I recently took a personality indicator test widely used to help people understand themselves and others a bit better. It's the fourth time I've taken one of these, of which there are several different types, in the past 20 or so years. The test is a non-judgemental exercise that places each individual on a grid relative to others giving an indication of preferences for things like, say, whether you get energized from being with others or by yourself or whether you prefer a more orderly life to spontaneity.
For example, while I can schmooze pretty well and love parties, I find both activities require energy. Other people, by contrast, find such gatherings energizing.
Doing this exercise again has been an interesting measure on how much I've changed in a quarter century. Apparently, I have: I used to be disinclined to make hard and fast decisions, but after 20 years in journalism, including 10 at daily newspapers, I've adapted and learned to live with deadlines.
Not surprisingly, the variety of individual personalities is reflected in the institutions we form, including the church. Of course there are other factors as well that delineate approaches to faith, the most common being denominational. However, we have had several stories recently about new approaches to presenting the faith that have nothing to do with denominational distinctions.
Our March cover stories reported on the Fosdick Convocation in New York and in April, we reported on the Emergent Church movement. We are also working on stories about Rick Warren's Purpose Driven church movement based in Saddleback, Calif., about a half hour south of Anaheim, and copied in many other places, including some Presbyterian churches in Canada.
Sometimes these new movements cause concern, so it's important to remember that differences in style are clearly evident in the New Testament. The personality of the John who wrote the gospel is far more mystical and abstract in approach to Jesus' teachings than say, Peter, who comes across as more concrete and practical.
It would be a tragedy and impoverishment of faith to assume that one or two styles must be right to the exclusion of the others. Just as the preferences we have as individuals contribute to the diversity of humanity, so different ways of presenting the message of the gospel should also be celebrated.
For example, individuals who are drawn towards a church community where right and wrong are more clearly defined are not necessarily fundamentalists. Nor are those who are more open to the Spirit moving in unconventional ways lost souls. God speaks to us in different ways through different means.
Until recent decades, denominations tended to define different approaches to Christianity. One of the results of postmodernity, that the stories we have published reveal, is that denominations are increasingly reflecting more diverse expressions of faith, some of which may even challenge the original tenets of a particular denomination.
So, perhaps “the solution” to the decline mainline denominations are experiencing is to embrace the variety of styles and approaches to worship, teaching and evangelization. If we believe that the diversity in humanity is part of the divine plan, we must also believe that the Spirit moves in ways we do not understand, and we are all called to proclaim God's love to the world and to use our different gifts to bring people closer to God.
There are many resources for churches that want to assess their corporate personality and then reflect on whether that assessment is how they want to be perceived in their community. They may even be challenged to change and grow — just as I am.
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This winter I enjoyed 10 weeks of parental leave getting to know our new daughter better. I was able to do this in part because of the fantastic team at this magazine. In particular, I am indebted to managing editor Andrew Faiz who competently slipped into the editor's chair and, almost as soon as I returned, slipped right out of the country on assignment to Pakistan and Afghanistan. You can read about his travels and the work of church sponsored development groups in those countries in future issues.
