introverts

The loner who looks fabulous is one of the most vulnerable loners of all.

In a team setting, leadership is shared by a community of people, which counters the tendency for pastors to form congregations in their own images.

I don't talk ill about people I don't know," said Bartleby. "I only disparage them in silence and hope they die.

There's a difference between preferring books to parties and preferring sixteen cats to seeing the light of day.

Introverts live in two worlds: We visit the world of people, but solitude and the inner world will always be our home.

Telling an introvert to go to a party is like telling a saint to go to Hell.

As an introvert, you crave intimate moments and deep connections--and those usually aren't found in a crowd.

Introverts treasure the close relationships they have stretched so much to make.

When you fail to tap into your wellsprings of inner strength due totoxic habits, environments or people, you wind up feeling trapped, stranded and unhappy. You end up in soulless jobs, destructive relationships and empty friendships. Most of all, youfind yourself unsatisfied with who you are, and you often become your own worst enemy,perpetuating the cycles of pain, anger and fear within you _ like I did

In an extroverted society, the difference between an introvert and an extrovert is that an introvert is often unconsciously deemed guilty until proven innocent.

Time and again I hear how important the darker environment is to those at our vintage-faith worship gathering. Attenders feel they can freely pray in a corner by themselves without feeling that everyone is staring at them.

Introverted seekers need introverted evangelists. It's not that extroverts can't communicate the gospel, either verbally or nonverbally, in ways that introverts find appealing, it's that introverted seekers need to know and see that it's possible to lead the Christian life as themselves. It's imperative for them to understand that becoming a Christian is not tantamount with becoming an extrovert.

The verbal tool of exploring mystery together is not confrontation or preaching but dialogue. We subject ourselves to the same questions we pose to others, and as we traverse them together, we may arrive at surprising conclusions we could never have reached when simply trying to defeat one another's logic. Our questions are open ended, granting the other person the freedom to respond or not to respond. The questions stick with us, even haunt us, long after we ask them, and we await insight together. The process is more important than an immediate decision.

Don't think of introversion as something that needs to be cured...Spend your free the way you like, not the way you think you're supposed to.

Introverts don__ see life as one big cocktail party. We__e content with just a few meaningful relationships.

When introverts go to church, we crave sanctuary in every sense of the word, as we flee from the disorienting distractions of twenty-first-century life. We desire to escape from superficial relationships, trivial communications and the constant noise that pervade our world, and find rest in the probing depths of God's love.

Because introverts are typically good listeners and, at least, have the appearance of calmness, we are attractive to emotionally needy people. Introverts, gratified that other people are initiating with them, can easily get caught in these exhausting and unsatisfying relationships.

The key to flow is to pursue an activity for its own sake, not for the rewards it brings.