Further to my post the other day, see this post from Brother Maynard on the question of introversion, and the article he links to in The Atlantic online.
Technorati Tags: personality, ministry, BrotherMaynard
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Big Circumstance 
Some random thoughts.
Are there no intraverts in the church? If so, do they all want extravert ministers? (‘I’m not comfortable with your pain so I won’t listen and I’ll make a lot of noise so as not to have to bear it and then I’ll either suggest that you cheer up and/or tell you that it’s all in God’ls plan’ ???)
God must have created people with different personality types for a reason. What would the world be like if everyone were an ENFP, for example?
Personally, I also think that there are different types of worship for the same reason. Charismatic evangelical worship and a 3 hour Orthodox liturgy may speak to different people in different ways, but the important thing is that God is present in worship. Charismatic evangelical worship / spirituality / theology is not the be all and end all of Christian life even if it does have many appealing aspects. Surely God must want everyone – lay and ordained – to minister from the personality that he created them to be?
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Pam,
I think you’re right on the money here. One book I’ve added to my Amazon Wish List, on the recommendation of someone else who comments on this blog (Wayne Field, if I recall), is called Leveraging Your Leadership Style. It’s due out on 1st August. I also recall a good Grove Booklet on personality types and ministry about two years ago, but I can’t find it after a quick look on my shelf. It didn’t use Myers-Briggs, but it did focus in on how different personalities have different styles of ministry. Recognising this would make stationing of ministers a better process, I think – not because it would always lead to a good fit, but because it would also alert congregations/circuits/parishes to false expectations about church leaders.
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Pam,
I think you’re right on the money here. One book I’ve added to my Amazon Wish List, on the recommendation of someone else who comments on this blog (Wayne Field, if I recall), is called Leveraging Your Leadership Style. It’s due out on 1st August. I also recall a good Grove Booklet on personality types and ministry about two years ago, but I can’t find it after a quick look on my shelf. It didn’t use Myers-Briggs, but it did focus in on how different personalities have different styles of ministry. Recognising this would make stationing of ministers a better process, I think – not because it would always lead to a good fit, but because it would also alert congregations/circuits/parishes to false expectations about church leaders.
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