The Enneagram. Perhaps you have never heard of it and you’re hoping this blog post isn’t about geometry. Perhaps your friends have mentioned it but you’re still not sure what it is. Maybe you were introduced to the Enneagram a while ago and it has become a powerful tool for change in your life. Regardless of where you stand, the Enneagram can help you partner with God to find greater spiritual depth and transformation.
If you are unfamiliar with it, The Enneagram is a system of nine different personality “types” which are used for exploring emotional health, self-knowledge, spiritual growth, and even business development. Each of the nine types has a corresponding number to help identify it. Unlike many personality frameworks that speak primarily about a person’s attributes, the Enneagram largely helps you understand your motivations, your fears and your sometimes dysfunctional ways of getting your needs met.
Once you have identified your number, the real work begins. It’s not for the faint of heart, but if you’re willing to take a hard look at yourself with God, the Enneagram can help highlight steps for personal and spiritual health. As you partner with God, you will begin to recognize sin patterns in your life, fears, faulty beliefs and relational blind spots. The goal in using the Enneagram is always Christlikeness, and it is important for Scripture to be the lens we use when examining our personal discoveries through the Enneagram.
If you know your Enneagram number and are interested in exploring further spiritual development, you can prayerfully use the questions below as a starting point. If you’re new to the Enneagram and aren’t sure of your type yet, there are resources at the bottom of this post to help you learn more.
Type 1 – The Idealist
Qualities: principled, rational, responsible, self-controlled, and perfectionistic
Core fear: being defective or corrupt
Core desire: to be good, have integrity and find balance
Questions to foster spiritual growth: Which imperfect characters in the Bible are you most drawn to? Can you let Christ befriend your inner critic? How can you gently disrupt and reshape your desire to be a “perfect Christian”?
Verse for contemplation: 2 Corinthians 12:9
Type 2 – The Helper
Qualities: generous, sacrificial, demonstrative, people-pleasing, and possessive
Core fear: being unwanted or unworthy of being loved
Core desire: to be loved
Questions for spiritual growth: Can you believe Christ needs nothing from you in order to love you? How might you allow Jesus to serve you for a change? In what ways can you place the needs of others on God’s shoulders instead of your own?
Verses for contemplation: John 13:8-9
Type 3 – The Achiever
Qualities: adaptable, excelling, ambitious, driven, and image-conscious
Core fear: being worthless
Core desire: to feel valuable and worthwhile
Questions for spiritual growth: What if your greatest value to God wasn’t in your achieving but in your quiet rest in Him? In what ways do you trust in your own strength more than God’s? What items on your to-do list can you surrender to God right now?
Verse for contemplation: Isaiah 30:15
Type 4 – The Individualist
Qualities: expressive, deep, creative, emotional, dramatic
Core fear: having no identity or significance
Core desire: to create significance and personal identity
Questions for spiritual growth: Can you recognize the unique ways God is conforming you to the image of Christ? How might you use artistic expression to connect with God? How can you allow God to develop a robust, significant and Christlike identity in you?
Verse for contemplation: John 15:11
Type 5 – The Investigator
Qualities: perceptive, reserved, innovative, independent and secretive
Core fear: being useless, helpless and incompetent
Core desire: to be capable and competent
Questions for spiritual growth: Can you enjoy experiencing the presence of God as much as you enjoy studying and learning about God? How can you allow yourself and God to access the full range of emotions you possess? How might you more fully engage in community with the body of Christ?
Verses for contemplation: Acts 17:27-28
Type 6 – The Loyalist
Qualities: reliable, stable, responsible, security-minded, and distrusting
Core fear: being without support, safety and guidance
Core desire: to have security
Questions for spiritual growth: Do you believe that God is more committed to you than you are to him? What characteristics of God help you feel most safe? Can you look to God for security rather than the reassurances and affirmations of others?
Verse for contemplation: Psalm 4:8
Type 7 – The Enthusiast
Qualities: spontaneous, versatile, high-spirited, fun-loving and scattered
Core fear: being in pain
Core desire: to be fulfilled and find satisfying contentment
Questions for spiritual growth: Can you be content with where God has you right now without moving on to the next best thing? Are you willing to acknowledge the pain in your life to God? How might you practice stillness before God?
Verse for contemplation: Psalm 23:6
Type 8 – The Challenger
Qualities: self-confident, leader, decisive, enterprising and confrontational
Core fear: being harmed or controlled by others
Core desire: self-protection and control of life
Questions for spiritual growth: How might vulnerability be your greatest asset? How can you release even more control to God? Can you rest in knowing that Christ, not you, is the most powerful advocate you have?
Verse for contemplation: Romans 5:6
Type 9 – The Peacemaker
Qualities: easygoing, reassuring, calm, complacent, and passive
Core fear: separation and loss
Core desire: inner stability and peace of mind
Questions for spiritual growth: How might distraction and inertia be keeping you from the priorities God is calling you to? Are there any hard things you want to say to God but feel afraid to voice? Do you truly believe nothing can separate you from the love of Christ?
Verses for contemplation: Romans 8:37-39
Interested in learning more about the Enneagram? Here are a few resources to get you started:
Books
There are a number of great Enneagram books out there. Check out Amazon reviews!
Enneagram Tests
The two tests below are the most standardized and widely used. There are free tests available online that you can utilize, but they are not always accurate.
RHETI ($12)
WEPSS ($10)
Becky Young is a photographer, spiritual director and writer. She has been a member of Faith Church for 3 years and serves with Faith’s Photography Team, Care Ministry and Writing Team.
Becky enjoys writing about soul care and cultivating a deeper life with God. Becky was born and raised in Colorado and enjoys spending time with her husband, gardening and exploring God’s creation.