Nathaniel D. West notes that clergy tend to turn to leadership models to help them deal with the intense, interpersonal nature of ministry. However, he argues, most challenges for clergy begin deep inside their own emotional lives. West highlights that clergy risk not only their effectiveness in ministry but also their own well-being, as well as emotional harm to their congregations, families, and others, whenever their emotional development is left unattended. Yet despite the psychological challenges embedded in ministry, clergy often lack accessible tools to focus on emotional growth.

The Clergy Self explores a unique set of spiritual practices that help clergy enhance their emotional intelligence from a theological perspective. The book offers practices and disciplines that empower clergy to better emotionally manage their networks of intrapersonal and interpersonal relationships, starting with how clergy understand and manage their own emotional worlds. The book starts from the practical theological ethic of self-understanding and self-love as an essential discipline for loving others through the various relationships and contexts of ministry.