A few days ago I had a firsthand encounter with the church's overwhelming bias towards extroversion via a small Twitter feud. A dear professor of mine, who is also an introvert, tweeted about his need to nourish his own soul after times of intense service. He was simply pointing out that sometimes caring for people can be absolutely draining. As an introvert he must (yes, must) pull away in order to be refilled emotionally, physically, mentally, and even (especially?) spiritually.
Another tweeter grossly misread our professors statement to say "love yourself as much as you love others" and "care intensely for others as long as it doesn't suck you dry." He adamantly insisted that Jesus' example teaches us to pour ourselves out completely, which means we don't have time to attend to our own needs. We must be constantly serving or we aren't living the cross.
While I absolutely applaud his radical approach to following Christ (which is truly a much needed word for most of us), I can't help but think he is drastically missing the point. He simply cannot wrap his mind around the fact that there are millions of people that need down time after interaction. There is even science to back it up - introverts have a specific brain chemistry that requires a recharging period because of dopamine sensitivity. Too much activity or stimulation leads to intense feelings of exhaustion.
So then what do we do with Jesus? If we assume that he is an extrovert and that following him leads to a life of extroversion, all of the introverts of the world are in trouble. We are sentenced to a life of complete exhaustion when the Savior promises rest for the weary. Fortunately I don't think that is the case.
Perhaps Jesus, the perfect man, is both 100% extrovert and 100% introvert. At times Jesus appears as a deft public speaker, the life of the party, thriving in front of the crowds. However, at other times he looks like a textbook introvert - going away to a solitary place in the morning, praying alone in the garden, associating primarily with a small group of friends, and even trying to get away from the masses to the middle of the lake. Jesus is the best of both temperaments because he is the best of mankind. By his actions, Jesus gives an OK to both introversion and extroversion.
And what of denying ourselves and being poured out for others? Certainly that is our calling as believers. But if Jesus himself needed time for rest and renewal, alone and with close friends, can we not assume that pouring ourselves out completely is compatible with introversion? Isn't there room in the kingdom for those of us who need to carve out alone time so that we can actually be whole people and serve to the best of our abilities? I think so.
Now introversion certainly does not grant us a license to neglect people for the sake of self. That would be un-Christlike. But I believe that nourishing our own soul is in fact a way of serving others. By feeding our souls through solitude, prayer, silence, and even sleep we are allowing God to make us into better ministers.
Unfortunately, the church will continue to embrace an overly extroverted model of faith. Introverts will continue to be misunderstood and even labeled as selfish or unbiblical for their need of solitude. Fortunately, Jesus says that need is fine.
As one friend put it, the God-man himself had to get away for the proverbial cigarette break. He needed rest and he grants it to his followers as well.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Preaching
Next Sunday I will be preaching my first sermon in 5 or 6 years. Somehow I managed to make it to my last year of seminary without yet taking a single preaching course. Since I've spent most of my "work" time peddling coffee or cooking meals for large groups of international students, I haven't really had the occasion to preach outside of seminary either. I guess you could say I'm long overdue.
As I have been preparing for this one day for the last several weeks (and I literally mean several weeks) I've made a few observations about preaching. For one, as an introvert I've really enjoyed the preparation process. Its been great to read, take notes, and reflect with the purpose of sharing in mind. Since I will be speaking I know that someone (probably 70 of them) will hear what I have to say. Even if they don't really internalize what I have to say at least I've done my part by sharing.
I also came across an interesting thought about preaching as I was reading Introverts in the Church. The author pointed out the beauty of preaching for an introvert - uninterrupted speech. Unlike conversation, preaching provides an opportunity to completely share reflections without anyone interjecting. As internal processors, introverts hate interruptions because they provide new information that needs to be processed. The new data forces us back inside ourselves and prevents us from speaking until we have had time to thoroughly reflect. That is why most introverts are bad at speaking on the fly and dread being put on the spot in social situations.
Thinking of preaching in this new light was incredibly freeing for me. Before I had always thought of preaching as an introverts worst nightmare. Why would I ever want to speak in front of a large group of people? Now that I see it as an opportunity to share my thoughts without any interruptions, it actually sounds quite exciting. Of course I'm still nervous about public speaking like most other people, but at least now I can't avoid preaching by playing the introvert card.
Spending all of this time thinking about my sermon, I've also been forced to wonder if preaching is very effective at all. I must have heard thousands of sermons in my life and I honestly can't remember more than a dozen. That doesn't sound like a very high success rate to me. Isn't there a better way to communicate the gospel? Does it always require a 15-45 minute monologue by one member of the congregation?
I'm reading Bonhoeffer's Life Together right now and in the section about community worship he doesn't even mention a sermon as part of worship. Instead the focus is on reading scripture, praying, and singing together. Have we missed something by focusing so much on the pulpit? Perhaps we should focus more on simply reading the text together when we meet for worship and let it speak for itself. Maybe explanation and interpretation of scripture should take place at another time in a conversational setting. Of course that would be a lot messier for everyone and more uncomfortable for introverts like me but it might be the better alternative. After all, I can remember countless conversations I've had about my faith compared to the measly 10 or so sermons I can recollect.
Call me naive but perhaps talking together is a better approach, one that recognizes that all of the voices of the congregation need to be heard. It would be more difficult but it might be worth it.
As I have been preparing for this one day for the last several weeks (and I literally mean several weeks) I've made a few observations about preaching. For one, as an introvert I've really enjoyed the preparation process. Its been great to read, take notes, and reflect with the purpose of sharing in mind. Since I will be speaking I know that someone (probably 70 of them) will hear what I have to say. Even if they don't really internalize what I have to say at least I've done my part by sharing.
I also came across an interesting thought about preaching as I was reading Introverts in the Church. The author pointed out the beauty of preaching for an introvert - uninterrupted speech. Unlike conversation, preaching provides an opportunity to completely share reflections without anyone interjecting. As internal processors, introverts hate interruptions because they provide new information that needs to be processed. The new data forces us back inside ourselves and prevents us from speaking until we have had time to thoroughly reflect. That is why most introverts are bad at speaking on the fly and dread being put on the spot in social situations.
Thinking of preaching in this new light was incredibly freeing for me. Before I had always thought of preaching as an introverts worst nightmare. Why would I ever want to speak in front of a large group of people? Now that I see it as an opportunity to share my thoughts without any interruptions, it actually sounds quite exciting. Of course I'm still nervous about public speaking like most other people, but at least now I can't avoid preaching by playing the introvert card.
Spending all of this time thinking about my sermon, I've also been forced to wonder if preaching is very effective at all. I must have heard thousands of sermons in my life and I honestly can't remember more than a dozen. That doesn't sound like a very high success rate to me. Isn't there a better way to communicate the gospel? Does it always require a 15-45 minute monologue by one member of the congregation?
I'm reading Bonhoeffer's Life Together right now and in the section about community worship he doesn't even mention a sermon as part of worship. Instead the focus is on reading scripture, praying, and singing together. Have we missed something by focusing so much on the pulpit? Perhaps we should focus more on simply reading the text together when we meet for worship and let it speak for itself. Maybe explanation and interpretation of scripture should take place at another time in a conversational setting. Of course that would be a lot messier for everyone and more uncomfortable for introverts like me but it might be the better alternative. After all, I can remember countless conversations I've had about my faith compared to the measly 10 or so sermons I can recollect.
Call me naive but perhaps talking together is a better approach, one that recognizes that all of the voices of the congregation need to be heard. It would be more difficult but it might be worth it.
Friday, July 1, 2011
Ministers?
A couple of posts ago I mentioned the Taize Community. I've been thinking a lot about Taize lately because of the link between Introverts in the Church and the contemplative type of spirituality fostered in the community.
I've also been thinking about the communities' take on ministry in general. For the brothers all tasks are equally ministerial. Some brothers spend their days leading bible studies for pilgrims or running the welcome center for new arrivals. Some brothers focus on planning the 3 daily prayer services. Other brothers spend days making pottery or cooking or cleaning or simply praying. Others are out and about in the world visiting churches and mission projects. All of the brothers are doing ministry, regardless of the task.
See, at Taize life is ministry. All the brothers are ministers regardless of their different functions in the community. So-called "religious" jobs are no more ministry than the "secular" jobs. The distinction between "clergy" and "laity" is virtually nonexistent. That is because the brothers recognize that every believer is absolutely necessary for the mission of God and each is also uniquely gifted and called to serve in different ways. Since God's mission is broad enough to include spiritual, physical, and social healing, the work at Taize is broad enough to include all those aspects. The cook ministers as he provides food, the teacher ministers as he shares the word, the potter ministers as he crafts a beautiful work of art, and the song leaders minister as they raise their voices to their Creator.
I long for this kind of place in my world - a place where you don't necessarily have to be a preacher or a worship leader to truly be considered a minister.
I'm not just talking about a type of place where we recognize a mechanic telling someone about Jesus as a minister of sorts but a place where the work of a cook or an artist or a doctor or a technician is recognized as ministry in and of itself. Since God's mission is big enough to include physical, spiritual, social, and even cultural healing, it seems like whatever we deem ministry should be at least that big as well.
Jesus ministers to whole people and as his body it takes each and every one of us, preacher and janitor alike, to minister to his whole world, in all of its manifest needs.
I've also been thinking about the communities' take on ministry in general. For the brothers all tasks are equally ministerial. Some brothers spend their days leading bible studies for pilgrims or running the welcome center for new arrivals. Some brothers focus on planning the 3 daily prayer services. Other brothers spend days making pottery or cooking or cleaning or simply praying. Others are out and about in the world visiting churches and mission projects. All of the brothers are doing ministry, regardless of the task.
See, at Taize life is ministry. All the brothers are ministers regardless of their different functions in the community. So-called "religious" jobs are no more ministry than the "secular" jobs. The distinction between "clergy" and "laity" is virtually nonexistent. That is because the brothers recognize that every believer is absolutely necessary for the mission of God and each is also uniquely gifted and called to serve in different ways. Since God's mission is broad enough to include spiritual, physical, and social healing, the work at Taize is broad enough to include all those aspects. The cook ministers as he provides food, the teacher ministers as he shares the word, the potter ministers as he crafts a beautiful work of art, and the song leaders minister as they raise their voices to their Creator.
I long for this kind of place in my world - a place where you don't necessarily have to be a preacher or a worship leader to truly be considered a minister.
I'm not just talking about a type of place where we recognize a mechanic telling someone about Jesus as a minister of sorts but a place where the work of a cook or an artist or a doctor or a technician is recognized as ministry in and of itself. Since God's mission is big enough to include physical, spiritual, social, and even cultural healing, it seems like whatever we deem ministry should be at least that big as well.
Jesus ministers to whole people and as his body it takes each and every one of us, preacher and janitor alike, to minister to his whole world, in all of its manifest needs.
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