Last week I got nerdsniped with the question of why established evangelical leaders had a habit of taking charismatic narcissists and giving them support to found their own churches[1]. I expected this to be a whole saga that would teach lessons on how selecting for one set of good things secretly traded off against others. Then I found this checklist on churchplanting.com. It’s basically “tell me you’re a charismatic narcissist who will prioritize growth above virtue without telling me you’re a…“. And not charismatic in the sense of asking reasonable object-level questions that are assessed by a 3rd party and thus vulnerable to halo effects[2].
The first and presumably most important item on the checklist is “Visioning capacity”, which includes both the ability to dream that you are very important and to convince others to follow that dream. Comittment to growth has it’s own section (7), but it’s also embedded in, but there’s also section 4 (skill at attracting converts). Section 12 is Resilience, but the only specific setback mentioned is ups and downs in attendance. The very item on the list is “Can you create a grand Faith” is the last item on the 13 point list. “displaying Godly love and compassion to people” is a subheading under “6. Effectively builds relationships”.
There are other checklists that at least ask about character, so this isn’t all church planting. But it looks like the answer to “why do some evangelicals support charismatic narcissists that prioritize growth above all else...” is “because that’s what they want, presumably for the same reason lots of people value charm and growth.”
Interesting find. What about the visioning section conveyed “the dream that you are very important?” Or, alternatively, what do you mean by “dream” in this context?
In practice, newly planted churches[1] are cults of personality (neutral valence) around the planting team, or sometimes just the lead pastor[2]. “developing a theme which highlights the vision and philosophy of ministry” and “establishing a clear church identity related to the theme and vision” is inevitably[3] about selling yourself as a brand.
It’s possible to be a non-narcissist and pass this checklist, including the vision part. But it’s a lot easier if you have a high opinion of yourself, few doubts, don’t care about harming others, and love being the center of attention .
Last week I got nerdsniped with the question of why established evangelical leaders had a habit of taking charismatic narcissists and giving them support to found their own churches[1]. I expected this to be a whole saga that would teach lessons on how selecting for one set of good things secretly traded off against others. Then I found this checklist on churchplanting.com. It’s basically “tell me you’re a charismatic narcissist who will prioritize growth above virtue without telling me you’re a…“. And not charismatic in the sense of asking reasonable object-level questions that are assessed by a 3rd party and thus vulnerable to halo effects[2].
The first and presumably most important item on the checklist is “Visioning capacity”, which includes both the ability to dream that you are very important and to convince others to follow that dream. Comittment to growth has it’s own section (7), but it’s also embedded in, but there’s also section 4 (skill at attracting converts). Section 12 is Resilience, but the only specific setback mentioned is ups and downs in attendance. The very item on the list is “Can you create a grand Faith” is the last item on the 13 point list. “displaying Godly love and compassion to people” is a subheading under “6. Effectively builds relationships”.
There are other checklists that at least ask about character, so this isn’t all church planting. But it looks like the answer to “why do some evangelicals support charismatic narcissists that prioritize growth above all else...” is “because that’s what they want, presumably for the same reason lots of people value charm and growth.”
This is church planting, where the churches may advise, or fund but not have any authority over like they might in mainline denominations.
nor in the Christian sense of Charismatic
Interesting find. What about the visioning section conveyed “the dream that you are very important?” Or, alternatively, what do you mean by “dream” in this context?
In practice, newly planted churches[1] are cults of personality (neutral valence) around the planting team, or sometimes just the lead pastor[2]. “developing a theme which highlights the vision and philosophy of ministry” and “establishing a clear church identity related to the theme and vision” is inevitably[3] about selling yourself as a brand.
It’s possible to be a non-narcissist and pass this checklist, including the vision part. But it’s a lot easier if you have a high opinion of yourself, few doubts, don’t care about harming others, and love being the center of attention .
of this type. Presumably there are other types we hear less about because they don’t seek growth and publicity.
Sources: Rise and Fall of Mars Hill Church, Terminal: The Dying Church Planter
in this type