Here's a link to a blog that says introverts are not cut out to be "missional" and that says the Reformed tradition attracts more introverts than extroverts. Personally, I find his argument to be lacking thoughtfulness and thoroughness , though of course I am spending 40 hours a week thinking about this topic. And frankly, if the missional church doesn't have room for introverts, then perhaps we need to rethink our missional theology.
What do you think?
Being an introvert who is attracted to Reformed theology (albeit of a more neo-orthodox bent, e.g. Karl Barth), I can vouch for the finding. The Reformed wing of Protestantism has always been concerned with intricate and inner-coherent theological systems that glorify neither the individual nor society but God. Hence, Presbyterians and other Reformed churches attract those intellectuals who are concerned with the reasons underlying the external aspects of conversion and ecclesial confession. An extrovert, however, would be on average more concerned with furthering the external aspects to the neglect of a sound intellectual presentation of the faith.
ReplyDeleteAs well, Reformed worship is decidedly "low key" -- religious "enthusiasm" is suspect. Such enthusiasm is perceived as serving one's own feelings and experience instead of glorifying God. Most introverts appreciate this for obvious reasons.
I found the blog post insulting; talk about biased! Where does the author come up with statements like "Many would argue that introverts will do college ministry not directed at reaching non-Christians and/or bringing shalom to the campus,[and] talk about being "missional" and not live that way at all"? Sure, we introverts might be into theology, but not at the expense of talking the talk and not walking the walk.
ReplyDeleteIt depends on your definition of "missional".
ReplyDeleteIntroverts would have no trouble with "go and do" mission like Katrina repair trips or even cultural educational trips.
If by mission you mean person-to-person evangelism, then you're right.
Don't forget St. Francis:
ReplyDeletePreach the gospel. Use words when necessary.
Nicole,
ReplyDeleteAgreed. I thought the post unwise at best, downright foolish at worst.
Yes, introverts and extroverts are different and will tend to "do ministry" in different ways, but that doesn't make one better than the other. God has created people with different gifts for a reason; likewise, God has created people with different personalities for a reason. But personalities are not gifts. Introverts and extroverts alike have received all of the gifts. Pastor and missionary are not limited to the extroverts.
It is true that introverts get recharged through solitude. So did Jesus, something that only got passing reference in the original post. But like Jesus introverts can then go on and do great ministry with people.
Was Jesus an introvert or an extrovert? I have no idea, and I don't think it matters. Did Jesus tell all people to spread the gospel? Yes, absolutely. And all people, introvert and extrovert, are doing so. We have different ways of doing so and we tend to look at each other with suspicion. We cannot reject or try to suppress the other but we must try to learn how to appreciate the strengths of the other while helping them with their weaknesses. And we each have those - strengths and weaknesses - in equal measure.
I am an introverted pastor who is often frustrated by extroverts that present the idea that ministry has to be performed in extroverted fashion. Many church members have come to feel the same way and in many ways the church has slanted heavily toward more extroverted styles of worship and engagement, throwing off what should be a healthy balance. The world needs both, the church needs both, and we should be appreciating the work and ministry of both.
I found that the article was offensive quite a bit. Discouraging people who like to study and think about theology from being in ministry because they might not be good at having conversations with strangers sounds dangerous to me. I think that we need people with BOTH kinds of temperments in the church. Those of us who are introverted tend to think and then act. People who are extroverted tend to act and then think. I think that a good missional church would have a team of people who had both temperments really. A good missional church would have the careful planning that an introvert would have as well as the energy that a more extroverted pastor would have. Not only that, only encouraging more extroverted personalities to be in leadership in the missional church would make the missional church to be a place where only extroverted people would want to be. People are attracted to leaders who are like themselves. Introversion just brings a set of gifts to mission that are not as likely to be on display as the more extroverted persons gifts may have.
ReplyDeleteThe article seemed to me a typical extroverted response to introverts. We think; therefore, we must not be doing anything. Jesus often went off by Himself, but in the American evangelical church, that would probably be suspect. One's outgoing nature will not convict a sinful heart; only the Holy Spirit can do that. I suspect for every 3 or 4 people that have their curiosity about the Gospel piqued by some extroverted, rah rah Christian, there is at least one who meets just such a person and vows never to explore the faith any further based on the experience.
ReplyDeleteThat blog post was so odd--and described a world I don't recall or recognize. College ministries full of introverted scholars who study their commentaries and Bibles and don't do face-to-face ministry? Churches led primarily by introverts? Huh? My experience was completely the opposite (as you well know)--college ministry leadership that was so extroverted (and so unreflective about it) that I felt like my urge to find a few minutes of peace was shirking my ministering duties because I wasn't "on" 24/7. I could go on but I won't because I know I would be preaching to the choir.
ReplyDeleteHowever, one issue that this blog post raises is the danger of overly relying on something like Myers-Briggs or other personality tests to evaluate the quality of ministry--at least based on some preconceived notion of normative (and by extension, superior) behavior. These personality tests and typologies are intended to be used to describe personalities, not rate them or rank them in terms of spirituality or faithfulness. In my experience, people seem to enjoy using personality tests to evaluate themselves or others in ways that deny diversity, originality, or uniqueness. What results is an understanding of human personality and character that is two-dimensional, myopic, and unimaginative. Especially in the hands of well-meaning but inexperienced leaders, such uses of these kinds of personality tests can lead to silly (and harmful) ideas like this blog entry, that conflates introversion with passivity and lack of "missional spirit", and effectively labels all introverts as unfaithful because they are so selfish as to choose to spend time alone.
I could go on and on, but I'll stop here. I am having flashbacks of college, and I'd prefer not to! =)
Btw, great running into you at Peets the other day!
I just addressed a similar question on my blog, www.hopedoesntdisappoint.blogspot.com under the question "does mission have an extroverted bias?"
ReplyDeleteI just now discovered this blog and am looking forward to reading more, as I myself am an introvert and often times find it challenging being an introverted Christian. However, I'm disappointed at the comments here. We're all Christians here, right? It's okay to disagree with others but can we at least make an effort to do so respectfully? I expect more from thoughtful introverts... especially "Christian" introverts... :) Who's to say the author of that article won't ever find these comments?
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I realize we're all just wanting to "discuss" and "analyze," as is only natural to an introvert. :) I only read a little of his blog, and honestly, I tend to agree with much of it regarding missions. I've always thought of most missions, especially mission "trips" to be very extroverted activities. I've never felt I was gifted with evangelizing. Also, I don't know much about the Reformed way of thought regarding Christianity, but from what I do know, I can definitely see how it could be more introvert based. I have browsed a bit of R.C. Sproul's website, and he is a "very" deep thinker... very much like an introvert. Perhaps I should join a Reformed Presbyterian Church... maybe it would be easier to fit in there... perhaps with fewer social events? That would be nice. :)
Skipping Introvert - Thanks for your comment. To be honest, I consider the comments on this post very civil and irenic, especially in contract to the polemic nature of the post I linked to. And, I actually commented on that other blog and linked to this post! So I'm sure he has read it.
ReplyDeleteMy point in this blog, and my forthcoming book, is to help introverts navigate their way in whatever communities they are part of. My goal is not to recommend a particular denomination or tradition. Far from it - I would consider it very unhealthy if all the introverts started congregating in particular communities and all the extroverts in others. My hope is partnership, collaboration, and mutual respect between introverts and extroverts.
That blog post was so odd--and described a world I don't recall or recognize. College ministries full of introverted scholars who study their commentaries and Bibles and don't do face-to-face ministry? Churches led primarily by introverts? Huh? My experience was completely the opposite (as you well know)--college ministry leadership that was so extroverted (and so unreflective about it) that I felt like my urge to find a few minutes of peace was shirking my ministering duties because I wasn't "on" 24/7. I could go on but I won't because I know I would be preaching to the choir.
ReplyDeleteHowever, one issue that this blog post raises is the danger of overly relying on something like Myers-Briggs or other personality tests to evaluate the quality of ministry--at least based on some preconceived notion of normative (and by extension, superior) behavior. These personality tests and typologies are intended to be used to describe personalities, not rate them or rank them in terms of spirituality or faithfulness. In my experience, people seem to enjoy using personality tests to evaluate themselves or others in ways that deny diversity, originality, or uniqueness. What results is an understanding of human personality and character that is two-dimensional, myopic, and unimaginative. Especially in the hands of well-meaning but inexperienced leaders, such uses of these kinds of personality tests can lead to silly (and harmful) ideas like this blog entry, that conflates introversion with passivity and lack of "missional spirit", and effectively labels all introverts as unfaithful because they are so selfish as to choose to spend time alone.
I could go on and on, but I'll stop here. I am having flashbacks of college, and I'd prefer not to! =)
Btw, great running into you at Peets the other day!
I found that the article was offensive quite a bit. Discouraging people who like to study and think about theology from being in ministry because they might not be good at having conversations with strangers sounds dangerous to me. I think that we need people with BOTH kinds of temperments in the church. Those of us who are introverted tend to think and then act. People who are extroverted tend to act and then think. I think that a good missional church would have a team of people who had both temperments really. A good missional church would have the careful planning that an introvert would have as well as the energy that a more extroverted pastor would have. Not only that, only encouraging more extroverted personalities to be in leadership in the missional church would make the missional church to be a place where only extroverted people would want to be. People are attracted to leaders who are like themselves. Introversion just brings a set of gifts to mission that are not as likely to be on display as the more extroverted persons gifts may have.
ReplyDeleteBeing an introvert who is attracted to Reformed theology (albeit of a more neo-orthodox bent, e.g. Karl Barth), I can vouch for the finding. The Reformed wing of Protestantism has always been concerned with intricate and inner-coherent theological systems that glorify neither the individual nor society but God. Hence, Presbyterians and other Reformed churches attract those intellectuals who are concerned with the reasons underlying the external aspects of conversion and ecclesial confession. An extrovert, however, would be on average more concerned with furthering the external aspects to the neglect of a sound intellectual presentation of the faith.
ReplyDeleteAs well, Reformed worship is decidedly "low key" -- religious "enthusiasm" is suspect. Such enthusiasm is perceived as serving one's own feelings and experience instead of glorifying God. Most introverts appreciate this for obvious reasons.