Ok, I certainly I'm not going to even try put Jesus into a personality box, and I believe that He came to be all things to all people (even introverts), which motivated Paul to pursue the same (1 Corinthians 9:22-23). So I am not going to even try to claim the Son of God as the King of the Introverts. But the purpose of this blog is to free the introverts to see of the virtues of introversion, and some of those virtues were exhibited by Jesus. So I can think of no better person that can free the Introverted Soul than Jesus!
Here are ways Jesus exhibited the virtues of Introversion:
1. Energized by Solitude- 40 days in the wilderness, retreated from the crowds who clamoring for more, Luke describes him as often withdrawing himself from the multitudes
2. Internal Processing- sought alone time with God to process who were to be the 12 disciples, went to pray alone before the crucifixion, instructed us to pray privately
3. Depth over breadth- don't babble, Jesus spoke in parables which were often short and simple stories yet carried DEEP meaning
So there are some very Christ-like virtues that Introverts have! There are also some very extroverted qualities that are Christ-like, so I don't want to leave them out, BUT this a blog dedicated to introverted souls, so I can't help but be a little biased!
Aug
30
The introverted church
I love working at a church. I love being able to serve people, and working at a church, I'm able to publicly and intentionally serve people for the sole purpose of glorifying Jesus Christ, which is something I would never get in the business world, which is where the Introverted Soul started. So I wanted to get that out of the way before going deeper into this post.
One thing that challenges me at times in corporate worship settings is how to approach an introverted church. As the Introverted Soul, you would think I would be more sensitive to an introverted church, but I can't deny then when I'm worshiping among people that are more expressive and open during worship, it is energizing, encouraging, validating. The church I now serve has people who are very expressive in worship, but overall the folks would be classified as introverted with how they worship. The introverted church would describe their worship as reflective, cerebral, and reverent. Certainly nothing wrong with that, and I wholeheartedly believe those are God-honoring ways to worship. But the introverted church also needs to challenge itself as to whether the expressions are motivated by reverence or by self-consciousness, fear, or flat out disobedience--or said more simply, motivated by pride.
So the question is the introverted church motivated out of reverence or pride? I can see both sides. I have been in worship situations where I am in a mode where quiet reflection and meditation feels like feels obedient to the Spirit. I have also been in modes where I've literally felt like I've been lifted out of my seat and my arms were raised above my head almost like a puppet on a string (me=puppet, string=Holy Spirit). So I totally get that worship is expressed in many different ways. The key is being allowing yourself to be vulnerable and obedient to Spirit.
So the beef is when people are staunchly against allowing themselves to express certain forms of biblical worship. Some introverted church folks say they could never allow themselves to do such things as shout (Psalm 100) or raise their hands (Psalm 134:2) in the context of worship, and judge those who do. I think the fact they won't allow themselves even if the option of expressing themselves that way is pride. The extroverted types who constantly judge people who are more reserved are prideful as well, because outwardly expressive worship is not a tell-tale sign of obedient worship (see Psalm 46:10).
But to go back to addressing the introverted church, let's examine our motives and see where that takes us. I do believe our introversion can be reverently pure, but I would not want to use it as an excuse for pride.
One thing that challenges me at times in corporate worship settings is how to approach an introverted church. As the Introverted Soul, you would think I would be more sensitive to an introverted church, but I can't deny then when I'm worshiping among people that are more expressive and open during worship, it is energizing, encouraging, validating. The church I now serve has people who are very expressive in worship, but overall the folks would be classified as introverted with how they worship. The introverted church would describe their worship as reflective, cerebral, and reverent. Certainly nothing wrong with that, and I wholeheartedly believe those are God-honoring ways to worship. But the introverted church also needs to challenge itself as to whether the expressions are motivated by reverence or by self-consciousness, fear, or flat out disobedience--or said more simply, motivated by pride.
So the question is the introverted church motivated out of reverence or pride? I can see both sides. I have been in worship situations where I am in a mode where quiet reflection and meditation feels like feels obedient to the Spirit. I have also been in modes where I've literally felt like I've been lifted out of my seat and my arms were raised above my head almost like a puppet on a string (me=puppet, string=Holy Spirit). So I totally get that worship is expressed in many different ways. The key is being allowing yourself to be vulnerable and obedient to Spirit.
So the beef is when people are staunchly against allowing themselves to express certain forms of biblical worship. Some introverted church folks say they could never allow themselves to do such things as shout (Psalm 100) or raise their hands (Psalm 134:2) in the context of worship, and judge those who do. I think the fact they won't allow themselves even if the option of expressing themselves that way is pride. The extroverted types who constantly judge people who are more reserved are prideful as well, because outwardly expressive worship is not a tell-tale sign of obedient worship (see Psalm 46:10).
But to go back to addressing the introverted church, let's examine our motives and see where that takes us. I do believe our introversion can be reverently pure, but I would not want to use it as an excuse for pride.
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