The word pastor is only found one time in most English New Testaments (Ephesians 4:11). It comes from the Greek word poimen. This word, poimen, is translated as shepherd in its other 16 occurrences. It is more convenient to use the term shepherd, because it avoids identification with the office of pastor, and it allows for easier association with the common shepherds of the day—an association which Paul surely intended. Both terms are still used in the spiritual gifts literature, and the meaning of the gift is the same.
Peter Wagner defines the gift: “The gift of pastor is the special ability that God gives to certain members of the Body of Christ to assume a long-term personal responsibility for the spiritual welfare of a group of believers[1].” An illustration of a shepherd provides us with a picture of this person’s gifting. The shepherd had the responsibility to guide and guard his flock. His guiding included providing direction and food. His guarding protected them from predators such as lions or wolves. The person with the gift of shepherding has the ability to provide spiritual food and direction from God’s Word and to guard against spiritual predators.
The guiding aspect of shepherding can be seen in the INFJ:
The guarding aspect of shepherding is not concerned with physical predators, but with spiritual predators of the sort Jesus warned us about in Mathew 7:15: “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.” (NKJV). This side of shepherding is also seen in the INFJ:
This ability might be expected to show up foremost under the gift of discernment, but observing the different gifts will show many levels of protection against falsehood for the Body of Christ. Many errors in scriptural understanding are spotted by the gifts of knowledge, teaching, or wisdom. Shepherds and encouragers are the first to spot evil intent. Discerners and prophets have a sense of what is working behind the scenes. Discerners, specifically, have a universal time orientation, which is to say that discerners see when current values are out of step with universal values. This ability helps them see value mistakes that are a result of misunderstanding and do not involve intent.
Whereas wisdom is the application of knowledge, shepherds seem to use applied discernment. Judging intentions is seeing the implications of someone’s present state of heart or mind to predict what they are likely to do, whether good or evil. Shepherds have the kind of future orientation that makes them excellent at assessing current motivations and foreseeing the likely outcomes of those motivations over time. They use this ability to spot the spiritual counterfeits before they can bring harm to the others in their fellowship.
Summary: For each of the sixteen personality types there is a theme or set of related themes that run through the various descriptions of that type. The theme given by both David Keirsey and Stephen Montgomery[4] (himself an INFJ) is that of a counselor. This seems to be a very good match with the gift of shepherding. Another theme which shows up is that of a sage or prophet. A prophet in this sense is someone with intuition and foresight and not really related to the biblical definition of a prophet found in the original Greek. This kind of insight might not be expected in a shepherd, but the overall match is a fairly good one.
References
[1] Peter Wagner, Your Spiritual Gifts can Help Your Church Grow (Ventura, CA: Regal Books, 1979), 143.
[2] Olaf Isachsen and Linda Berens, Working Together: A Personality Centered Approach to Management (Coronado, CA: Neworld Management Press, 1988), 300, 304.
[3] Ibid., 299.
[4] Stephen Montgomery, The Pygmalion Project: Love and Coercion Among the Types, Volume 3, The Idealist (Del Mar, CA: Promethius Nemesis Book Co., 1993), 163.
Peter Wagner defines the gift: “The gift of pastor is the special ability that God gives to certain members of the Body of Christ to assume a long-term personal responsibility for the spiritual welfare of a group of believers[1].” An illustration of a shepherd provides us with a picture of this person’s gifting. The shepherd had the responsibility to guide and guard his flock. His guiding included providing direction and food. His guarding protected them from predators such as lions or wolves. The person with the gift of shepherding has the ability to provide spiritual food and direction from God’s Word and to guard against spiritual predators.
The guiding aspect of shepherding can be seen in the INFJ:
INFJs are skilled at anything having to do with people—Handling them, employing them, deploying them, training them, motivating them, recruiting them, counseling them, and supporting them in achieving their goals and aspirations...INFJs typically direct their energy toward bringing forth the highest and fullest potential in everyone they contact. They are in constant search for their own identity and naturally enjoy fascilitating others in their search for meaning and purpose.[2]
The guarding aspect of shepherding is not concerned with physical predators, but with spiritual predators of the sort Jesus warned us about in Mathew 7:15: “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.” (NKJV). This side of shepherding is also seen in the INFJ:
INFJs are people who have a highly developed capacity to understand what seems to motivate people—someone being non-authentic and attempting to play a role is probably spotted more quickly by an INFJ than any of the other fifteen types.[3]
This ability might be expected to show up foremost under the gift of discernment, but observing the different gifts will show many levels of protection against falsehood for the Body of Christ. Many errors in scriptural understanding are spotted by the gifts of knowledge, teaching, or wisdom. Shepherds and encouragers are the first to spot evil intent. Discerners and prophets have a sense of what is working behind the scenes. Discerners, specifically, have a universal time orientation, which is to say that discerners see when current values are out of step with universal values. This ability helps them see value mistakes that are a result of misunderstanding and do not involve intent.
Whereas wisdom is the application of knowledge, shepherds seem to use applied discernment. Judging intentions is seeing the implications of someone’s present state of heart or mind to predict what they are likely to do, whether good or evil. Shepherds have the kind of future orientation that makes them excellent at assessing current motivations and foreseeing the likely outcomes of those motivations over time. They use this ability to spot the spiritual counterfeits before they can bring harm to the others in their fellowship.
Summary: For each of the sixteen personality types there is a theme or set of related themes that run through the various descriptions of that type. The theme given by both David Keirsey and Stephen Montgomery[4] (himself an INFJ) is that of a counselor. This seems to be a very good match with the gift of shepherding. Another theme which shows up is that of a sage or prophet. A prophet in this sense is someone with intuition and foresight and not really related to the biblical definition of a prophet found in the original Greek. This kind of insight might not be expected in a shepherd, but the overall match is a fairly good one.
References
[1] Peter Wagner, Your Spiritual Gifts can Help Your Church Grow (Ventura, CA: Regal Books, 1979), 143.
[2] Olaf Isachsen and Linda Berens, Working Together: A Personality Centered Approach to Management (Coronado, CA: Neworld Management Press, 1988), 300, 304.
[3] Ibid., 299.
[4] Stephen Montgomery, The Pygmalion Project: Love and Coercion Among the Types, Volume 3, The Idealist (Del Mar, CA: Promethius Nemesis Book Co., 1993), 163.
powered by performancing firefox
No comments:
Post a Comment