What Christians Can Learn From the Enneagram

“Why am I like this?” I asked myself regularly, starting around age 7. If I was snubbed on the playground I would stand against the brick wall by myself singing, “Somewhere Out There” as if I was Fieval the Mouse and I had been separated from everyone and everything I loved.

If Fraggle Rock or E.T. or the Muppets, or anything remotely resembling a vampire came on the television I would run screaming from the room. In my teenage years, close friends of mine would warn me about certain books or movies that I shouldn’t read or see because of certain scenes that they knew would devastate me. As a sensitive kid who talked to Jesus every day, much of the time I felt like an outsider; knowing that I had so much love to give, but isolated and wishing for a place that people understood me and wanted me. Even as an adult I seem to ask the question, “Why am I like this?” more than necessary; it feels as though I’m completely driven by the need for authenticity and understanding.

Who Am I?

When it comes to discerning who we are truly meant to be, we all have blind spots- and that’s putting it mildly. Many of us simply exist day-by-day according to what we think we ought to be doing, how we think we ought to be behaving, and just managing a pre-packaged plan that looks like it will give us a comfortable, easy life. In fact, comfort is such a key motivator in our society that when Barna Research Group polled Christians in 2009, the overwhelming conclusion was that personal, spiritual growth is simply not a priority.

A Year-In-Review Barna article wrote this:

“…research found that a majority of churchgoing adults are uncertain as to what their church would define as a ‘healthy, spiritually mature follower of Christ’ and they were no more likely to have personally developed a clear notion of such a life. It may well be that spiritual evaluation is so uncommon because people fear that the results might suggest the need for different growth strategies or for more aggressive engagement in the growth process. No matter what the underlying reason is, the bottom line among both the clergy and laity was indifference toward their acknowledged lack of evaluation. That suggests there is not likely to be much change in this dimension in the immediate future. In other words, as we examine the discipleship landscape, what we see is what we get – and what we will keep getting for some time.”

Simply put: “The purpose of faith, for most Americans, is not so much to discover truth, or to relate to a loving, praiseworthy deity as it is to become happy, successful, comfortable and secure.”

As I interact with scripture – as I meditate on the Psalms, or read the words of Paul – I don’t think that a complacent and shallow existence is what we’re called to as co-laborers of Christ! Enter: the Enneagram. My favorite tool for navigating our inner landscape and awakening our true, holy, authentic selves.

“With God’s help, I shall become myself.” –Soren Kierkegaard

So what, then, is the Enneagram and how can it help?

The name Enneagram derives from two Greek words: “ennea” meaning “nine,” and “gram” meaning “points.” So, in the Enneagram we see nine personality types that each have a distinct way of seeing, interacting with, responding to, and experiencing the world. Each type also has a distinct virtue and a distinct vice, or sin pattern. I know, for Christians the shape is pretty suspicious looking, but this system boasts ancient roots as the earliest iterations date back to 400 A.D. by desert, Christian monks.

As many of us know through other avenues of self-study, for each positive aspect of our personality, there is a corresponding negative response; some say “true self vs. false self,” “life-giving side vs. shadow side,” or “healthy vs. unhealthy.” Once we uncover the false-self patterns of our Enneagram type, the Enneagram helps us navigate new pathways to wholeness. If we truly believe that we are always being refined as followers of Jesus (2 Cor. 3:18), the Enneagram helps give language and practical application to the refinement process. The purpose is not to put you in a box (as opposed to other popular personality tests that shall go unnamed); the purpose is to unleash all you can become through self-knowledge, which leads to integration, which leads to transformation. Each type reveals a characteristic of God, and through the Holy Spirit, we all have access to all of these holy attributes! I find that extremely comforting.

The tiny peek into my own soul that I revealed in the opening paragraph of this article indicates that I am an Enneagram type 4. Depending on which author or institute you’re learning from, type 4 is labeled The Romantic, The Individualist, the Original person, or the Creative person. For type 4s it is important to draw on the life-giving aspects of the 7 and the 1 for balance; this is called a ‘harmony triad.’ In recent years the Enneagram has made its way into mainstream conversation, but I started studying it about 10 years ago, and teaching it 4 years ago. I have yet to come across another personality and spiritual growth tool that is so thorough, nuanced, and life-giving. It helped answer this question I had been asking since age seven, “Why am I like this?” and it helped me bring my wounded, false self to God so that more of my true self- the reflection of God in me- could emerge. As Richard Rohr says, “If you do not transform your wounds, you will transmit them.”

My encouragement for anyone beginning this journey is that there is so much beauty to discover. Instead of toil and condemnation, you can experience safety and peace and excitement on your way to becoming your true self. As God leads you and partners with you, you can experience a ‘you’ that finally feels like home.

The Nine types:

1- The Good person

2- The Loving person

3- The Effective person

4- The Original person

5- The Wise person

6- The Loyal person

7- The Joyful person

8- The Powerful person

9- The Peaceful person

Want to read the Enneagram book? Check out: The Road Back to You: An Enneagram Journey to Self-Discovery

If we truly believe that we are always being refined as followers of Jesus (2 Cor. 3:18), the Enneagram helps give language and practical application to the refinement process. Click To Tweet