Introverted Church: More resources

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

More resources

I've added Anne Jackson's Mad Church Disease to be my recommended books on the sidebar - I think it is a great resource for all pastors, but perhaps especially introverted pastors who might be quicker to burnout than extroverts.

There is a new book on our topic, called Living Introverted: Learning to Embrace the Quiet Life Without Guilt by LeeAnn Lambert. I don't know anything about the book or the author, though I just received my copy from Amazon. At first glance, it seems to offer a lot of practical suggestions for those introverts who struggle in social settings.

One interesting thing I've noticed recently is that ALL the other books about introverts are written by women; as far as I know I am the first man writing a book length treatment of the topic. Any theories about this?

1 comments:

CaseyApr 25, 2009 08:04 PM
Re: Gender and introverts.

Just a rough cut at it, but maybe because some introverted traits are more closely associated with expectations of masculinity, fewer men are inclined to investigate introversion itself as being distinctive. I mean, if a common idea of manliness is to be stoic, independent and inclined to leave the socializing to the wife, then most guys may look at that behavior pattern an think it natural, while women, who are traditionally expected to play hostess (comfortable making small talk in crowds, hospitable, outward-focused on pleasing others) may be more inclined to ask why if their personalities are such that doing so doesn't suit them. I'm playing with stereotypes of masculinity and femininity, of course, but particularly if you're asking about authors in the world of Christian publishing, those gender role expectations have a certain amount of currency. Just some thoughts off the top of my head.
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