What is the Perfect Christian?
By: Travis Haines
Tags: Extrovert, Introvert, Perfectionism, Christianity, Christian Living

What is your idea of the Perfect Christian?

Who do you think of when you think of the perfect Christian? What attributes and/or characteristics does that person have? Is it a person that is highly sociable with a big smile? Does this person exude passion and eagerly participate in any and all church activities? Is he or she comfortable with the spotlight and attract crowds of people? Does this person often have people over to their house for small groups or maybe just to have fun?

I am willing to bet most of you saw these traits in that person you saw as the “perfect Christian”. And if you didn’t, I am willing to bet this was your description as the perfect Christian before you learned about introversion. I’m not going to lie. I did. I always saw those that were more outgoing and sociable in the church as the more spiritual ones. The ones closer to God. Why else would they be that excited?

Lets look at the Stats

One of my favorite books on the topic of Christian introversion is “Introverts in the Church” by Adam McHugh. Chapter one of that book is actually what inspired the writing of this article. Adam tells us about a study that was done with students of Harvard University. The students were asked to rate Jesus according to the Myers Briggs personality traits. Interestingly enough, most of the students rated Jesus to be almost identical to themselves on almost all the personality traits. For instance, when it came to being a thinker or a feeler, students portrayed Jesus as more of a feeler if the student was also a feeler.

The more interesting part is when they came to the part of the study that asked students to rate Jesus as an introvert or an extrovert. Overwhelmingly, 97% of students said Jesus was an extrovert. This was bewildering given the fact that over half of the students surveyed were introverts themselves. So, despite the fact students saw Jesus as sharing their same personality, for the most part, even introverts overwhelmingly put him in the extroverted category. This means that there is a skewed perception of the “Perfect Christian”. This study shows us that an ideal Christian is a person with an extroverted personality. Why is this?

Well, I don’t think it is out of line to believe that our western culture has a lot to do with this skewed perception. Here in the U.S., we tend to put those with an extroverted personality to a higher esteem, as opposed to the eastern culture that prefers introspective thinkers. We envy those that can wow a crowd and speak to people they just met as if they have been friends for years.

Our great leaders are outspoken and can thrive in the spotlight. They don’t take “no” for an answer and they don’t let feelings get in the way of there failures. That’s who we look up too. When we think of perfection, we think of a better version of ourselves. And here in America, our better selves are more sociable and outspoken. So it is no wonder we see the perfect Christian as that sociable, outspoken person. So where did this idea come from?

The Paradigm Shift

Susan Cane, author of the book “Quiet: The Power of Introversion in a World that Can’t Stop Talking“, calls this the “extrovert ideal”. Which means, our ideal selves are extroverts. We no longer look up to the man that uses his thoughts but rather his words. Susan covers a paradigm shift that happened at the turn of the 20th century that might explain how this came about. As we began to live in big cities and surround ourselves with more strangers, we relied more on a persons personality or first impression to get a sense of who they are.

This was the opposite of how we judged a persons character in the 19th century. In the 19th century, we lived in mostly small towns, where everyone knew you and you knew all of them. With a lifetime of knowing certain people, we were able to judge on true character rather than first impression or charisma.

We now look up to the man that uses his words. Especially if he says it with such confidence. Modern evangelicalism is a good example of this. It is noted in the book, “Introverts in the Church“, that when Adam McHugh goes in for an assistant pastor interview, the preacher directly tells him there is no room for a person that is not extroverted and lively. That is a pretty straightforward pastor and one that believes introversion is a sign of spiritual immaturity. When I read that statement, it made me wonder how many other people believe that. My guess is a whole lot! As you may guess, I don’t believe that one bit. And I hope you don’t.

Was Jesus an Introvert?

As I study the life of Christ, I don’t see him as an extrovert. I don’t even see him as an introvert. I see him as the perfect Christian. Now he obviously wasn’t a Christian (because that term came about after his death), but you get my point. Jesus was the perfect example of what God wanted from man. When man was created, Jesus is what God intended. Adam was that man until he sinned. Which in turn no longer made him the example we should live by.

Jesus was not an introvert or an extrovert. He was all the personality types in one, embodying the perfect balance. This balance is what we all should strive for. He was able to go along the introvert-extrovert continuum (mentioned here) depending on the situation he was in. Jesus showed extroverted qualities while at the synagogue preaching or when was able to speak to crowds of people without feeling anxiety. He showed introverted tendencies while seeking solitude and cherishing small groups, such as the time he and the disciples went to see Mary and Martha.

A ministry student, Gary Baldwin, wrote a doctoral paper that covers this very topic. It is called “A Personality Theory of Christian Personality“. In his paper, he mentions a man by the name of John Sanford and his book, “The Kingdom Within“. Johns take on Jesus’ personality hits the nail on the head in my opinion.

He [John A. Sanford] clarifies that maturity, specifically spiritual

maturity, comes in consciously developing and balancing all facets of the human

personality. Through a careful study of the Gospels he reveals in Jesus a personality that

is perfectly developed and balanced.

This means that we have to constantly work on our spiritual and physical maturity by putting a conscious effort into developing our personality. Gary also points out in his paper that throughout different stages of our life, we are working on developing different functions which make up our ultimate personality in the end. Each function is a part of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. Read more about that here.

Attitude: E . . . . . . . . . . . | . . . . . . . . . . . . I

Perceiving Function: S . . . . . . . . . . . | . . . . . . . . . . . . N

Judging Function: T . . . . . . . . . . . | . . . . . . . . . . . . F

Generic Functions: J . . . . . . . . . . . | . . . . . . . . . . . . P

It is believed that we don’t reach a more balanced personality until after the age of 50. In Gary’s paper, the balance is described as “greater psychological dexterity”. Which I think is a pretty fantastic term. It just paints a better picture of what you are trying to achieve. Being able to balance between personalities as effortlessly as possible.

Conclusion

As Christians, our goal is to be “like Christ”. Christ was perfect in all of his ways and was sent here to be the example to mankind. Because of his perfection, he was perfectly balanced in his personality. Which is what we should be striving for. If you are an introvert, don’t settle in your introversion. Work to strengthen your extroverted side. Engage with others and put yourself out there sometimes. The world will benefit and be a much better place because of it. If you are an extrovert, find the time to practice introspection and reflection. You will gain a much greater understanding of who you are and what you really want out of life. It also gives you that quiet time to actually listen for God.

Yes, God made you a certain way and there is a reason he made you that way. Each person, or type of person, has their strengths and weaknesses. It is okay to have a preferred personality. But it is not okay to let that personality define who you are as a person. Only you can define you. Tim Challies, of Challies.com says, “Introversion is a useful description, but a poor definition” and I couldn’t agree more.

The answer you have been waiting for…

I want to wrap up by saying, the perfect Christian is not an Introvert or an Extrovert. It is not the person who enjoys being on stage or working a crowd. It is not even the person that in alone all day in his den studying the word of God and reading book about theology. The perfect christian is a perfect mix of all of those aspects, and more. That mix might look a little different for everyone. You will obviously play more to your strengths and talents. That is why God gave them to you. Rest assured, the more you work to find that balance as Christ had, the more you will be fulfilled in your faith.

This article and more like it are also at ChristianIntrovert.com