Enneagram

Why the Enneagram?

While on the surface the Enneagram may appear to be just another personality typology ending in self-knowledge, we believe it can be a tool for stepping into the transformation God extends to us in Christ. But the tool won’t work if we don’t first know its purpose in context of the Gospel.

To know anything about ourselves and the purpose of personality, we must first understand the centrality of relationship in the story of the Gospel. God is in Himself relationship as “three Persons of one substance, power, and eternity.” God exists in a flowing dance of reciprocal love between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. As humans, we were created in the image of God, which means we are “structured by and for relationships.” Just as the Father, Son, and Spirit give and receive their presence in perfect love to one another, we offer our presence to others and absorb theirs in return, whether we realize it or not.

The Gospel is an enthralling invitation to be reconciled to God through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Scripture says to “put off your old self” and “put on the new self created after the likeness of God.” But it can be difficult to know exactly what that means in everyday life. The Enneagram is a tool that can reveal the specific ways we are held captive to our self as well as the unique ways God intends for us to display his glory and love to the world. More than a simple label, the Enneagram is a guide to receiving the transforming presence of Christ in the exact places sin and wounds make us fall short of the glory of God.

Put simply, the Enneagram makes sanctification specific by giving us a roadmap to where we most need God’s healing. “The genius of the Enneagram is that it offers nine (actually twenty-seven) distinct pathways of transformation. Image-bearers are unique creations of their Creator, and disciples are in the process of being redeemed in unique ways. The Enneagram can be a powerful assist to this God-authored redemption.”

How can we begin to approach the Enneagram as a tool to draw us into the love of Christ and the power of Scripture? To be truly transformational, the Enneagram must be engaged slowly, deeply, and communally. The real fruit of the Enneagram grows through patient and curious consideration of our life story. Because the Enneagram is focused on underlying motivations rather than surface behaviors, it can take quite a long time to discover our types. The process of discovering your core style is to try on the ‘wardrobes’ of each type until you feel naked! Your Enneagram type should expose your underlying motives in relationships: the need to be perfect, the need to be needed, the need to succeed, the need to be special, the need to be competent, the need to be safe, the need to be happy, the need for control, and the need for peace. Beyond exposure, your Enneagram type should articulate the story God has already been writing in your life.

Learning about the nine types can build appreciation for others’ perspectives and produce sensitivity toward the wounds and narratives that have contributed to their unique style of living. The Enneagram helps us see our story clearly, continuously acknowledge the ways we push away love, and intentionally work to stand in our transformed identity in Christ. Instead of being at odds with God’s Word, the Enneagram propels us to heed to Scripture and be connected to its Author.

*excerpt taken from an article in RELEVANT Magazine

• ”One​”

• ”Two​”

• ”Three​”

• ”Four​”

• ”Five​”

• ”Six​”

• ”Seven​”

• ”Eight​”

• ”Nine​”

• Type 1​ (20:21)

• Type 2​ (27:10)

• Type 3​ (31:57)

• Type 4​ (26:59)

• Type 5​ (20:26)

• Type 6​ (25:59)

• Type 7​ (20:77)

• Type 8​ (19:08)

• Type 9​ (14:10)

• Type 1​ ​(1:36:17)

• Type 2​ ​(1:52:25)

• Type 3​ ​(1:29:27)

• Type 4​ ​(1:31:39)

• Type 5​ ​(1:49:17)

• Type 6​ ​(1:30:24)

• Type 7​ ​(1:31:32)

• Type 8​ ​(1:35:19)

• Type 9​ ​(1:26:44)