Wednesday, July
11, 2018
“Be still, and
know that I am God! I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored
throughout the world.” Psalm 46:10(NLT)
Yesterday’s devotion on
patience revealed how “anxious” a control-freak pastor can get when stuff
happens to turn a worship service on its ear.
I’d like to revisit that today for a few moments to pull back the flap
of an introvert’s quiet, control-loving insides.
That thing the Psalmist wrote
about being still is something that comes naturally to me. Introverts prefer – uh, change that to love,
crave, and would sometimes actually consider killing for – quiet! Well, not really, but you get the
picture. My traditional response to seeing
high-energy interactive opportunities is to grab a book and head for the
nearest quiet corner!
The difference between “type-A”
and “type-B” (extroverted vs. introverted) personality types is
well-documented. The A-types crave
interaction and being with as many others as can fill a noisy room. Type-B’s prefer one-on-one, and a much
quieter experience.
Some research about pastors
indicates there are many more introverted pastors than the other. Strange, isn’t it? You know that old saying about the pickup
line in a bar: What’s a nice girl like you doing
in a place like this? It applies
here: Hey, pastor, what’s an
introverted book worm like you doing leading a frenzied mess we call church?
Now that may say two
things: the first is that you don’t choose
ministry; it captures you when God taps you on the shoulder and says: Saddle-up, bucko…it’s time to ride. The other thing has to do with God’s sense of
humor; only God would choose a quiet-loving person to be a pastor, where he has
to stand in front of a crowd, and stand-up even in the awkward moments to push
for the right thing to be done. You
gotta love God’s sense of humor!
Now, it’s not that
introverts can’t function in a crowd; we just prefer the quieter
ways. But when we do find ourselves in
the fast lane, we will hunt the quickest exit ramp. That’s because socializing really takes the
energy out of an introvert’s batteries. After
the ball is over it takes a lot longer to recharge our batteries than the
average extrovert.
So, what does that mean to
the introverted pastor who wants to obey God’s call to share the Good News, but
still maintain sanity, relevance, and transparent integrity? In short, how can I still be who I really am,
if I must continually work against the natural tendencies I was born with? I’m quiet by nature, but I must speak
up. I’m shy in social situations, but I’m
called to engage anyway. I prefer
thinking, but am expected to talk.
Well, it IS a problem, but,
before we gavel the Russell pity-party to order here, let’s take a look
around. What other kinds of “natural”
tendencies do we see that God seems to want us to “overcome” in favor of something
opposite?
·
What about tempers popping-off at the slightest offense?
·
How about gluttonous appetites going back for a fourth time at the
buffet line at the annual homecoming dinner on the grounds?
·
What about the anger that crushes a spouse’s hopes and dreams, or even
her eye socket and collarbone?
·
What about the tendency to give up on people or even church?
·
What about the child learning to go through life as if everyone else is
unimportant…only to be screamed at if you don’t get the toy you wanted?
·
What about striking-back when the world has done you dirty?
·
And, lest we forget the current ruckus in which the United Methodist
Church is embroiled – sexuality issues.
What about our tendencies to do, (and be) what we want – the way we were
made…work out all that animal lust our way, and not God’s way?
In the same way this
introvert, flawed, sometimes petulantly quiet and moody, needs to get a life,
put on a smile, shake a hand, and give a hug to someone who needs it, all of us
need to keep our natural tendencies under the influence of self-discipline.
God calls all of us to that!
For You Today
Paul told the Ephesian church this
about their natural tendencies that made them selfish and less than Kingdom
stars for Jesus:
We are to
grow up and be more like Christ. He is the leader of the church.
Ephesians 4:15b(NLV)
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[1] Title Image: Courtesy of Pixabay.com
