Is There a Correlation Between IQ & Pastoral Success?
In her article “Why Smart People Make Bad Moves,” Yahoo! Financial columnist Laura Rowley examines a recent study from Ohio State University on the relationship between a person’s IQ and his or her financial situation. She summarizes the study this way: “Smart people can be boneheads when it comes to accumulating wealth, and the average Joe can become the millionaire next door.” According to the study each point increase in IQ test scores raised income by between $234 and $616 per year. But this didn’t protect higher IQ people from financial woes. In fact, higher IQ people had just as high, if not higher rates of late bills, maxed-out credit cards, and even bankruptcies. The bottom line: Just because you’re smart doesn’t mean you’re smart in using your smartness. (Obviously, I didn’t rate real high on the IQ test myself!)...
I guess that’s the difference between knowledge and wisdom. Scripture pointed this out long ago: “For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength” (I Corinthians 1:25).
That got me wondering…is there a correlation between “smart” pastors and “success in ministry”? Would a pastor with a higher “spiritual” IQ have a more vibrant and growing church than someone with a lower, more normal level of intelligence?
According to Rowley, here are some reasons why your average next-door neighbor might be a millionaire while you sit in your living room paying off your maxed-out Visa bill. I wonder if any of these “average millionaire” traits could correspond to the “higher than average” church leader?
Let’s investigate.
They Make Their Own Rules: Rowley quotes Loral Langemeier, author of The Millionaire Maker: “Many wealthy people didn’t do well in school; it was too structured for them. But they’re creative, intuitive, and have street smarts—they understand how things work, and how to get business done.” I see this same quality in many pastors of vibrant churches. There’s a high value on creativity and innovation. Their leadership is usually very entrepreneurial… they actually like to try new things. And they’ve set up their church leadership to allow things to happen, and happen quickly.
They Get Knocked Down, But They Get Up Again: “It’s hustle,” says real estate magnate Barbara Corcoran in Rowley’s article. “Hustle is being too stupid to know that you should lay low when you keep getting slammed.” There seem to be two different types of church leaders that I see. I’m over-simplifying here, but there are leaders who always seem like they’re being beaten down, and there are other leaders who always seem to be ahead of their critics and above all the conflict. I really think part of this has to do with the ability of the successful leader to get right back up after being knocked down (rather than laying on the ground and allowing people to kick you.) Sometimes the higher your intelligence level, the more time you take to qualify and logically remedy a situation. Sometimes that quality allows you to stay on the ground longer, getting beaten up in the process.
They Succeed Through Social Intelligence: Another characteristic of average people who become millionaires is that they surround themselves with teams that compensate for their weaknesses. While this is mostly in a business setting, I also see this in the church with pastors who have effective ministries. They don’t rely on their own intelligence to make everything happen. They know their weaknesses and gather smart people around them to help them in these areas. They also aren’t afraid to let others around them lead.
They Take More Risks and, Consequently, Reap More Rewards: People with average brains may be more naive and willing to jump in—start a business or make an investment—than their high-IQ counterparts, who ponder every angle and know too much about the potential downsides of a proposition to take a risk. I’ve noticed that highly intelligent people are many times more adverse to risk. If you look at church leaders involved with growing churches, you’ll find that they risk frequently. They try new things. They fail consistently. And they reap the rewards of their risk.
Is it a leap to make a correlation between IQ, millionaires, intelligence, and pastors? Possibly. My only point is that God is in control of the church and its leaders. And your intelligence, many times, is not one of God’s key qualifiers.
So if you’re reading this today thinking about how smart you are… get over yourself. It really doesn’t qualify you to do better things for God than your sub-genius counterparts.
And, if you’re reading this today wishing you had a tad bit more intelligence… be encouraged that there are many things other than your IQ and training that figure into a successful, fruit-producing ministry.
Let’s learn what we can from the millionaires next door. After all, what we’re striving for in our work is much more significant than mere dollars.
My thought is this:
This morning before reading thie above blog, I was reading from 1 Kings 1:1 - 3:28 in my early morning devotions. Solomon asked not for riches and power as the newly anointed King. He asked God for "a discerning heart to govern" the people and "to distinguish between right and wrong." (1 Kings 3:9 NIV) Effective pastoral leaders seek God's wisdom and understanding. Time and again, I find pastors who are not using common sense in their decisions or a dependence upon God. Solomon recognized his greater need to be an effective ruler over the people. It was not human knowledge,riches, or worldly power.
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