The growing popularity of the Enneagram has caused Christians to start asking: are personality tests helpful or harmful? Should Christians use the Enneagram or is it too conflicted in its origins? These are great questions and I genuinely appreciate those who are asking them. The Apostle Paul admonishes us Christians to be discerning and to "test everything" (1 Thessalonians 5:21).
While I don't want the Enneagram to become a distraction or replacement for Scripture, I believe there's much Christians stand to benefit from its use. I have found it helpful in premarital and marriage counseling, discipleship, with church staff teams, mom’s groups, and workplace trainings, to name a few. I have lost count with the amount of "aha" moments people have while discussing their personality type and its relationship to their inner struggles and outer relationships.
Therefore, I want to suggest that before some critics dismiss the Enneagram because of the growing hype or because the symbol reminds us of a pentagram (it kind of does!), let's see if we can come up with some helpful answers to the most critical questions some people are asking:
Does the Enneagram put too much focus on self?
Is the Enneagram a Christian-based tool?
Is the Enneagram dangerous as a spiritual tool?
Is the Enneagram redeemable? (if it has mixed sources?)
Does using personality categories do more harm than good?
Does the Enneagram help or hinder our evangelism?
Can the Enneagram itself save us?
To read more, please check out the attached FREE PDF resource. You have permission to pass it along to family, friends, or clients.
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Tyler Zachis a Pastor at CityLight Benson in Omaha, Nebraska, and is a Certified Coach with the Gospel Enneagram.
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