Personality Type and Religious Leadership

Rating:
Summary: Useful and insightful
Review: It is becoming increasingly common in many professions for the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) to be used to help people better understand themselves, their strengths and weaknesses, and their abilities to deal with each other in community.

The MBTI breaks into four essential pairings:

Introvert - Extrovert (I/E)
Sensing - Intuitive (S/N)
Thinking - Feeling (T/F)
Judging - Perceiving (J/P)

People take a psychological inventory test (a series of questions answered yes/no) that are then calculated to place people along four continuums, the four listed above. Thus, every person gets a four letter code (mine is INTJ). The different combinations lead to different general trends of action and preference for people -- some professions fit more naturally with others.

This book by Otto Kroeger (an ENFJ) and Roy Oswald (an INFP) tailors the discussion of the Myers-Brigg indicators to clergy. One important point emphasised is that there is no ideal type, and no type is necessarily better or worse for clergy (or, indeed, for most other professions), as people remain individuals with ability of growth and action. Clergy can be introverts or extroverts, thinkers or feelers, etc. The real strength of the Myers-Briggs test and the interpretations given through Kroeger and Oswald's text is that it helps clergy to identify areas of potential difficulty and conflict.

For example, if a particular clergy person is aware of a tendency toward introversion, she or he can make intentional efforts at being more interactive with people; conversely, if a person tends toward extroversion, she or he might need to be aware to not dominate conversations and situations and include others in the processes. Self-awareness is a necessarily tool for the clergy (and a valuable tool for persons in any profession).

Kroeger and Oswald give information on overall statistics (how many of given types, in clergy samples as well as the general population), and then apply the different temperaments to clerical roles and practices such as pastoral care, leadership, prayer, and spirituality. It pays to become aware not only of one's own temperament type, but also that of others, so that one can more effectively deal with congregation members and colleagues.

Just as there is no ideal type, there is no 'pure' type either. Extremely rare is the person who is a pure introvert or pure extrovert, for example; most people will fall between the extremes, and thus be able to tap into, in many regards, the strengths of other types, and recognise their weaknesses too. This is a good text for understanding personality types.

This book does not have a test included -- the MBTI is not a self-scoring test one can purchase, so readers would be advised to find a place to take the test prior to reading this text.

This is an accessible book, and the test indicators are accessible tools. Oswald and Kroeger state in the introduction that tests that require a Ph.D. for interpretation ultimately aren't that valuable, as most people won't understand them. This test requires no such high level of specific training to comprehend.

Rating:
Summary: Not as helpful as this INTJ would have liked
Review: My first experience with the Meyers-Briggs Personality Test came nearly a year ago, when the seminary tested my entire class. Upon reading the description of the INTJ (which I tested as), I was shocked that I identified with nearly everything the test said about me. Since then, I've read two other books related to the Myers-Briggs test and greatly appreciate all that I've learned about myself, my wife, and my friends from studying personality types.

While these books (including Personality Type and Religious Leadership) have been tremendously insightful, I have not found this book particularly helpful as I continue to prepare for the holy ministry.

There are many things I like about this book. At the forefront of them is the fact that it is based on Myers-Briggs personality profiles, a theory I buy into hook, line, and sinker. As I read this book, I found myself understanding some of my fellow seminarians and some pastors much better. I also came to understand some of the pitfalls that are common of people of my personalty type (along with why they are common).

I also feel compelled to commend the authors for addressing sexual pitfalls common to pastors of particular personality types. They took on a huge, contriversial subject, and treated it in a helpful way. Love and concern for fellow clergy definatley came through in this section of the book.

Things about this book I didn't like are also numerous. The authors try to walk a fine line between being objectively descriptive and pastoral/caring when addressing the personality types, but they often don't succeed in this. They often came across as communicating, "INTJs are not too introverted to be effective and they often don't take others emotional needs into accound, so they often don't last long in parish ministry. But that's not to say that there aren't a whole lot of good INTJ pastors. You can do it!" The authors don't exclusively treat INTJs in this manner, but rather appear pessimistic about anyone who isn't an EFTJ or EFSJ.

Finally, unlike other Myers-Briggs books, I found myself questioning whether they accurately describe me as an INTJ. Other books have me pegged, but I found myself thinking, "no, I can't identify with that; that doesn't sound like me" when certain sections that were supposed to pertain to me. As a result, I am walking away a little unsure about what to work on for my own growth as a pastor.

In sum, I think very highly of the theory upon which this book rests. There are many great Myers-Briggs books out there that I think are able to help people in all walks of life--knowing yourself, your strengths and your weaknesses, is the first step to becoming a happier and more successful person. This particular book, however, seems to miss the mark in a way others have not. I suppose I would recommend it to pastors and seminarians, but barely.

Rating:
Summary: An excellent tool for learning one's natural ministry talent
Review: This book is an excellent resource for helping those entering or presently involved in ministry or Christian service to learn their natural ministry abilities. Based on the Myers-Briggs Temperment Inventory, the strengths and weaknesses of all the personality type indicators are detailed and discussed with candor, compassion and objectivity. Understanding the natural strengths and weaknesses one possesses will help greatly in doing ministry. It will also aid in identifying an area where one may be experiencing a call or strong interest. This book is an effective tool to aid in the sorting and experimenting process. While the authors are experienced professionals in the use of the MBTI within the business community, their knowledge of human personality in ministry and spiritual leadership is well researched and integrated in this book.

Rating:
Summary: An excellent tool for learning one's natural ministry talent
Review: This book is an excellent resource for helping those entering or presently involved in ministry or Christian service to learn their natural ministry abilities. Based on the Myers-Briggs Temperment Inventory, the strengths and weaknesses of all the personality type indicators are detailed and discussed with candor, compassion and objectivity. Understanding the natural strengths and weaknesses one possesses will help greatly in doing ministry. It will also aid in identifying an area where one may be experiencing a call or strong interest. This book is an effective tool to aid in the sorting and experimenting process. While the authors are experienced professionals in the use of the MBTI within the business community, their knowledge of human personality in ministry and spiritual leadership is well researched and integrated in this book.