Christian Identity & Personality
In a previous sermon we have seen that we are called to produce results. We have also seen the influencing factors that impact our ability to bear fruits for the Kingdom.
So if we have to produce excellent results, bear fruits for the Kingdom, we need to start at the core, which is our identity. All of us are born with a defective identity, which is based on Relationships we experience in early years, Our own sinful nature, Our attachments, Possessions, Accomplishments, Dreams, Memories, Friendships etc. We need to first accept that fact, and take God’s help to shed the imperfect identity, and acquire the Christian identity that God has intended for us. Our identity is not that of slave but that of a son, and a son also becomes a heir. This realization is important for us while we live our faith in our workplace. In other words, we cannot have one identity for work life and another identity for faith life. This is our core and the core has to be the same. The moment we realise that we are co heirs to the Kingdom along with Jesus, our whole out look towards the workplace issues and challenges would change, and acquire a different perspective.
We do not attain the Christian identity in symbols or dress or the type of books we read, or the TV channels we watch, or whether we quote the bible in our discussions with everyone. There are a few things that help us to attain the Christian identity.
How can we form our Christian Identity? ( the four pre requisites to “conversion”)
1) A sense of Belonging (From Jehovah I came.. ); Galatians 4:7 : So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir. Colossians 3:3 : For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. Romans 8:17 : Now if we are children, then we are heirs – heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ.
2) A healthy attitude to ones death ; 1 Corinthians 15:55 (Our ability to live a Christian life at workplace, and bear fruit will heavily hinge on this belief that there are things beyond this life that we need to be concerned about.)
3) A willingness to confront Difficult issues.. (Estrangement in relationships, Unwillingness to accept the fact that we are not just victims but agents, The need to repent of any sins or lapses etc)
4) A Loving spirit that reaches out to others; 1 Peter 4:10
The difference that these four principles make to our workplace relationships is huge.
Personality
There is always controversy surrounding this question. Should a true Christian try to know himself? Or should he just focus on knowing God? There are a number of people who misquote John 3:30 and say that we must become nothing.
At MLM we believe that Knowing Self is a pre requisite to knowing God. There are some Christian Leaders who agree with us.
There is no deep knowing of God without the deep knowing of self, and no deep knowing of self without the deep knowing of God: John Calvin (In his book: The Institutes of Christian Religion)
Grant, Lord, that I may know myself as I know thee : A prayer composed by Augustine (Fifth Century Church leader)
There is only one problem on which all my existence, my peace, and my happiness depend; to discover myself in discovering God: Thomas Merton, a modern day writer
I would go as far as to say that the teaching that we should focus on God and Christ alone and not seek to understand ourselves and our identity as new creatures in Christ is not Christian but anti-Christian. Selwyn Hughes, writer of “Every Day With Jesus”
Psalm 51:6 tells us that the Lord desires truth in our inner parts and He teaches us wisdom in the inmost place. Let us look at Peter’s declaration in Mathew 26:35. Lat us look at David and Bathsheba. Our belief is that unless we know ourselves, we cannot surrender our deepest fears, deepest desires and deepest sins to God. Unless we know our selves very well, we cannot possibly open all the rooms of our house to Christ. Unless we know ourselves well, we run the risk of misleading our followers, and we need to remember Jesus’ warning in Mathew 18:6, if we mislead our followers.
Our Lord created each one of us in a unique manner. Each one of us has been given a distinct identity which is known as our personality
MLM can help you understand your personality type ( it is recommended that you do the Personality test at our website www.menorahleadership.com/ptt . In case you are unable to do it on the web, a hard copy form can be made available to you.
® MBTI®, Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and Introduction to Type are registered trademarks of the Myers-Briggs Trust in the U S and other countries. In India, and Asia, the instrument is owned and administered under the authority of Asianic Psychologists Press India Pvt Ltd,. Madana Kumar is an MBTI certified administrator for the MBTI instrument. The tool used in our website is not a validated tool, nor is it authorized by the Myers Briggs trust or the Asianic Psychologists Press. The results of this tool given below is derived out of the personal research and study of Madana Kumar. If you wish to take an approved and validated MBTI test, please contact Madana Kumar or any other MBTI accredited practitioners.
The MBTI is a reliable and valid instrument that measures and categorizes your personality and behavior. Swiss Psychologist, Carl Jung, (1875 – 1961) theorized that you can predict differences in people’s behavior if you know how they prefer to use their mind. According to Jung, we each have an inborn preference for using our mind in one of two different ways, in four different categories: Around 1940 a mother-daughter team (Katharine C. Briggs and her daughter Isabel Briggs Myers) developed this instrument to help people understand and use Carl Jung’s theory of psychological type preferences.
1. Where, primarily, do you direct your energy?
Extraverted: Energised by Others
Introverted: Energised by ideas, emotions and memories
2. How do you prefer to process information?
Sensing: Using five senses
iNtuition: Using gut or intuition
3. How do you prefer to make decisions?
Thinking: Logical problem solvers
Feeling: Consider others, compassionate
4. How do you prefer to organise your life?
Perceiving: Taking in information
Judging: Organising information and taking decisions
For a detailed description of the various personality types, please visit our website.
An extract is given below
Extraverted (E), Introverted (I), Sensing (S), Intuition (N), Thinking (T), Feeling (F), Judging (J), Perceiving (P)
The sixteen types
This section contains a brief overview of the sixteen types that result from the Myers Briggs model. Everyone is an individual, but Myers Briggs highlights general themes or similarities between people. Reading this section may help you to consolidate your understanding of the preferences, and help identify your own personality type.
ESTJ
The ESTJ takes his/her energy from the outside world of actions and spoken words. He/she prefers dealing with facts and the present, and makes decisions using logic. His/her life is organised on a logical basis. He/she is therefore practical, and likely to implement tried and trusted solutions to practical problems in a businesslike and impersonal manner. He/she prefers to ensure that the details have been taken care of rather than spend time considering concepts and strategies.
INFP
The INFP takes his/her energy from the inner world of thoughts and emotions. He/she prefers dealing with patterns and possibilities, especially for people, and prefers to make decisions on the basis of personal values. His/her life is flexible, following new insights and possibilities as they arise. He/she is quiet and adaptable (up to a point - when his/her values are violated the normally adaptable INFP can surprise people with his/her stance). He/she will seem to be very interested in ideas, and he/she may sometimes make very creative contributions. He/she has a hidden warmth for people and a desire to see self and others grow and develop. He/she prefers to undertake work that has a meaningful purpose.
ESFP
The ESFP takes his/her energy from the outside world of actions and spoken words. He/she prefers dealing with facts, which he/she usually takes at face value. He/she also prefers dealing with the present and with people, and probably derives much enjoyment out of friendships. His/her life is flexible, living it very much in the present, and responding to things as they arise. He/she is impulsive and friendly, seeking enjoyment out of life, and makes new friends easily. He/she likes taking part in solving urgent problems, such as fire-fighting or trouble shooting. He/she operates best in practical situations involving people.
INTJ
The INTJ takes his/her energy from the inner world of thoughts (and, maybe, emotions). He/she prefers dealing with patterns and possibilities for the future, and making decisions using impersonal analysis. His/her life is organised on a logical basis. He/she is a strategist, identifying long term goals and organising life to meet them. He/she tends to be skeptical and critical, both of self and others, with a keen sense of deficiencies in quality and competence. He/she often has a strong intellect, yet is able to attend to details that are relevant to the strategy.
ESFJ
The ESFJ takes his/her energy from the outer world of actions and spoken words. He/she prefers dealing with facts, and making decisions on the basis of personal values. He/she likes dealing with people, and organises life on a personal basis. He/she is a very warm person, seeking to maintain harmonious relationships with colleagues and friends, who are a very important part of his/her life. He/she can find conflict and criticism very difficult to handle. He/she has a strong sense of duty and loyalty, and is driven by a need to belong and be of service to people.
INTP
The INTP takes his/her energy from the inner world of thoughts (and, maybe, emotions). He/she prefers dealing with patterns and possibilities, and making decisions on a logical basis. His/her life is flexible, following new insights and possibilities as they arise. He/she is quiet and detached, and adaptable (up to a point - sometimes he/she may stop adapting, insisting that there is a clear principle at stake). He/she is not interested in routine, and will often experiment or change things to see if they can be improved. He/she operates at best when solving complex problems that require the application of intellect.
ENFP
The ENFP takes his/her energy from the outer world of actions and spoken words. He/she prefers dealing with patterns and possibilities, particularly for people, and makes decisions on the basis of personal values. His/her life is flexible, following new insights and possibilities as they arise. He/she is creative and insightful, often seeking to try new ideas that can be of benefit to people. He/she may sometimes neglect details and planning, but he/she enjoys work that involves experimentation and variety, working towards a general goal.
ISTJ
The ISTJ takes his/her energy from the inner world of thoughts (and, maybe, emotions). He/she prefers dealing with facts, and making decisions after considering the various options. He/she organises his/her life on a logical basis. He/she is quiet, serious and well prepared for most eventualities. He/she is a keen observer of life, developing a good understanding of situations, which is often not expressed. He/she has a strong sense of practical objectives, and works efficiently to meet them.
ESTP
The ESTP takes his/her energy from the outer world of actions and spoken words. He/she prefers dealing with facts, which he/she usually views objectively, and he/she makes decisions on a logical basis. His/her life is flexible, consisting of a series of activities that interest him/her. He/she is an action oriented problem solver, and prefers to work with practical organisational issues. He/she can be impulsive, and likes taking part in trouble-shooting-type work. He/she can sometimes neglect follow-through, but will work best when there is a lot going on that needs organising and solving.
INFJ
The INFJ takes his/her energy from the inner world of thoughts and emotions. He/she prefers dealing with patterns and possibilities, particularly for people, and makes decisions using personal values. His/her life is organised on a personal basis. He/she often has a private sense of purpose in life, and works steadily to fulfill that goal. He/she demonstrates a quiet concern for people, being interested in helping them to develop and grow. He/she is good at developing insight into people, though it can often remain unexpressed.
ENFJ
The ENFJ takes his/her energy from the outer world of actions and spoken words. He/she prefers dealing with patterns and possibilities, particularly for people, and makes decisions using personal values. His/her life is organised on a personal basis, seeking to develop and maintain stable relationships with those people he/she likes. He/she is actively concerned with promoting personal growth in others. He/she is also highly sociable, and expressive of feelings towards others, but can find conflict and criticism difficult, particularly if it might damage long term relationships. He/she works best in situations involving people.
ISTP
The ISTP takes his/her energy from the inner world of thoughts (and, maybe, emotions). He/she prefers dealing with facts and making decisions on a logical basis. His/her life is flexible, demonstrating an interest in acquiring new information that leads to a practical understanding of the way the world works. He/she is quiet and detached, and adaptable (up to a point). He/she is often good at solving organisational problems that need to be thought through. He/she is curious about how and why things work, and can seem impulsive, sometimes producing surprising ideas or doing something unpredictable.
ENTJ
The ENTJ takes his/her energy from the outer world of actions and spoken words. He/she prefers dealing with patterns and possibilities, and making decisions after considering the consequences of the various courses of action. His/her life is organised on a logical basis. He/she tends to control life, organising systems and people to meet task oriented goals. He/she often takes the role of executive or director, using a business-like and impersonal approach. He/she may appear intolerant of people who do not set high standards for themselves or don’t seem to be good at what they do.
ISFP
The ISFP takes his/her energy from the inner world of thoughts and emotions. He/she prefers dealing with facts and people, and making decisions on the basis of personal values. He/she is adaptable (up to a point), quiet and friendly. He/she is interested in people, enjoying their company preferably on an individual basis or in small numbers. He/she takes a caring and sensitive approach to helping others. He/she enjoys the present, and tends to dislike confrontation and conflict. He/she usually acts as a very supportive member of a team.
ENTP
The ENTP takes his/her energy from the outer world of actions and spoken words. He/she prefers dealing with patterns and possibilities, and making decisions on a logical basis. He/she is adaptable, tending to focus on new ideas and interests as and when they arise, particularly if they involve increasing his/her competence or skill. He/she is an ingenious problem solver, constantly trying new ideas out, and can seem to enjoy a good argument. He/she is interested in instigating change, and operates best in overcoming new difficulties where the solution requires the application of creative effort.
ISFJ
The ISFJ takes his/her energy from the inner world of thoughts and emotions. He/she prefers dealing with facts and people, and making decisions on the basis of personal values. His/her life is organised on a personal basis, seeking to enjoy relationships with people he/she likes. He/she is a quiet, serious observer of people, and is both conscientious and loyal. He/she prefers work that involves being of practical service to people. He/she is often concerned for and perceptive of how other people feel and dislikes confrontation and conflict.
_________________x____________________x__________________x______________
What I would like us to understand today is the fact that God has created each one of us in a very unique way. He has done that intentionally. Our uniqueness is not an accident, it is by design, His design!! Our job is not to question why God created us the way we are, our job is to accept that God had a plan when he created us the way we are. Understanding our personality well will help us in completely surrendering ourselves to God, and not keep anything hidden from Him.
Understanding our own personality is the first step, we need to extend that understanding by accepting that others will be different from us. This could be our Bosses, our colleagues, our team members, our family members etc. This knowledge that God has created every one uniquely will help us to see things from the other person’s perspective and this enhances the quality of our relationships immensely, both at work place as well as in family and among friends.
How do we use this knowledge?
Example : Communicating with MBTI preferences
When communicating with Extroverts
Talk to them, preferably face to face
Present information to extroverts in groups as they will like to talk about it with each other
Emphasize the action to be taken
Expect extroverts to toss ideas out and speak up in group situations
When communicating with Introverts
Put in writing – send an email instead of calling
Present to them individually or in small groups
Give them time to reflect on their thoughts after receiving information and before sharing their ideas with a group
When communicating with Sensing Types
Clearly present your topic in an orderly format
Give lots of details, facts and concrete examples
Use props, multimedia, or samples to help them see, hear, smell, touch, or taste your ideas
Focus on the tangible, practical results that can be achieved in the short term
When communicating with Intuitive Types (Ns)
Discuss the big picture and long-term possibilities
Emphasize ideas/concepts instead of details
If you must mention specifics, do so using patterns and emphasize their connections
Give them a problem to solve and allow them room to be innovative, novel and creative
When communicating with Thinking Types
Be brief – get to the point
Use logical (not emotional) arguments to appeal to the head, not the heart
Clearly identify any pros or cons to be weighed
Allow them time to critique
Expect them to be fair
When communicating with Feeling Types
Create a supportive, friendly environment
Begin with words of appreciation and identify areas of agreement
Use emotional arguments instead of logic and emphasize the effect on people involved
Self-disclose with personal anecdotes or examples
When communicating with Judging Types
Be prompt (or early) and stick to a schedule
Present information in an organized manner
Emphasize deadlines and timetables
Expect decisions to be made quickly
Don’t include surprises
When communicating with Perceiving Types
Expect to have fun
Leave extra time to actually get work done; a deadline will not really be perceived as the deadline
Present information as options that are modifiable and let them draw conclusions
Capitalize on their natural last-minute energy
