence is a truly groundbreaking work that all Bible-believing church leaders should include in their personal and leadership development plans. I know of no other resource that addresses this critically important topic from a thoroughgoing biblical perspective combined with a uniquely profound understanding of the opportunities and challenges facing pastors in this cultural moment.”

—John D. Basie, Ph.D., Director, Impact 360 Residency

“Dr. Graham and his tool, Pastoral Intelligence, have been beneficial to me over two decades in my leadership of two large-church staffs. This book reflects Graham’s ongoing contribution to complex ministry relationships.”

—Travis Collins, PhD, Senior Pastor, First Baptist Church, Huntsville, AL

V. Maurice Graham, DMin, LMFT, founder of Shepherd’s Staff Ministry, Inc., has counseled and coached ministers and their families for over 35 years.

In 2002, Dr. Graham received training and certification by the Daniel Goleman Group The Emotional and Social Competency Inventory (ESCI).  He wondered:

“Could this groundbreaking understanding of what it means to bring intelligence to emotion be helpful to vocational ministers?”

Dr. Graham quickly realized that the corporate model of emotional intelligence didn’t adequately translate into a vocational ministry setting, so he began his own research.

Dr. Graham created the first 360-degree, multi-source assessment to measure emotional intelligence in clergy and established his own unique Call and Identity Coaching™.

After years of research with more than 3,000 clergy persons, he formulated his theory of clergy emotional intelligence and theological awareness and named it Pastoral Intelligence™.

Currently, Dr. Graham is a Marriage and Family Therapist licensed in the Commonwealth of Virginia. He spends his time as the founder of Shepherd’s Staff Ministry, primarily training coaches in his Pastoral Intelligence methodology.

Dr. Graham is also the author of Prayers from the Desert: Living Out the Pastoral Call As a Hostage in Kuwait—his real-life story about being held hostage for four months while trying to protect his family and fulfill his pastoral calling in the midst of crisis.

Watch the video below.

Just months after Maurice Graham moved his family to Kuwait, Saddam Hussein’s troops invaded, and Graham spent the next four months as a hostage trying to protect his family and fulfill his pastoral calling. His story proves that God still does miracles and changes the hearts of even the world’s most evil leaders.