After being certified in the Enneagram for five years and teaching it in corporate and Christian settings, I’ve decided to leave it behind. Here are my reasons why.
From a reader: I really like the “what’s right with you” philosophy of CliftonStrengths. Do you think that conflicts with an Orthodox Christian worldview too? Or does the “balcony/basement” concept account for that?
My response:
I don't think it conflicts with a Christian worldview to recognize the good things in people. I see talents as being placed in us by God, and through his common grace, he invites us into experiences to grow those talents, and he also invites us to join Him in his work of redemption in the world. At the same time, all this good in us is impacted by sin, but can be made new through salvation and sanctification by Christ first, and the Holy Spirit, second. This is how I've made sense of CliftonStrengths from a Christian worldview.
From a reader: I’m curious if your concerns on Enneagram as a Christian (person centered) also apply to CliftonStrengths?
My response:
I don't have the same concerns. I don't see CliftonStrengths exercising the same self-centeredness. Certainly people can become too self-centric with any tool, but the Enneagram can become so internal and me-focused because it's about internal motivations, awakening to self-revelations, looking inside for guidance from your head, heart, and gut, etc.
From a reader: I’m curious if you think there’s still value in Enneagram for people who don’t hold a Christian worldview?
My response:
My hesitation with the Enneagram isn't just due to my Christian worldview. As a personality tool, the Enneagram hasn't been validated for accuracy. I mention a study in the post about PhD level psychologists who ranked the credibility of different personalty tools for their usefulness, and they ranked the Enneagram last. The problem is, too much is being made of the Enneagram while it has no real validity and it can lead to false positives, confirmation bias, and the Barna effect, which basically means people read themselves into descriptions so they feel like they "fit" somewhere. I do think people can get some value from the activities that often accompany the Enneagram, like self-reflection, conversation around personality, and recognized needs for growth. I'm just not sure if the growth happens as a result of these activities (which can happen around other content or tools) or if it's because they "found their number" in the Enneagram.
An interesting summary of the dangers of learning about yourself. I came away from reading this article with sadness for the misunderstanding of both the enneagram and Jesus, both of which have worked together in my life, and hopefully will continue to do so in the future. This seemed like a very fear-based summation, and it surprised me. Enough said. Harriette Heibel
Harriette, thanks for reading and providing your feedback. I'm curious--what is fear-based here and how did is surprise you? I was left with a much different emotion and sense as a result of following my conscience. I would appreciate hearing your perspective.
This is probably going to be a long-winded answer. I deliberately kept my original comment short. There was so much in your blog that was upsetting to me and I have been reflecting on it since I read it yesterday. I respect that you are a man of faith and that you have thought deeply about what you wrote and how you arrived at your change of heart. That being said, the way you criticized Richard Rohr, Chris Huerta, Suzanne Stable and Ian Cron felt unnecessary. Faith in Jesus takes many forms although the way you wrote about it felt like there is one form only. I do not want to quibble about that because one’s faith is central to one’s being. I have found the enneagram to be a wonderful tool for exploring my faith by discovering who God made me to be. I’m a student of the Bible and have been for decades; that hasn’t changed. What has changed is my own understanding of God in my life. My faith has grown, not diminished. it looks different than yours and the path I’ve been on looks different than yours. I’ve admired you for your brilliance in navigating your career, your insights related to Strengths and the Enneagram, and your flexibility in being able to make big changes in your career.
As to the “fear-based” comment, I’m not sure I want to go into it because it may seem like I’m criticizing your faith walk; that is something I don’t want to engage in. For the last 10 years I’ve been working with people who are going through divorce using a Christian program called DivorceCare. I’ve found that many of the stories of spouses have to do with midlife crises, where the spouse projects onto the marriage what’s really going on inside him/herself. The way you criticized Rohr, et al seems like that to me -projecting onto the enneagram something that’s going on with you. The enneagram is simply a tool; how people use it is something else. And I can certainly say the same about the Bible. We both know that history is full of people who have abused and misused the Bible for all sorts of things. it’s being done right now in front of us as our Christian faith is being politicized. Don’t get me started. Anyway, I told you this would be long-winded and a little rambling, but you have good mind and I’m sure you’ll see through what I am getting at. I wish you well, Chris, because I know you work really hard at your craft and your life.
Thank you for having the courage to share this and your reason why you left that teaching.
From a reader: I really like the “what’s right with you” philosophy of CliftonStrengths. Do you think that conflicts with an Orthodox Christian worldview too? Or does the “balcony/basement” concept account for that?
My response:
I don't think it conflicts with a Christian worldview to recognize the good things in people. I see talents as being placed in us by God, and through his common grace, he invites us into experiences to grow those talents, and he also invites us to join Him in his work of redemption in the world. At the same time, all this good in us is impacted by sin, but can be made new through salvation and sanctification by Christ first, and the Holy Spirit, second. This is how I've made sense of CliftonStrengths from a Christian worldview.
From a reader: I’m curious if your concerns on Enneagram as a Christian (person centered) also apply to CliftonStrengths?
My response:
I don't have the same concerns. I don't see CliftonStrengths exercising the same self-centeredness. Certainly people can become too self-centric with any tool, but the Enneagram can become so internal and me-focused because it's about internal motivations, awakening to self-revelations, looking inside for guidance from your head, heart, and gut, etc.
From a reader: I’m curious if you think there’s still value in Enneagram for people who don’t hold a Christian worldview?
My response:
My hesitation with the Enneagram isn't just due to my Christian worldview. As a personality tool, the Enneagram hasn't been validated for accuracy. I mention a study in the post about PhD level psychologists who ranked the credibility of different personalty tools for their usefulness, and they ranked the Enneagram last. The problem is, too much is being made of the Enneagram while it has no real validity and it can lead to false positives, confirmation bias, and the Barna effect, which basically means people read themselves into descriptions so they feel like they "fit" somewhere. I do think people can get some value from the activities that often accompany the Enneagram, like self-reflection, conversation around personality, and recognized needs for growth. I'm just not sure if the growth happens as a result of these activities (which can happen around other content or tools) or if it's because they "found their number" in the Enneagram.
An interesting summary of the dangers of learning about yourself. I came away from reading this article with sadness for the misunderstanding of both the enneagram and Jesus, both of which have worked together in my life, and hopefully will continue to do so in the future. This seemed like a very fear-based summation, and it surprised me. Enough said. Harriette Heibel
Harriette, thanks for reading and providing your feedback. I'm curious--what is fear-based here and how did is surprise you? I was left with a much different emotion and sense as a result of following my conscience. I would appreciate hearing your perspective.
This is probably going to be a long-winded answer. I deliberately kept my original comment short. There was so much in your blog that was upsetting to me and I have been reflecting on it since I read it yesterday. I respect that you are a man of faith and that you have thought deeply about what you wrote and how you arrived at your change of heart. That being said, the way you criticized Richard Rohr, Chris Huerta, Suzanne Stable and Ian Cron felt unnecessary. Faith in Jesus takes many forms although the way you wrote about it felt like there is one form only. I do not want to quibble about that because one’s faith is central to one’s being. I have found the enneagram to be a wonderful tool for exploring my faith by discovering who God made me to be. I’m a student of the Bible and have been for decades; that hasn’t changed. What has changed is my own understanding of God in my life. My faith has grown, not diminished. it looks different than yours and the path I’ve been on looks different than yours. I’ve admired you for your brilliance in navigating your career, your insights related to Strengths and the Enneagram, and your flexibility in being able to make big changes in your career.
As to the “fear-based” comment, I’m not sure I want to go into it because it may seem like I’m criticizing your faith walk; that is something I don’t want to engage in. For the last 10 years I’ve been working with people who are going through divorce using a Christian program called DivorceCare. I’ve found that many of the stories of spouses have to do with midlife crises, where the spouse projects onto the marriage what’s really going on inside him/herself. The way you criticized Rohr, et al seems like that to me -projecting onto the enneagram something that’s going on with you. The enneagram is simply a tool; how people use it is something else. And I can certainly say the same about the Bible. We both know that history is full of people who have abused and misused the Bible for all sorts of things. it’s being done right now in front of us as our Christian faith is being politicized. Don’t get me started. Anyway, I told you this would be long-winded and a little rambling, but you have good mind and I’m sure you’ll see through what I am getting at. I wish you well, Chris, because I know you work really hard at your craft and your life.
Thanks for sharing more of your point of view, Harriette. I appreciate that we can see things differently. Bless you!