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Have you been watching the tragic saga of the
wildfires of Southern California? I am amazed at the heroism that
emerges in times of crisis. I have been fascinated by the diversity
of individuals required to address the needs of this emergency. The
tireless energy of firefighters working day and night, catching cat
naps on their trucks as able. Pilots leading multiple flights to drop
fire retardant on the blazes, law enforcers to keep secured areas
clear, planners and engineers plotting the best course of action,
caregivers and relief workers to calm shattered nerves, camera workers
and newscasters to keep us up to date on the events, and so many
others have been called upon to respond to an urgent situation. I
realized as I watched a review of the week on Friday morning, that
it takes all kinds of people to address the urgent needs of
humanity.
I think Jesus tried to communicate a sense of urgency to his
followers. In each of the Gospels, Jesus begins his ministry with a
bang. He is healing people here, teaching people there, welcoming the
outcast, challenging the insiders. He is truly a man on a mission.
Soon the mission becomes too big for only one man, even if he is the
Messiah. He calls others not only to follow, but also to lead. He
chose twelve apostles, twelve lead disciples, who would represent for
the New Testament, the New Covenant, the twelve tribes of the Old
Testament. And just like those of the Old Testament they are a varied
lot. I guess it is safe to say that the Kingdom of God takes
all kinds. The Kingdom of God takes all kinds.
Listen to Matthew’s introduction of the twelve in Matthew 10:1-4.
Hear the urgency and the diversity in this call. Hear now the Word of
the Lord:
1Then Jesus summoned his
twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast
them out, and to cure every disease and every sickness. 2These
are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon, also known as
Peter, and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother
John; 3Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax
collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; 4Simon the
Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed him.
The Word of God for the people of God. Thanks be to God. In
this passage Matthew introduced to his readers the twelve apostles who
were sent to multiply the ministry of Jesus. A brief survey of this
list leads the reader to conclude that the kingdom of God takes
all kinds.
We are in the midst of a sermon series designed to help each of us
find our S.T.R.I.D.E. for Ministry. S.T.R.I.D.E. is an acronym
developed to assist people to discover their place for ministry. The
S is for Spiritual Gifts. The T
is for Talents. The R is for Resources.
The I is for Individuality. Each of us is
a unique individual. We have our own personality type and our own
preferred work environment. In the study “Serving from the Heart”,
which a number of our Sunday School classes are studying, the lesson
on Individuality is taught through the use of two spectrums. One of
those has to do with Personality Type and the other has to do with
Preferred Work Environment. These are aspects of your personality
that help to determine your most effective place of ministry. These
are descriptions, not value judgments. There is no wrong place on the
spectrum. The kingdom of God takes all kinds.
The Kingdom of God takes all kinds of personality
types.
Imagine if you will a line stretching from left to right. On the far
left is written the word, “Introvert”. On the far right is the word,
“Extrovert”. These words do not have much to do with how much or how
loud one talks. The best way to describe them is the way a person
takes in the world, renews his or her energy, processes information,
and schedules time. If you find yourself drained when around a lot of
people for an extended period of time, you are probably an Introvert.
If you find yourself energized at parties and group gatherings, while
experiencing boredom when alone for long, you are probably an
Extrovert. Of course, these are descriptions, not value words. There
is no wrong place on the Introvert/Extrovert spectrum.
I am certain that the twelve apostles had places all along this
spectrum. I am confident that this is one of the reasons Jesus chose
them. Matthew was probably an Extrovert and I would guess so was
James, the brother of John. Matthew was chosen to be a follower of
Christ in chapter 9 of the book that bears his name. He was sitting
at his tax booth when Jesus said, “Follow me.” Matthew followed, but
first he had Jesus over for dinner. At that dinner, described in
Matthew 9:10, Matthew had invited his friends, which do not seem to be
small in number. Of course, the only friends that Matthew had were
tax collectors and sinners. Tax collectors were doubly despised
because; a) they worked for the hated, oppressive Roman government,
and b) they made their money by arbitrarily tacking on their own
rather exorbitant fees to the people in their region. No one liked
the tax collectors, except other tax collectors and sinners who were
on the outside of the respected circles as well. So there they are in
Matthew 9:10 – tax collectors, sinners, and disciples. It was more
than the Pharisees, the religious leaders, could stand.
James was a different sort of extrovert. He was not that much of a
religious or social insider, but he was one of the first called by
Jesus. He and his brother, John (who wrote his own Gospel account),
were fishing when Jesus called them. Their mom, Salome, was around
them even as they journeyed with Jesus. Once she asked Jesus if he
would see to it that one of her boys would be on his left and the
other on his right when he set up his kingdom. James himself had been
known to argue with his brother about this. These were some ambitious
boys and James winds up using his extroversion for the kingdom good,
preaching boldly. In Acts 12, Herod, killed the well-known leader to
see how the people would react. Extroverts have been used mightily in
the kingdom of God.
I am certain that there were also introverts in the band of
disciples. They do tend to be a little less known, although I believe
that James’ brother, John, was an Introvert. Reading his gospel
account, there is something reflective about him. He seemed to be one
who was all right going off with Jesus to a quiet place to pray.
Bartholomew also showed some signs of being an Introvert. In John 1,
Bartholomew, who is called Nathanael, seems to be meditating under a
fig tree when he encounters news about Jesus. His exchange with the
Savior points to the personality of an Introvert. It is important to
remember that these are descriptions, not value judgments. There is
no wrong place on the Introvert/Extrovert spectrum.
When I
worked for hospice 20 years ago, we all took the Myers-Briggs Type
Indicator Instrument. One of the things that this instrument measures
is this area of introversion/extroversion. I was surprised by the
findings. Most of the staff that had direct patient care were
Introverts (present company excepted), while most of the office staff,
who worked in cubicles, were Extroverts. Then I realized how this
worked. The patient care personnel were driving in their cars, alone,
to visit one patient in his or her home. The office staff, though
confined to a cubicle, were chatting with each other frequently as
well as taking breaks and eating lunch together.
I have watched this spectrum of personality types work out in all
sorts of group settings, but nowhere has it been so magnificently
orchestrated as when it is operating in the Kingdom of God. Where are
you on the Introvert/Extrovert spectrum? Do you better develop ideas
through discussion or reflection? Do you prefer large group gatherings
or just a few friends? Remember - these are descriptions, not value
judgments. There is no wrong place on the Introvert/Extrovert
spectrum. The kingdom of God takes all kinds.
The Kingdom of God takes all kinds of preferred
work environments
Imagine a line intersecting that Introvert/Extrovert spectrum right in
the middle. The line runs from up to down. At the top is the word,
“Flexible”. At the bottom of the line is the word, “Stable”.
Remember this is the preferred work environment spectrum, not the
personality type spectrum. Typically, the person who prefers the
“stable” work environment is quite adept at working out details,
setting up guidelines, and establishing step-by-step plans of action.
The person who prefers a flexible work environment is often pretty
good at the proverbial, “flying by the seat of the pants” or “going
with the flow”. This is the big picture person who likes to
multi-task and chase butterflies.
Simon
Peter seemed to appreciate the flexible work environment. Jesus came
up to the disciples walking on water and Simon Peter said, “I want to
do that.” When he was asked who he thought Jesus was, he said, “The
Messiah”. It just came to him. When he was fishing after Jesus rose
from the dead, he discovered in the early morning that Jesus was
calling to him and his friends from the shore. He did not wait for
the boat to be brought to shore, he took off swimming toward his
Savior. The other Simon, Simon the Zealot, or the Cananaean, of
Matthew 10:4 was probably on this end of the spectrum. He was looking
at the big picture of Rome being overthrown. The Zealots did not
worry with the details of how to overthrow Rome or what would replace
the empire, they just had the big picture.
On the other hand, there were the apostles who preferred a more stable
environment. Philip seemed to be among these. When Jesus saw over
5,000 people going without supper, he asked Philip what they should
do. Philip must have been good at math, because he said in John 6:7
that eight months of wages would not even provide enough food for each
person to have one bite. He was good at working out the details.
When Jesus was speaking to the apostles at the Last Supper, Philip was
trying to figure out the details of how one gets to the Father. He
appreciated trustworthy formulas. I am sure that Thomas was on this
end of the spectrum as well. Now Thomas gets a bad rap for being a
bit dubious about the whole resurrection thing. He was not going to
believe unless he put his fingers in the nail prints and his hand in
the wounded side of Jesus. I like what Augustine wrote about this
practical apostle, “He doubted that we might believe.” There
are many of us who seek practical evidence, a clear plan, before
launching headlong into the future. Just as on the Personality Type
Spectrum, so on the Preferred Work Environment Spectrum, these are
descriptions, not value judgments. There is no wrong place on the
Flexible/Stable spectrum. The kingdom of God takes all kinds.
Lee
Strobel is a man who prefers the boundaries of logic, reason, and
discipline. Lee was the legal editor for the Chicago Tribune and an
atheist. His wife was a well-mannered agnostic who became a
Christian. This shocked and disappointed her husband who half
expected her to become a religious prude. Over time he saw her life,
values, and character deepen. Partly out of curiosity and partly in
hopes of dispelling this myth that his wife had bought into, Strobel
went to church with her. As he listened to the message about the
love, grace, and power of Jesus Christ, he thought, “If this is
true, this has huge implications for my life.” He was still an
atheist, but something was stirring. He employed his stable,
rational, disciplined work style and began to investigate Christianity
and Jesus Christ. He says on his video testimony at
www.leestrobel.com, “After 21
months of investigating, I realized that it would require more faith
for me to maintain my atheism, than to become a Christian. And I
couldn’t do that. I was trained in journalism and in law to respond
to truth. So on that day, I received Jesus Christ to be my forgiver
and my leader. And just like my wife I found that my life began to
change over time. My values, my character, the purpose of my life
began to be transformed over time.”
Where
are you on this Preferred Work Environment Spectrum? Do you prefer a
flexible environment and spontaneity? Do you like to plan ahead on
stay on course? Do you like open discussion or prefer clear
decisions? It generally doesn’t take 360 questions and four
instruments for you to acknowledge where you are in these two
spectrums. However, sometimes it does require a brief look at the
list of apostles to be reminded that the kingdom of God takes
all kinds.
Look once more at that list of the twelve in Matthew 10. They are a
diverse group of individuals. Can you imagine a Tax Collector and a
Zealot sitting at the same table? What do you think it was like for
fishermen from Galilee to be with disciples of John the Baptist from
Judea? Extroverts and introverts, flexible work environments and
stable work environments, all together in one boat, all assembled on
one mountain, all following the same Jesus – and all called to
ministry in the Kingdom of God.
Confront evil and care for the hurting was Jesus’ commission to the
apostles. That is the work of the Kingdom of God, the work to which
each of us has been called. We are individuals, each
operating in our own quadrant, but within that quadrant are
opportunities for the Kingdom of God. Remember, the kingdom of
God takes all kinds. Let Christ use the individuality that he
has given you, to confront evil and care for the hurting. I encourage
you, no I implore you, to find your S.T.R.I.D.E. for Ministry.
It is a unique S.T.R.I.D.E. but then the kingdom of God
takes all kinds. Amen. |
