Introverts in the Church - Book Review

Twenty years ago I took the Myers-Briggs personality inventory as part of career counseling while in an unsatisfying job. When I met with my counselor he informed me that 80% of the work I was doing in my present job was what the opposite of personality loved to do. There was nothing wrong with the job. There was nothing wrong with me. We just weren’t suitable matches for each other. I’m an INTJ (heavy on the NT, light on the I and J.)

The experience opened my eyes to other aspects of my life … family, friendships and even my relationship with God. My upbringing was in a large Church of the Nazarene congregation where worship services were designed to evoke strong emotional responses frequently climaxing with an alter call. The absence of deep reflection and what I experienced as emotional manipulation in that culture contributed (along with some doctrinal differences) to my exit to the Presbyterian Church, USA, as a young adult … though I could not have made a connection between temperament and my frustration at that time. It wasn’t until I was in my thirties that I came to better understand what role temperament plays in so many aspects of our lives.

Now comes Adam McHugh’s excellent book, Introverts in the Church: Finding Our Place in an Extroverted Culture. Adam is a Presbyterian pastor and a spiritual director. While the book is targeted to introverts, it needs to be read by a broader audience … particularly those who are in congregational leadership. I’ve worked with a number of churches going through a visioning process. One of my perceptions is that many of the sticking points about vision for worship and programming are related to the temperaments of the people taking particular positions. People have frequently elevated their personal proclivities to the level of God’s ordaining decree. McHugh’s book is a breath of fresh air.

Extroversion and introversion are not mutually exclusive. McHugh likens it to being left-handed and right-handed. We all use both hands but most of us have an innate proclivity toward one over the other. So it is with extroversion and introversion. Extroverts tend to draw energy from being with other people and expend energy in isolation. Introverts are just the opposite. Extroverts tend to learn through a trial and error process of engagement with a variety of experiences and people. Introverts tend to learn through deep internal reflection on a more limited number of experiences and relationships. McHugh gives other delineations. Neither temperament is right or wrong. Both are needed.

What McHugh astutely observes is the domination of extroverted modes of relating in the Evangelical world. For that reason, many introverted Evangelicals feel deeply out of place in their church community. Introverts in the Church helps introverts give voice to the discomfort they feel … I know he does for me. But it secondarily highlights how the church fails to effectively be a holistic community that brings together people of different temperaments because of deeply held assumptions that see extroversion as the normative way of leading, relating, and worshiping. 

In short, I think this book is a must read for at least two audiences. First, are the introverts like myself who need help making sense of their world. Second, are church leaders who want to create truly holistic communities that function with full diversity of temperaments God has blessed us with. Thank you Adam McHugh for one of the most insightful books I’ve read on spiritual formation and Christian Community in awhile.

Comments

[Josh Rowley]

Sounds like a book worth reading (I'm an introvert). Somewhere I have read that Presbyterian pastors are more likely to be introverted than are clergy of other denominations, but I don't remember where. It was suggested as one contributing factor in the decline of Presbyterian churches.

[Michael W. Kruse]

I don't know if that stat is true or not but it wouldn't surprise me. I've long held the suspicion that denominations tend to draw/repel certain temperaments. Our resistance to the stereotypical forms of evangelism, our deeply intellectual church culture, and our desire to worship decently and in order with liturgy all speak to things that would seemingly be attractive to introverts.

[Travis Greene]

This is one of many books on my wishlist.

I'm an INFJ (though the F is kind of borderline).

[JMorrow]

I'll definitely check out the book. I for one have seen myself change on the Myers-Brigg results over time. And it definitely effects the kind of ministry I want to engage in or at least where.

I think this statement you make:

"But it secondarily highlights how the church fails to effectively be a holistic community that brings together people of different temperaments because of deeply held assumptions about that see extroversion as the normative way of leading, relating, and worshiping."

has implications not only for diversity of temperament, but also of culture in the Church. If we can see temperamental differences and their effect upon the way our communities and institutions work, then it gives me hope that we can see other differences and tackle/embrace them in like manner.

[Dana Ames]

Travis! Me too! No wonder I'm always nodding my head at your comments, here and at Jesus Creed!

Dana

[Michael Bird]

Michael, I'm INTJ as well. In fact, two psychologists told me that I'm so task orientated, that I'm quite likely to commit acts of genocide if deemed necessary to achieve a goal or deadline! You're not alone!!!

[Michael W. Kruse]

LOL. One counselor told me that every organization needs one or two of our temperament in leadership ... and God help the organization that has more than one or two our type in leadership! ;-)

[Jamie Arpin-Ricci]

Wow, two other INTJ's visiting the same post. Let me make it 3! It is a fantastic book and I second the endorsement big time.

PEace,
Jamie

[Pat]

My copy has just arrived and I can't wait to dig into it. Make that 4 INTJs.

[ceemac]

make it 5... about to go order it

[Travis Greene]

Dana,

Ditto.

[david]

Here is an INTP saying this a book that I will be ordering. Thank you!

[Pat]

Loved it, loved it, loved it. Seldom have I read a book that had me exclaiming out loud, "Oh my goodness!" It was as if McHugh was describing me to a "T". Because McHugh is an introvert, and a reflective one at that, his insights are keen and will be liberating to the introvert. They should also be eye-opening for those seeking to understand introverts. The best chapter I thought was the one entitled, "Introverted Community and Relationships". There McHugh makes the case that not everyone participates in community in the same way and introverts actually operate on a spiral, moving in and out of community as a way to reflect and recharge their batteries. But, I've probably said enough. If you haven't yet gotten this book, I encourage you to do so. You won't be disappointed.

[Dave Hackett]

OK, I just have to write SOMETHING here (and process my thinking outloud) as a full-fledged extrovert. The book sounds like a substantive contribution.

I've long felt that we diminish the church by our not-too-subtle insistence that the "best" pastors are of one temperament or another. More commonly we bias, I think, toward introvert/reflective types.

As a strong extrovert Presbyterian, I often rebel at the push for pastors to deliver what I call somberness, solemnity, and quietness when the body is gathered. That's where I feel the strength of introverts in the church.

I can't "do" somber and never have been able to do it. (I'd much rather make a party, even out of worship.)

One result of this temperament differential led me to discover the freedom of parachurch ministry (non-profit) - a MUCH healthier place for me where people are encouraged to relate freely and be who they are, etc etc.

This comment is, of course, a jab at our pastoral notions that often (it seems to me) look for deep-wells-of-reflective-wisdom-but-introverted kinds of pastors. The better answer, of course, is that the body of Christ builds itself up best when we have a variety of temperaments in all the leadership positions.

[Travis Greene]

Dave, your point is well-made, and I don't doubt your own experiences. But I suspect outside of your Presbyterian circles, the strong bias is not for pastors to be introverted.

In any event, I agree that the main point is that we are all created differently in order to together make up the body of Christ. Shoehorning everybody into one kind of personality or style, whatever that is, is not helpful and in fact is downright harmful.