I am currently taking my research from my dissertation and writing a book for introverted church leaders. I trust it will be helpful for all introverted believers; in fact, I think it’s a worthwhile read for all extroverted believers too, but the focus is on introverted church leaders.
The purpose of the book is to openly and honestly explore the strengths and challenges of being an introvert in church leadership. In doing so, there is a risk of portraying introverts as humble saints quietly following Jesus while avoiding being steamrolled by gregarious extroverted bulldozers. That is not my intention with the book. I am not shaming extroverts nor sanitizing introverts.
There have been times when I’ve questioned whether this book is relevant or whether this topic is worth exploring. Then something happens that reminds me exactly why this book is important. Let me share two very recent examples.
I regularly post videos on social media about faith, leadership, and introversion. I shared a short clip of myself, an introverted worshipper, unable to contain my excitement when the beat drops. The joke is that I went from standing completely still to gently moving side to side and tapping my coffee cup to the beat. It was a silly video poking fun at the fact that introverts are usually less outwardly expressive in their worship; it wasn’t meant to be serious. However, I received some comments on the video that made me realize this book is relevant.
One viewer commented:
Bro, I don’t even remember if I was ever an introvert. Since the fire of God entered my life, the word “introvert” doesn’t exist for me.
Another individual remarked to the first:
Haha YES!!! Good for you!! Same here… when it comes to Jesus I am LOUD!! I am a completely different person by His grace ❤️. Me He continue to bless you! [sic]
The message is clear: mature Christians are not introverts. In fact, if you have the fire of God within you, you will be delivered from the “sin” of introversion. Once you become a mature Christian, you will become a “completely different person by His grace,” a person who is no longer hindered by the enemy’s flaming arrows of introversion.
In his book Blessed are the Misfits, Brant Hansen aptly stated:
When one person insinuates that another must be spiritually lacking because of a dearth of feeling, it’s worthwhile pointing out that this is utterly foreign to the biblical concept of bearing fruit.
Another inspired text reads:
The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart (1 Samuel 16:7b).
The Sunday following these online comments, I was talking with a dear saint between church services. Being fully aware that I am our church’s resident introvert, she shared with me her own struggles as an introverted Christian. She had been advised to stop referring to herself as an introvert because she was making agreements with the enemy. Proverbs 18:21 is clear: our words hold the power of life and death. This introspective and reserved woman was told to stop speaking curses over herself, or she might never be free.
These stories might sound extreme, but they reflect common conversations within the church. I’ve been encouraged many times to stop calling myself an introvert. I’ve spoken with numerous pastors and laypeople who have been discouraged from making such negative statements about themselves. These comments are not meant maliciously; I don’t believe the people involved had any bad intentions. However, they reveal a deeper issue—one that has shaped church leadership expectations for decades: extroversion has become the assumed spiritual default.
The Introverted Pastor 