"Using the enneagram to hear to Jesus’ call to be and make disciples entails learning to listen to and live more fully from the life that is “hidden with Christ in God” (see Colossians 3:3b). As we live more and more from this space (i.e., our deepest nature / our essence / true self) what is revealed is that what is hidden, is not hidden at all because the Presence of God does not hide. It is always in plain sight. We just need to develop ‘ears to listen'. (John 20:14 & 16; Luke 24:15 & 31; Matthew 11:15; 13:9; 43; Mark 4:9; Luke 8:8; Luke 14:35;) The enneagram is a psycho-spiritual map of human consciousness by which we can develop those ears." – Rev. Jeff Erbskorn, Personality Portfolios
Discerning Your Personality Portfolio / Discipleship Stance:
The nine Enneagram points illuminate nine distinct Personality Portfolio / Discipleship Stance options—characteristic ways of embodying and enacting Jesus' call to be and make disciples. Think of this Portfolio / Stance as your primary way of showcasing your God-given gifts and your go-to mental, emotional, and behavioral leaning as you live out that call. It’s an "energy" or facet of the mind of Christ (Philippians 2:5-8) that most strongly shapes how you present yourself and your approach to discipleship.
While we have access to all nine, our upbringing and experiences often lead us to identify more strongly with one. This single Personality Portfolio / Discipleship Stance becomes our "default" way of following Jesus, influencing our thoughts, feelings, and actions in our discipleship journey. This core Enneagram style / Discipleship Stance can often reflect early responses to our environment and primary caregivers, in the sense we perceived something as lacking and falsely came to believe that if we just did this, that, or the other and/or did not do this, that or the other then what we perceived as missing would manifest.
Discerning your core Personality Portfolio / Discipleship Stance is a journey of self-discovery. I utilize the Wagner Enneagram Personality Styles Scale to help you understand your under or over-identification with each of the nine energies, which serves as a starting point for personal reflection and conversation. Ultimately, no external assessment defines who we are as disciples. Instead, the Enneagram invites us to recognize the unconscious patterns that characterize our habitual way of answering Jesus' call—the specific gifts and competencies within our portfolio we tend to utilize, and the particular "stance" or way we position ourselves as we hear and try to live out that call.
This discernment is an ongoing process, much like discipleship itself, requiring the cultivation of an "inner observer" to identify the recurring patterns in our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors as we live out our faith. By asking, "Why am I thinking, feeling, or reacting this way in my walk with Christ?", we gain insight into our default Discipleship Stance and how we habitually present our gifts.
Effective discipleship involves coming to understand our own Personality Portfolio / Discipleship Stance — our characteristic way of being a disciple and showcasing our gifts —- in relationship to that of others, so that we come to see ALL are needed. No one stance has a better way to live out the call to discipleship than the others.
Growth comes from recognizing our own "triggers and tricks" within our stance as we strive to be more fully present to God, others, and ourselves in the way Christ calls us to.
Using the Enneagram to understand our Personality Portfolio / Discipleship Stance within a Christian context fosters deeper understanding in our faith communities. By recognizing the diverse ways individuals answer Jesus' call and showcase their gifts, we can take fewer things personally and become more responsive in our shared mission.
Through prayer and continued discernment, we become more aware of when and why we are more or less open to Christ's presence through our particular way of being and doing. Our core Discipleship Stance / Personality Portfolio, like our Enneagram style, is what often shows up when we are not fully conscious. The goal is not to eliminate our stance but to become more aware of its patterns. We can then set out as disciples in a more balanced way - leveraging those gifts we know while at the same tapping into those (within self and others) with which we are less familiar.
The Enneagram symbol itself, with its representation of wholeness (i.e. the circle - the mind of / full presence of Christ), the Trinity (i.e. the triangle / Law of Three - see Cynthia Bourgeault's devotion at https://cac.org/the-law-of-three-2018-06-05/), and the dynamic journey of growth and struggle (i.e. the inner lines), serves as a visual reminder of the complexities and the grace-filled path of discipleship we are on, guided by the Holy Spirit towards deeper communion with Christ (2 Corinthians 5:18-20; Ephesians 2:8).
