The last part of my interview about Introverts in the Church, with Jamie Arpin-Ricci:
JAR: What does it mean for introverts to be missional? To engage in evangelism? Do you have any examples to illustrate?
AM: I saw a blog post a while back that called introverts “sugar in the missional gas tank.” I was surprised by the lack of nuance and thoughtfulness in that post, but even more so I was startled that many commentors actually agreed with the author. Clearly, in many circles introverts are trying to dig themselves out of a deep hole, and maybe my book, if nothing else, will make a good shovel. It is a false dichotomy to say that extroverts do the work of evangelism and outreach, and introverts do the work of spirituality and prayer. It’s not a matter of different activities; it’s a matter of different ways of doing many of the same activities. Introverts can do evangelism, introverts can engage in the missio Dei, and if we are not, we are missing out a key and vital part of our discipleship. For introverts, the most important aspect of mission is context. We will likely to be better in one-on-one contexts than we will be in large groups, and we will likely be better with the same people over time than we will be with encountering strangers. If we center our strategies for evangelism and mission around our personal interests, then we will have more to say and we will find more energy from it. If we find ways to use our natural skills – listening, behind-the-scenes service, compassion, creativity and imagination – in our outreach, then we will be more successful.
I have an introverted friend who is an amazing sculptor, and she told me that she views her art as a wordless way of communicating the gospel. It’s not just that she hopes her art will become a conversation starter, but she prays what she sculpts will actually be a vehicle for mediating the presence of a creative, tender God. She knows that evangelism requires words as well but that God transcends and is more mysterious than any of our verbal formulas and homilies we so often us to try to bring someone to faith.
JAR: Tell us something about yourself that is completely odd and random.
AM: I have this weird thing for cats. I have 4 of them and I experience this odd resonance with them because cats are introverts. Sometimes when the doorbell rings I fantasize about running and hiding under the bed with them.
JAR: Thanks Adam.
That callous comment betrays a complete ignorance of what introversion means. I think you make a good point that introverts being better in a one-on-one context. After all, we tend to be more apt at listening to the other person's thoughts and feelings as opposed to broadcasting our own thoughts. This tends to be more attractive to people.
ReplyDeleteFor myself, I find that I have a passion for bringing people together, and then being able to step into the background to let them get to know each other. In other words, I help facilitate relationship building between people.
We all have our own unique role to fill, whether we are introverted like I am or extroverted.
When I was involved in campus ministry, my extraverted friends (and even some closet introverts) had a hard time understanding me because I was extremely uncomfortable going door-to-door with a bulleted list of things to say while evangelizing. It feels too much like I'm trying to sell God like a vacuum cleaner. It feels extremely shallow (and introverts hate shallowness).
ReplyDeleteI beleive that the Holy Spirit gifted us introverts with some valuable skills. Sure, it comes at a cost - we can be socially awkward at times, but we can overcome that as we get to know other people. We're better listeners. We don't rudely interrupt to "preach" to the other person. We give them space to tell their story. In the end, people who have gotten to know us respect us for our non-invasiveness. I find that people are more open to the Gospel when approached as individual souls created in the image of God rather than mere statistics.
It's also fun watching the surprise on my friends' faces when they see my fun side. ;-)
Thanks for your comments gentlemen. Both of you remind me of something: There are different kinds of introverts - even those who are able to "gather" people (I think that's a rare gift among introverts, Al). We cannot be typecast or reduced to one dimension. We are far more interesting than some people might think!
ReplyDeleteI relate to the idea of running to hide under the bed when the doorbell rings...sometimes even when the phone rings...?
ReplyDeleteI relate to the idea of running to hide under the bed when the doorbell rings...sometimes even when the phone rings...?
ReplyDelete