Expanded ISTJ Profile If you haven’t read the basic ISTJ post click here.
ISTJ stands for introverted sensing thinking judging. The work mode for this type has Organizer in the Competence position. Social Justice Program Developer is the corresponding ministry role.
ORGANIZER
The Organizer is as interested in how things are done as 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.”[1]
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. As a lay person in the church, the ISTJ may not have acted upon this ministry role. However, he or she will tend to evaluate the congregation’s success or failure in regards to this criteria, more than any other. The pastor would do well to encourage a retired ISTJ to take a leadership role for outreach programming.
Imagine, for example, the local congregation decides to open a thrift storefront outreach. The retired ISTJ adminstrator could easily provide the organizational structure necessary for the smooth operation of a network of volunteers mixed with a variety of systems for handling donations of goods and services.
The complimentary Talent portion of the W ork mode for this type is the transactional role of Molder. Make The Church Be Jesus is the corresponding ministry role.
The most obvious professions for a Molder are those 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 act, as 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, or a health clinic. They might organize a committee to fix up a room where the homeless could rest and cleanup. The ISTJ will address his or her concerns for social justice program developing by molding the church organizational structure to suit his or her plans for justice.
Remember our hypothetical retired ISTJ Organizer. In the Talent portion of the work mode he is attentive to the possibilities for getting the local congregation to bring its resources to energize the thrift store ministry. He will be delighted to have succeeded in getting his church to act the way Jesus would towards those in need in the neighborhood.
The play mode of the ISTJ is located on the right side of the diagram. As with the work mode you will note that the descriptive words come inside of the line. This line represents the boundary between extroverted and introverted behavior. The ISTJ is introverted in the Work and Play modes. Remember that play is made up of Perseverance (Pers) and Relaxation (Relax). Conceptualizer is the Perseverance portion of the Play mode for the ISTJ. This type can conceptualize without tiring. They do it almost without ceasing. However, it is not as conscious a behavior as organizing. Conceptualizing acts to assist the organizing role of ISTJ’s work.
CONCEPTUALIZER
Conceptualizing involves visual information processing. This role finds structure in logic. Professions such as architecture and systems design use the conceptualizer role. Walter Lowen is a Conceptualizer, his theory presented here is the result of his efforts to build a structure to make sense of all the logical theories he had studied. He took Jung’s depth psychology, mathematics, child development theory, etc. and his theory of dichotomies of the mind was the result.
PROMOTER OF DISCIPLESHIP
A discipline is a structured approach to living. The Conceptualizer may want to innovate new systems, but he or she would like others to follow them. The promoter of discipleship is interested in making better Christians. They constantly stive to improve their lives and expect others to want the same things.
The ISTJ will use the above Play roles to further the interests of his or her Work mode. The concern for better disciples will focus upon encouraging Christians to have more and more of a social conscience.
Again imagine our thrift store enthusiast. He is not only delighted to be helping those in need through this outreach, but he will tenaciously encourage and exhort his fellow parishoners to be the disciples of Jesus as he sees the task. He will likely qoute James to them reminding them that it is one thing to say you love Jesus and another to act it out in love. Jam. 2:14-26
The Relax portion of the Play mode is the transactional role of Theoretician. 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 and that in the history of the Israelites and the resulting pattern shows us that God is loving and desires to have a covenental relationship with us today.
We can imagine that during the slow times at the thrift store our imaginary ISTJ retired administrator can apply his relax mode of theologian. He might sit in a corner with a cup of coffee and his Bible and reflect upon the theological implications of his ministry in this place.
Next in order of conscious awareness is the challenge mode. This means when the occasion serendipitously occurs, the ISTJ can meet the task with skill. However he would not act with the same Competence as the type, for whom this is the Work mode. The ISTJ uses the role of Classifier in the Toil portion of the Challenge mode. The corresponding ministry role of Classifier 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
I have mapped the ministry role of Evangelist to correspond with Classifier. The Evangelist is, with the 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 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.
The ISTJ will experience evangelism as a challenge. It is found in the Toil half of the Challenge mode. They will believe that evangelism is best done through the hands on ministry of their Work mode. However, from time to time, when the moment is right, they will know how to present the Gospel in meaningful ways.
This may happen through the Serendipity role of Challenge, which for the ISTJ is the transactional role of Initiator and the corresponding ministry role of Ministry Leader in the Community. The ISTJ would much rather change his own congregation for the work of social justice ministry. However, with the guidance of the Holy Spirit and the urging of an alert pastor, they might take on a larger project. Perhaps, they can be helped to see the church in its larger perspective rather than from just a congregational point of view. This is what I have been suggesting through the hypothetical example for this type. The retired ISTJ administrator might turn out to be one the congregation’s best Ministry Leaders, if the right project is presented to him. The imaginary thrift store could easily be the sight of many evangelistic encounters.
INITIATOR
The Initiator is an entrepreneur and an opportunist. Lowen’s prime example is a salesperson. What is it about the customer that matches the product. When the salesman gets the answer, he or she says, “This is just the one for you!” For the ISTJ, this is the serendipity part of challenge. It is the answer that comes in from nowhere and provides a way out of challenge.
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 then raises the flag and presto others say “This is the project we have been seeking!”
Last is the transaction mode of Creativity. For the ISTJ, the Lock portion of this mode is Verbalist. The corresponding ministry role is Worship Leader. The familiar expression, “tongue tied” probably expresses the introverted ISTJ experience of this role. For the ENFJ type, who has Verbalist as the Competence role of the Work mode, speaking is second nature. But for the ISTJ, it is near impossible. It is said that for many people the most frightening task imaginable is public speaking. This is probably true of the ISTJ.
VERBALIST
The Verbalist has the ability to be articulate. He or she knows how to say the right thing and say it well. It is the Work transactional role of the ENFJ. 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 in worship. 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.
If the pastor of our retired ISTJ administrtor is wise he will encourage him to provide some worship experiences for his volunteers. Perhaps he will invite him to present a special worship service for the congreagtion. The ISTJ would not want to do this often. However, even once a year could bring some very creative worhsip opportunities for the life of a congregation.
The Key position of the Creativity mode for this type is Perceiver. Spiritual Warrior is the corresponding ministry role. 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. This is the exact opposite of the ISTJ’s most aware role. Lowen calls it the hidden agenda and it is closely related to the concept of the inferior function of dominance theory.[2] The ISTJ is interested in concrete here and now solutions to the problems of justice. He is consciously unaware of the spiritual forces of principalities and powers behind the scenes of the concerns. However,if they will reach down into their unconscious, let God be strong where they are weak, they will find words of spiritual power flowing forth to combat the spiritual enemies of God and enhance their physical efforts beyond their imaginations.
SPIRITUAL GIFTS
The ISTJ should look for spiritual assistance in the following gifts of the Spirit. The gifts of administration, service, giving and leadership may be active in the Work mode. However, these will most likely be viewed or experienced more as natural talents than spiritual gifts. An attitude of humility and gratitude can enhance their spiritual effectiveness. This will also be true in the Play mode but to a slightly lesser degree. Here the ISTJ might anticipate an experience of the gifts of faith, discernment, wisdom and knowledge. In the more unconscious Challenge mode, the ISTJ may find the Lord moving in his or her life through the spiritual gifts of healing, helps, mercy and evangelism. Lastly, in the Creativity mode, and perhaps most importantly, the ISTJ might experience tongues, interpretation of tongues, prophesy, pastor, and emotional healing as spiritual gifts that seem to come from out of nowhere. These will likely be viewed as the most Godly of the gifts. Because of their unconscious nature the ISTJ will have to exercise greater will to accept them. Perhaps the spiritual gifts of the Play mode (faith, discernment, and knowledge) can help.
- 1 [1]David Keirsey and Marilyn Bates, Please Understand Me, (Del Mar, CA: Prometheus Nemesis Book Co., 1978 ), 189.
- 2 [2]The hidden agenda is the very opposite of competence. It is the most unconscious transaction, with the role of key. It is the unknown source of creative solutions. It is also the counter personality, the alter ego. I interpret the hidden agenda as the true motivater of a personality. I view conscious behavior as the complex, torturous actions we have to go through to achieve what the hidden agenda transaction could do alone. But we have no choice, since the key transaction is not operation. But the concept is important, for it says, in effect, that the sum of the conscious transactions – competence, perseverance, talent, and toil – equals the hidden agenda. It is an example of the duality principle underlying the organization of consciousness; there are always tow ways of doing something, but only one is operational for any one individual.
- 3 The hidden agenda therefore plays itself out after the fact. Only after all that conscious work has been done and all that tedious effort has been expended, can the true goal be recognized. Only persons in touch with their unconscious recognize that fact. The others are only kidding themselves. Lowen, 213-214.
Read the complete personality series. Click here!