Using the enneagram to hear 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.
DISCIPLESHIP DEVELOPMENT
"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” -- Matthew 28:19-20
"As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea—for they were fishermen.17And Jesus said to them, “Follow me and I will make you fish for people.” 18And immediately they left their nets and followed him. 19As he went a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in their boat mending the nets. 20Immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and followed him." - Mark 1:16-20
"As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea—for they were fishermen.17And Jesus said to them, “Follow me and I will make you fish for people.” 18And immediately they left their nets and followed him. 19As he went a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in their boat mending the nets. 20Immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and followed him." - Mark 1:16-20
What is a disciple? Surely a disciple is someone who follows Jesus, someone who lives like Jesus, loves like Jesus and brings others to Jesus.
But what does that really mean? And does it mean the same thing to each of us? The simple answer would be of course not. And, this is indeed where many people stop. What then goes unseen (or underappreciated) is how our tendency to over identify with our own discipleship lens leads to misunderstanding, conflict with or judgement of other disciples.
We often discount or forget to be curious about lenses of others and the Christ they see from their discipleship stance who we may not see from ours. Tis true that we don’t see what we don’t see. So, if your discipleship values lead you to protest something and mine do not, does that mean I am not a "real" disciple? Of course not. Yet not only does that attitude play itself out more often than we would care to admit, but our work as disciples is often grouped and decided upon accordingly. This leads to a very narrow view of discipleship that can often be more hurtful than helpful to building up the body of Christ. Rare is the approach that treats each discipleship stance as one facet of a beautiful diamond.
Many books and programs expound upon the marks or characteristics of a disciple, often taking a “one size fits all” approach. For me, this shows a lack of awareness as to the intricacies of discipleship. In my view (through the lens of discipleship stances), each disciple holds a core value or ideal through which their emotional, physical and mental responses are filtered. Unconscious patterns of thought, emotion and behavior get played out based upon that core value or ideal. I believe that it is for this reason that each of us lives into and out of the “marks” and characteristics of a disciple differently.
Looking at discipleship in this way moves us from a generic picture of discipleship to an awareness that when two disciples do the same thing it is not the same thing at all.
Admittedly, persons who write on discipleship may tip their hat to the fact that the reason for this is that we each contain different spiritual gifts. Yet, what is often missed is that this leads to different internal motivations, some born of the Spirit (2 Corinthians 3:17-20) and some born out of our resistance to the Spirit (Romans 7:15-23), which shape how and why we utilize those gifts. Among the many lenses through which disciples filter Jesus' call to be disciples and to make disciples, we will consider nine.
Though a disciple would hold all nine of the core values or ideals, from the stand point of discipleship stances, one would shape how they live out Jesus' call to not only be a disciple, but also to make disciples. Though all nine discipleship stances are available to them, this approach asserts that, as a disciple grows in self-awareness, it becomes evident to them that one has been their “go to” or core stance.
A LOOK AT THE NINE DISCIPLESHIP STANCES
17And Jesus said to them, “Follow me and I will make you fish for people.” 18And immediately they left their nets and followed him.” – Mark 1:17-18
As a disciple follows Jesus, the Holy Spirit reveals the fact that there has been a particular pattern to their thoughts, feelings and behaviors which in a sense represents the “net” they intended to leave behind. They discover that holding their stance too tightly can lead to their, quite unconsciously and unintentionally, getting entangled in a limited view of the diamond we call the mind of Christ (Philippians 2:5-8).
The nine discipleship stances of the enneagram then can be seen as both trappings and transformations, both blessings and blunders showing the disciple as both saint and sinner at the same time (simul justus et peccator.9) and in constant need of the presence of Christ (Matthew 28:20b), the guidance of the Holy Spirit (John 14:26) and the love of the Father (Luke 15:20).
We will define a stance as the emotional, physical and mental positioning a disciple can take. A look at each stance reveals that repeating patterns exist within the way that disciple listens to God, themselves and others.
As mentioned before, these patterns involve a favorite value. It is that value that shapes where the disciple habitually focuses their attention. As energy follows attention this results in emotional, behavioral and mental filtering unique to that particular discipleship stance.
The nine values are: 1. Goodness, 2. Love, 3. Efficiency, 4. Originality, 5. Wisdom, 6. Loyalty, 7. Joy, 8. Power (as in dominion not domination) and 9. Peace
It is important to note that these values are not mutually exclusive. One is contained within another. Where goodness is, there is also love. Where Loyalty is there is also joy. Where power (good stewardship of life) is, there is peace, etc. Therefore, the discipleship stances are interconnected and interdependent. However, for the reason that disciples tend to fall asleep to or under appreciate this fact, spiritual work involves each disciple being intentional about becoming compassionately curious.
Compassionate curiosity involves looking and listening for Christ in both self and other. What is it about what disciples within other stances see or hear that I don’t that can help me better see Christ and better appreciate our interconnectedness? Conversely what is it that I might see that others don’t? Here the Somali Bantu phrase: Umbuntu is helpful for the disciple to remember: “I am because you are and we are because Christ is.”
This is especially important for the health of the community, for the reason that disciples within each stance are prone (quite unconsciously) to hold (clutch) their favorite value too tightly. The ideal can become (again unconsciously) an idol, a graven image that is substituted for God.
Discipleship can evolve or devolve base on two factors:
1. The grip one has on the ideal. Here the disciple would do well to remember St. Paul’s counsel to the Philippians:
5Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, 6who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited (i.e. seized; clutched), 7but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, 8he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death— even death on a cross.” - Philippians 2:5-8
2. The health of the connections made with and between the other stances. “Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others.” - Philippians 2:4
The way forward then is actually through communal discernment of the ways in which God seeks to restore (emotionally, physically and mentally) the joy of our salvation and uphold us with God’s free spirit. We discern “the mind of Christ” together. It is the presence of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit that holds all together and brings renewal to the disciple and to the community’s heart, body & mind.
THE NINE DISCIPLESHIP STANCES
THE HEART TRIAD: orientation has to do with other people, particularly how I seem them.
2 Disciples Who Seek To Connect
3 Disciples Who Seek Success & Efficiency
4 Disciples Who Seek To Be Understood
THE BODY TRIAD: orientation has to do with me and my environment…needing it to be a certain way.
8 Disciples Who Seek Justice & Strength
9 Disciples Who Seek Peace & Harmony
1 Disciples Who Seek To Perfect
THE HEAD TRIAD orientation has to do with how do I function in the world? How do I function as I move through time and space? All looking for a sense of security.
5 Disciples Who Seek Knowledge & Information
6 Disciples Who Seek Security
7 Disciples Who Seek Options & Possibilities
The way forward for disciples within each stance does indeed begin with listening, but listening with a “third ear” so to speak. Listening without an ear toward self-awareness simply reinforces the trances we often find ourselves locked into. The “anfectung” or restlessness of the disciple’s heart is not addressed. Further, the messiness often created when competing values collide goes undealt with and persons move towards either fusion or cutoff.
It does not have to go this way. With the help of the Holy Spirit we can develop an inner witness. It is through the inner witness that we can bring to conscious awareness patterns of thought, emotion and behavior. We can choose a different thought, relax our emotions and entertain different responses. We can see and hear Christ present in situations, circumstances and in people with whom we differ in ways we could not before.
The PowerPoint below expands on this and contains a sample of how I outline each of the nine discipleship stances.
Also, hear what author and speaker, Father Richard Rohr has to say:
ttps://cac.org/knowing-ourselves-2016-04-24/
https://cac.org/loving-whole-self-2016-04-25/
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