ENFP Extended Profile
ENFP stands for extroverted intuitive feeling perceiving. The competence portion of the work mode for the ENFP contains the transactional role of Perceiver. The corresponding ministry role is that of Spiritual Warrior.
PERCEIVER
The Perceiver notices harmonies and makes intuitive guesses regarding what is behind these harmonies. They make guesses about disharmony as well. Data comes from remote input, the sixth sense and smell. It is often difficult to know just how a perceiver knows. The accuracy of their observations is confirmation. Professionally, one finds perceivers in a variety of fields. People-oriented professions, however, predominate: counseling, teaching, social work, and the ministry.
SPIRITUAL WARRIOR
The Spiritual Warrior uses the perceiving role to see into the spiritual realm. It takes this special kind of perception to be aware of powers and principalities. A significant number of clergy are ENFPs. A good Pastor needs to recognize the forces of evil that are at work in people, institutions and cultures. This allows him or her to say things like, “Hate the sin and love the sinner.”
The talent portion of work for the ENFP includes the transactional role of Verbalist and the Ministry Role of Worship Leader. Again, we are not surprised to know that many clergy are ENFPs.
VERBALIST
The Verbalist has the ability to be articulate. He knows how to say the right thing and say it well. This is the capacity of the orator, the preacher, the lecturer, actor and diplomat. The focus is not so much on what is said but how. It is the capacity of people who would rather speak than listen.
WORSHIP LEADER
Words are important. It is the Worship leader who pronounces them. This is most obviously the case for the preacher. It is equally true when reading prayers or speaking them extemporaneously. The Worship Leader leads the congregation. He or she speaks to God for them and speaks to them for God. It is an awesome responsibility and takes the capacity of a good verbalist to do it.
The ENFP has the transactional role of Initiator with its corresponding ministry role of Ministry Leader in the Community, in the perseverance position of the play mode.
INITIATOR
The Initiator is an entrepreneur and an opportunist. The initiator is watching for a match. Lowen’s prime example is a salesperson. What is it about the customer that matches the product. When the salesman gets the answer, he signals the match and says, “This is just the one for you!”
MINISTRY LEADER IN THE COMMUNITY
Often it takes an entrepreneur to be a leader of ministry in the community. Not everyone is ready to trust across denominational or other faith lines. The Ministry Leader in the Community is able to find the match between the needs of the community and the desires of the people to help. He or she then raises the flag and presto others say “This is the project we have been seeking!”
The ENFP lay person is also liable to be a Leader of Ministry in the Community, as an ordained Clergy person. He or she might work for a para-church organization. Another possibility is that the ENFP lay person might lead some cross denominational service or ministry group. The ENFP is known as the most visionary of the types. This helps them hold up the standard for others to follow.
The transactional role of Classifier is in the relax position of the play mode for the ENFP. Its corresponding ministry role is Evangelist.
CLASSIFIER
The classifier is one who makes choices between dichotomous situations of control. In a literal sense this is concerned with control of the body. Thus some classifiers are athletes. Lowen gives the example of a baseball player who must decide if a pitch is in the strike zone and how to control his body to hit the ball. However, another prime example of a classifier is the politician. The politician is constantly choosing what action to take. Shall I vote yes or no? Shall I accept this invitation or go to that banquet? Shall I endorse this candidate or denounce that project? Shall I shake hands or smile for the photo opportunity? Administrators are also Classifiers. They must make decisions of control all the time.
EVANGELIST
The Evangelist is, with th apostle Paul wondering how to control the situation to help move people from one category to another. What can I do to help the lost become found; the dead in sin come to new life? Shall I cross over to Macedonia or stay in Judea? Shall I speak in Madison Square Garden or Central Park? Shall I talk about your life or speak of Biblical characters? The Evangelist has a good track record for getting the right answers to these control questions.
Since the ENFP personality has this role in the relax position, they perform these tasks with ease. Others are attracted to their casual warmth and charisma.
The ENFP has the transactional role of Theoretician in the toil position of the challenge mode. Its corresponding ministry role is Theologian.
THEORETICIAN
The Theoretician finds the pattern in strategies. this might be in theoretical physics or on the battle field. Theoreticians can be mathematicians or philosophers. They organize ideas. They rely on thinking to expand principles into logical consequences.
THEOLOGIAN
The theologian finds the patterns in the Bible and applies them to life. The theologian looks at the Bible and says, “I discern that God has done this in the history of the Israelites and therefore the resulting pattern shows us that God is loving and desires to have a covenental relationship with us today.”
The ENFP seminarian would much prefer field education, over long hours in the library reading Theology. The ENFP can do the work of the theologian, but it takes effort.
The serendipity portion of the challenge mode for the ENFP is Conceptualizer. Its corresponding ministry role is Promoter of Discipleship.
CONCEPTUALIZER
Conceptualizing involves visual information processing. This role finds structure in logic. Professions such as architecture and systems design use the conceptualizer role.
PROMOTER OF DISCIPLESHIP
A discipline is a structured approach to living. The Conceptualizer may want to innovate new systems but he would like others to follow them. They have drive toward constant improvement of everything. These are the ‘better idea’ people of the typological world. Everything, words, plans, designs, ideas, even people, has room for improvement. The Promoter of Discipleship is interested in making better Christians.
When the ENFP clergy person finds a new concept to promote discipleship in the parish, it may indeed spark a greater interest in theology to support it’s implementation. He may perceive this program as a call of challenge from God, which will help in the battle against spiritual forces.
The creativity mode for the ENFP includes the transactional role of Molder and the ministry role of Make the Church be Jesus. These are in the lock position. The ENFP finds this activity important, but is unaware of the steps to accomplish its ends.
MOLDER
The most obvious professions for a Molder is that of sculptor, carpenter or other craftsmen. However, they might also have less concrete occupations. They might mold facts and institutions, instead of clay or wood.
MAKE THE CHURCH BE JESUS
In the church Molders might indeed be craftsmen and artisans. However, they will also be concerned that the church be an institution, as they think Jesus would act. They will do what they can to tinker with the structure of the institution to shape it so that it can respond to its members and society in what they consider to be a more Christ like manner. This may vary, depending on their theological background and interest. However, they will be the person who is appalled, if someone is turned away because they were improperly dressed. They might strive to set up a soup kitchen, a health clinic, a fix up a room where the homeless could rest and cleanup.
The ENFP clergy person will find it most frustrating to attempt to Make the Church Be Jesus. Often, the Vestry or Church board can’t quite connect with the vision. The ENFP has a difficult time connecting with members who are strong sensing types with their feet solidly on the ground and their minds doggedly in the present. This can be particularly frustrating, because Making the Church be Jesus is part of the ENFPs hidden agenda. All the spiritual warfare and good worship has, as its unwritten purpose, the task of being the Body of Christ here and now.
The key portion of the creativity mode for the ENFP has the transactional role of Organizer with the Ministry Role of Social Justice Program Developer.
ORGANIZER
The Organizer is as interested in how things are done as he or she is in the results. Neatness, order, and efficiency are important. They are the world’s great systematizers. They make good secretaries and craftsmen. They are programmers and administrators. They accept responsibility and follow through with painstaking and thorough effort. They are the guardians of time-honored institutions.
SOCIAL JUSTICE PROGRAM DEVELOPER
The Social Justice Program Developer is aware of the inequities in society and seeks to address them. They put their organizational skills together with their concern for what is right.
It is said of the ENFP, that if they can just make up their minds, they can do anything they want to do. If the visionary ENFP can latch on to an important Social Justice Program, and follow through with all the organizational details, he will find the church board more than happy to come along for the ride. In fact, when they catch the vision, (which might after all be their hidden agenda), they can be more forgiving of the head in the clouds aspects of their leader.
SPIRITUAL GIFTS
The ENFP should look for assistance in the following gifts of the Spirit. The gifts of pastor, prophesy, tongues, interpretation of tongues, exhortation, and emotional healing will be active in the work mode. However, these may be viewed or experienced more as natural talents than spiritual gifts. An attitude of humility and gratitude can enhance their spiritual effectiveness. This will be true in the play mode but to a slightly lesser degree. Here the ENFP might anticipate an experience of the gifts of helps, mercy, evagelism, physical healing, and hospitality. In the more unconscious challenge mode, the ENFP may find the Lord moving in his or her life through the spiritual gifts of discernment, wisdom, faith, and knowledge. Lastly in the creativity mode, and perhaps most importantly, the ENFP may experience administration and service. These will likely be viewed as the most Godly of the gifts. Because of their unconscious nature the ENFP will have to exercise greater will to accept them.
For a complete explanation of Personality Type see my discussion of How to Understand People click here.
For more specific information on ENFP click .here.
To read Walter Lowen click here.
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