Devoted and/or Determined?

I recently had occasion to take the Myers-Briggs test, and was confronted with the following two choices:

1) devoted
2) determined

It gave me pause. Isn't that what we are being faced with in the latest ecclesiastical discussion? Pastor Kent's June 27 post, "Relational or Missional, Which is Right?" at Est cum est presents a carefully considered reflection on the question.

It's one thing to take a Myers-Briggs test, which cautions: "There are no "right" or "wrong" answers for [this] inventory. Your answers should reflect how you really think, feel and most naturally act -- not how you wish you were or think you should be." But isn't the ecclesiastical discussion precisely about how the church should be? In other words, isn't there something prescriptive involved, and not just descriptive? Isn't there some truth, some reality which we are called to incarnate?

As even pagan old Aristotle realized, one of the effects of sin is to swing us off balance, so that we "miss the mark" and fail to hit the "mean." I submit that the mean, where Christ is, is characterized by both devotion and determination; relation and mission. Perhaps there are times when, having lost our balance, we need to emphasize one over the other. Perhaps it is time to emphasize mission over relation. But I like how Kent put it: "I think I am moving. Not to the opposite end, but at least one standard deviation towards missional."

That's healthy. Yes, Jesus was missional. And yes, Jesus was relational. The remarkable thing about Him is that he holds both in perfect balance. And we should, too. Lord, help us to do that!