Extended ENFJ Profile; ENFJ stands for extroverted intuitive feeling judging. The Competence portion of the Work mode for the ENFJ includes the transactional role of Verbalist. Its corresponding ministry role is Worship Leader.
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 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 Talent portion of the Work mode for the ENFJ includes the transactional role of Perceiver and the ministry role of Spiritual Warrior.
PERCEIVER
The Perceiver notices harmonies and makes intuitive guesses regarding what is behind these harmonies. The reverse is also true. 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. I don’t need a hypothetical example for the ENFJ. I am a real one. Because the ENFJ is an extrovert, this perceptive role may go a bit unnoticed. It is however, a very strong part of my ENFJ personality type. I engage in low level spiritual warfare on a regular basis. For example, I always offer to do a house blessing for new members of the church. Depending upon their openness and expectations, this will range from a few prayers, to a fairly elaborate service including a candle in every room and the use of incense.
I find myself aware of the spiritual battles in the area. While we lived in Massachusetts, there was a case in our small town of Satanic animal abuse that made national news coverage. While in Arizona, it was evident that Satanic groups were holding services in the desert on regular occasions. Exorcism is not a ministry I seek. However, my Perceiving role has me tuned in to such events. Over the years, I have had more than one person come to me, whom I discerned needed such a ministry. I have read many books on the subject and spent a week of continuing education at my seminary reading every book and article the library contained on this subject.
The Play mode of the ENFJ has the transactional role of Analyst in the perseverance position. Its corresponding ministry role is Preacher of Salvation.
ANALYST
The Analyst finds logic in structures. He takes information that consists of structured data and logically processes them into structured concepts. This role is acted out in the professions of applied science, math, and physics. It is also helpful in medicine for diagnosis, and a role useful to lawyers. This is the most sophisticated of the roles involving the most intricate of the mental capacities.
PREACHER OF SALVATION
Most Salvation Preachers have developed some kind of systematized understanding of the process of salvation. This process may seem like an event, a flash in time, or it may be viewed as taking a long time. Either way, the Preacher will have some kind of sequential understanding. This might be the Four Spiritual Laws or a twelve point scale of readiness for evangelism. Even the simple statement of Justin Martyr reflects an analysis of salvation. “He became as we are so that we might become as He is.” The Preacher of Salvation has analyzed God’s plan for the universe and wants to proclaim it to anyone who will listen.
Writing this book has been an exercise in perseverance for me. In the process, I came to clearly understand that Analysis is my Play mode. I love to do this stuff. I have written through meals and long into the night. It has kept me, a very gregarious extrovert, quiet and alone for hours on end.
As I consider the role of Preacher of Salvation, I can see that it too fits my personality. One of the questions I always ask when preparing a sermon is, “Where is the Good News in this text and how can I help people get connected to God?” Remember a good portion of an earlier chapter includes my sixteen-fold understanding of salvation. I have analyzed the meaning of salvation and its possible implications for each type. I may even go on to expand that information into its own book. Yes, an interest in salvation is a part of my ENFJ personality.
The Relax portion of the Play mode for the ENFJ includes the transactional role of Suspector and the ministry role of Minister in Spiritual Gifts.
SUSPECTOR
The Suspector is trying to find a strategy or logic behind a given pattern. The detective is the obvious example. He searches the data until a pattern of clues is discovered. Then the task becomes one of developing a strategy to link the pattern to the suspect. The Suspector formulates a plan from an observed collection of data. So a football coach might be a good Suspector. He scouts the opposing team to detect their weak points and then plans a strategy to defeat them.
MINISTER OF SPIRITUAL GIFTS
In this category, I am speaking of the nine-fold gifts of the Spirit (What we have discussed above as the power to say, know, and do). This ministry role is connected to the capacity of Suspector, as it takes a bit of detective work to know which gift to use in any given situation. Also the Suspector capacity is strongly influenced by the intuitive function. It is dependent upon inspiration. The ENTP (the designated type for this capacity) is sure of the worth of his or her inspirations. They are tireless with the problems involved. Those who Minister in Spiritual Gifts exhibit this assurance, only in this case we call it faith!
As an ENFJ, I really resonate with the role of Suspector in the Relax position. I am a long time fan of mystery detectives. I have read all the Sherlock Holmes mysteries. I love to watch Mystery on PBS. My all time favorite is Columbo. I think perhaps, he too is an ENFJ. Unlike Sherlock, who is definitely a perceptive, Columbo knows who did it in the first few minutes of the show. His intuition helps him perceive the conclusion. Then he must work very hard collecting the clues and loose ends until he can finally prove with concrete sensing evidence, what he has known all along.
My own experience of Ministry in Spiritual Gifts includes what I call “pictures of knowledge.” Instead of receiving some word about a person, I get an image in my mind. When praying for healing, I will often begin to see in my mind’s eye an image, which frequently is very helpful. Recently, I saw a revolving door spinning wildly. After I shared this information, the person for whom I was praying affirmed its accuracy. “I am going through a very busy time in which I can’t make up my mind about what course to take. It’s like I was stuck in a revolving door, not knowing whether to come in or go out.” The first time I remember exercising this gift, left a marked impression upon me. It was at a healing service for a youth event. As I prayed for a teenage boy, I got the image of an old car that was being restored. Later he confirmed this picture of knowledge, when he said, “Just before I came on this weekend I bought an old car to fix up.”
The Toil portion of the Challenge mode for the ENFJ includes the transactional role of Follower. The corresponding Ministry Role is Servant of Evangelism.
FOLLOWER
The Follower is a very service oriented skill. The mental capacities of 3 (Contrast) and 4 (Control) lend themselves to the behavior of following directions. Nurses for example receive many hours of training. This training includes primarily the memorizing of long list of do’s and don’ts. The nurse’s job is to manipulate the body to act in accordance with these clear-cut instructions. He or she gets the instructions from a doctor or learns the movements in nursing school.
A trained musician does the same thing. However, many hours of repetitive actions, called practice, help him to perform under the direction of the music on the printed page or follow the conductor’s wand.
SERVANT OF EVANGELISM
The Servant of Evangelism is likewise a Follower. He has a desire to help others into the Kingdom of God. They are concerned that others be brought to Christ. But being Followers, rather than Initiators and introverted rather than extroverted, they prefer to be of service to another. They would rather play a supportive role. They are the nurses in the field of Evangelism rather than the Doctors.
As an ENFJ clergy man, Evangelism is certainly a concern of mine. I see my supportive role in this task as one of creating an environment, where persons can be open to the reality of the presence of God. This may be in good Sunday worship, or in a home group. On occasion, the Lord will provide me with a God incidence in which someone straight out asks something like “How can I be closer to God?” I enjoy the challenge of such occasions. However, it is not something I seek out with the competence I use in preaching or counseling.
The Challenge mode for the ENFJ includes in its Toil position the transactional role of Doer. Its corresponding ministry role is Minister in the Church.
DOER
The Doer role is one involving body output. Doer professions including everything from athlete and related professions, such as dancer, to such jobs as farmer or shepherd. Doers are most alert to signals from their own body, which they act upon as they match them to their memories similar signal in the past. The dancer knows what the right step feels like. The farmer recognizes with his senses, when the crop is ready for harvest.
MINISTER IN THE CHURCH
The Ministry Role I have labeled Minister in the Church is a Doer role. This might include anything from a member of the altar guild, who knows just the best way to polish the silver and clean the linens to the maintenance committee, who cares for the building. It might include members of the hospitality committee, who always know how to make the coffee taste just right and decorate the hall in an attractive manner.
As an ENFJ clergyman, I have done many things in the church. The most extreme example was the summer I helped put a new floor in the basement of Christ Lutheran Church in Rochester, New York. To save money, we took out the old floor ourselves, before the contractor poured the new cement. I spent several days manning the jack hammer and tossing chunks of concrete up out of a basement window. There are endless such tasks in the life of the parish. I don’t relish doing them. However, I can use a broom, a mop, or a jack hammer when I need to.
The Lock portion of the Creativity mode of the ENFJ personality includes the transactional role of Organizer. Its corresponding ministry role is Social Justice Program Developer.
ORGANIZER
The Organizer is as interested in how things are done, as he is in the results. Neatness, order, and efficiency are important. They are the worlds 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 seek to address them. They put their organizational skills together with their concern for what is right.
Administrative organizing is definitely an unconscious task for me. Painstaking and thorough do not describe my general approach to such tasks. Yet, I can see from my own history, that Lowen is right about the Creativity mode as the expression of a type’s hidden agenda. I have set up and organized three significant programs: A clothing store ministry, a food cupboard, and a soup kitchen. However, in each case, the nuts and bolts organizing details were actually performed by dedicated lay volunteers.
The Key position of Creativity for the ENFJ includes the transactional role of Molder and the ministry role of Make the Church Be Jesus.
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 as an institution acts, 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.
On a personal basis, I can also affirm this Key position of Molder. Origami is one of my hobbies. I mold paper. In fact, I have created several models that involve the folding of dollar bills. Waiters are especially pleased with tips they can wear as a ring on their finger.
As I consider the programs I mentioned above, I realize each of them flowed from my inner concern to Make the Church Be Jesus. That is, I was not just concerned with the needs of the recipients of these services. I was equally concerned that the Church be doing what it should. We named the storefront Seek and Find. I taught the volunteers that the process of Seek and Find was not just focused upon the clients. Rather, I hoped that as they volunteered, their time and concern, they too would be seekers. I hoped they too, would find Jesus in new ways. The soup kitchen, we called Shared Blessing Kitchen. Again, the idea was that all might receive blessings from the experience, sharing food and fellowship. Certainly the food was a blessing. I put an emphasis upon dedicated service, so that the volunteers could gain insight into the teaching: it is more blessed to give than to receive. Those who received, in turn served others at their tables or helped with the dishes.
I also realize, I tied the experience of these ministries to the Sunday worship of the congregation. We offered food for the food cupboard at the altar. I urged participation from the pulpit. Whenever possible, I would find ways to connect the church to the ministry. I also went to other churches to ask for donations of food, clothing, and time.
SPIRITUAL GIFTS
The ENFJ should look for assistance in the following gifts of the Spirit. The gifts of prophesy, pastor, 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 ENFJ might anticipate an experience of the gifts of apostle, discernment, wisdom, knowledge, and faith. In the more unconscious Challenge mode, the ENFJ may find the Lord moving in his life through the spiritual gifts of helps, mercy, evangelism, hospitality, and physical healing. Lastly in the Creativity mode, and perhaps most importantly, the ENFJ may experience administration and service. These will likely be viewed as the most Godly of the gifts. Because of their unconscious nature the ENFJ 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.
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To read Walter Lowen click here.
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