I started reading Rob Bell's Velvet Elvis today. I wasn't even 4 pages into the book when Bell stated this point exactly -- except that he doesn't at all attribute it to a difference in personalities.
Here's what often happens: Somebody comes along who has a fresh perspective on the Christian faith. People are inspired. A movement starts. Faith that was stale and dying is now alive. But then the pioneer of the movement -- the painter -- dies and the followers stop exploring. They mistakenly assume that their leader's words were the last ones on the subject, and they freeze their leader's words. They forget that as that innovator was doing this or her part to move things along, that person was merely taking part in the discussion that will go on forever. And so in their commitment to what so-and-so said and did, they end up freezing the faith. -- Rob Bell, in Velvet Elvis
SJ's are the protectors. They value tradition and continuity. They are the ones who remind us how things have been done in the past, who help us remember and adhere to the rules, and who help us to stay on the pathway that we set out upon. It makes sense that they "freeze" the faith at a point because that's the gift/personality that God has bestowed upon them. Without them it would be easy for us to lose focus and wander away from the goals that we set out toward.
NF's are visionaries. Their gift/personality type is one that sees new possibilities, new ways of looking at things, new means of approaching old topics.
NT's are intellectuals. They analyze the ways things have been done and how they might be done better. They innovate and challenge the status quo.
All of these (and SP's as well, of course -- people the Emerging churches are often particularly targeting) are important and valuable perspectives and all are needed to keep a balance. When a church is made up of all SJ's then yes, it will seem very dry and boring and dead. It might not seem dead to the SJ's themselves, but to all of the other personality types that are biding their time in that congregation, it could be quite miserable. But when a church is made up all of NF's, anything goes. You might never know where you'll be from one week to another (theologically, emotionally, etc.) and that might be exciting and refreshing for NF's, but for other personality types, that could be quite unsettling and even disturbing.
God made us with different personality types so that we can learn from each other, so we can balance each other, so that we can guide one another and so that we can love one another despite our differences. We need to learn to listen to each other rather than advocating one personality type over and above another.
I think you're absolutely right, but the question still remains as to which is the best framework (note: not belief system or denomination) for this to happen.
ReplyDeleteBrian McLaren makes similar points to this too, BTW - he says that every kind of church gets defined by and stuck on the thing that made it different from the last one, and he's right. Why do we have baptists, pentecostals, charismatics? They each found something that was missing in the previous incarnation of "church" and instead of taking it into the mix of their faith, they made it the focus. So the question to me is is how to have a church which values the journey that each person is taking, which doesn't exclude any experience that someone may be having, but doesn't get swept along by novelty and try to put people in the same mould.
I think the possibility is that some aspects of the Emerging church are looking promising for this, but it still remains to be seen if they eventually turn into places where you really can be yourself,
Someone once said that every movement starts off being run by prophets and ends up being run by policemen - never more true than of the various denominations.
although i mostly agree with that, i kinda wonder about mainline denominations. the police are definitely ISTJ's and perhaps ESTJ's. the PCA (Presbyterian Church in Ameria -- the denom. our church is in) is full of STJs.
ReplyDeletebut i know of several mainline churches that, granted tend to do things the same way they've always done them, but they're much more people oriented than an STJ church would be (which is very law and rules and "we must teach them these doctrines" oriented).
which makes me wonder if...
when a church has left the visionary stage, and even after some sort of middle of the road/going about merrily stage, it doesn't then split with the police going one way and the more people oriented SFJs going another way. the SFJs get to keep the denominations original name (i think of the PCUSA and the CRC. they fit this well). and the STJs that broke off make a new denomination that ostensibly harkens back to the original values of the denom. (and they get the new names like the OPC, PCA and URC).
the NTs and NFs, in the meantime, get fed up with both the SFJs and the STJs and go start new churches (and new denoms).
"can't we all just get along?"
ReplyDeleteChurch splits etc are a strange dynamic, at the local and national/global levels.
ReplyDeleteOften the people who lead the split aren't really visioniaries, but more like politicians who see an opportunity. I'm not saying that's true in every case, but I've seen it more than once. That doesn't mean that the followers aren't sincere.
There's also an interesting reaction in the case of those who are left - often this brings out more of the policemen in them too.
You might want to add this one to your wishlist: http://www.amazon.com/Church-Other-Side-Brian-McLaren/dp/0310252199 - very sensible advice generally, that we don't need more churches or more denominations, just a better way of doing things generally.