The Gospel for Every Enneagram (GHFC Elective: Lesson 2)

Jesus’ Type

So today we’re going to start going over the different Enneagram types using the chart on your handout, but before we start, here’s a question: What Enneagram type do you think Jesus was? Remember the Enneagram describes how we act when we are hungry for God and don’t fill up on him. It’s about how we cope. 

Jesus had needs, like Hebrews 2 tell us, but he satisfied his needs through a perfect union with his father, so he didn’t have to go looking for love, security or power through other means.Jesus wasn’t confined by any of these numbers or any personality test. He could help others and he could ask for help. He could seek solitude and he could be in large crowds. He could use the father’s power and he could refrain from using that power. Jesus wasn’t motivated by his unmet human needs. And we were meant to be like Jesus

Free to be a Sinner

I have found that the more healthy a person is—this is Abby talking here—, the less like any of these Enneagram numbers a person seems. They break the mold. However, now I realize that this will be the motivation for some of us to show how we aren’t like any of these numbers—you never have ulterior motives. “I’m a healthy Christian. None of these numbers are me,” which is funny.

Why are we so afraid of being found sinners? God can’t help anyone but sinners. And Christ made it okay for us to discover our motives weren’t pure—because Jesus diagnosed the problem, died for it, and gives us the cure: a new self created after the likeness of Christ Jesus. That’s who we are. The unhealthy patterns in us are no longer who we are. They are just echoes of a past life. Paul calls it the life of the flesh. Enneagram people call it the false self.

This means that the descriptions of these numbers that I’m going to read to you are not who you are even if that is how you cope in life. These numbers are who you no longer need to be because Jesus has taken care of all that.

I like to think of it like discovering empty containers in my heart, the more empty containers I find, the more I can set out for God to fill with his goodness and mercy and knowledge and power. Who wouldn’t want to find more empty containers? Where sin abounds, grace abounds even more! (Romans 5:20)

So please, let’s make it okay to confess our sins in church. No one is here because they’re perfect. We are all undergoing God’s treatment: the redemption of our hearts, mind, and strength.And that’s why it’s okay for me to say: “Hi, my name is Abigail Stevens. I am a recovering Enneagram 5.”

The Mind Center: 5, 6, 7

So that’s where we’re going to start since you’re all looking at your handout to see what that means anyways: with the Enneagram 5, 6, and 7’s. I thought that it was only fair that if I’m going to describe other’s ways of sinning, that I better start with my own ways. You will find summaries of all this on your handout.

By the way, these are just summaries. There is such variation with each number depending on birth order, your parents personalities, your social leanings, ethnicity, your wings, arrows of security—but we’re not going into all that.

So, the 5, 6, and 7 are in what’s called The Mind Center in the Enneagram. All this means is that we are most disordered in our thoughts about how to acquire security in the world. We are most prone to fear of a particular nature.

The 5’s: The Observer/Investigator

The Observer most longs for the knowledge and wisdom of God so they can engage in the world.
In new situations, 5’s hesitate at the door, scan the room, figure out what’s going on, who’s there, where are the exits—their eyes are like vacuums taking in data, analyzing, gathering—and then the 5's place themselves where they most feel safe and capable, where the fewest people will notice them or ask them for things. 

They do this because the 5’s are trying to compensate for all there is to know that they don't know and feels scary to them. So the 5’s distance themselves until they can figure out how they’re going to play this game called life. They detach by escaping into their minds where they experiment and create. They can seem awkward and stiff and robotic because they are not inhabiting their bodies.To others, this can make the 5’s can seem aloof, withdrawn, stand-offish, stubborn or arrogant.

The 5’s guard and maintain their personal space, often jumping if touched or if anyone intrudes into their safe space. 

There a large number of philosopher 5’s: staying separate from the world to theorize and study at a safe distance.They are non-stop learners and gatherers. They gather: information, books, trinkets, money, supplies, whatever makes them feel like they have—thus their primary sin is greed. But they fool themselves into thinking they’re just trying to have enough to survive. They can become a relative “expert” in one area to the total neglect of other areas, and still not feel like they know enough in their field. And they are right. Worldly knowledge can never secure them, but God’s wisdom can.

Examples of people who act like 5’s: Albert Einstein, Stephen Hawking, Vincent van Gogh, Salvador Dali, Emily Dickinson, Agatha Christie, Stephen King, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Alfred Hitchcock, Dr. Strange, Sherlock Holmes, some people think that Nicodemus, Zaccheus, and Doubting-Thomas in the Bible had 5 tendencies. Now before you start marveling that 5’s are a bunch of geniuses, what if we could see into these people hearts and discover that Albert Einstein was so persistent at his inventions because he didn’t feel capable of handling the other aspects of his life?

I want to speak to the 5’s in the room for a second or anyone who recognizes 5 tendencies. Do you know that safe place you go? It may be that particular world in your mind or a physical room in your house. We feel the need to go there the most after a lot of social engagements or errands or just being around kids for more than an hour.

 
Make that safe place: God. And then, you will always have enough.

I also want to speak to those of you who may have a 5 in your life. One of the most precious gifts that you can give a 5 is space and time. But what is even more precious than that is the truth about their security. When the 5 in your life says, “I need to leave now!” or you see they’re pulling out, checking out, you can remind them of the truth: “God knows everything about this situation, this person, this new thought. And you have the Lord. You may have run out of your own resources, but God hasn’t. You don’t need to understand everything to engage. You can be here because the Lord is with you.”

That’s the Gospel for the Enneagram 5 in a nutshell.

The 6’s: The Loyalist/Guardian

The Loyalist most longs for God’s faithfulness & trustworthiness in order to know that their future is secure.The 6’s doubt their own authority to make decisions, so they look around to find an alternative authority to whom they will give up their freedom in exchange for security.Sometimes this authority is a person: a pastor, an elder, a relative. Movies often mock this type: “Michael Scott always says this . . .Let me check with Michael Scott about that . . . ”

Sometimes this authority is a system to interpret the world by: a particular denomination, political viewpoint, the rules of logic, science, psychology, the Enneagram. Some people use the rules in the Bible as their security for the future. They feel like if they just obey the Bible’s guidelines, that guarantees that God won’t allow scary things to happen to them. But the Bible doesn’t promise that. Does it? And the Bible isn’t God. The Bible reveals the person behind the book: the only faithful trustworthy person.

See, none of the 6’s systems or people scratch their itch: this need for a trustworthy authority to say their future is going to be okay. So, 6’s develop this love/hate relationship with their chosen authorities, which causes them to be constantly second-guessing and testing their people or sources out of fear that they won’t be trustworthy anymore. My people might turn their back on me! My church might start singing New-age songs! My political party might be corrupt! What will I do if these things I’ve trusted fail?

The 6’s react to fear in one of two ways: which the Enneagram calls the phobic and the countraphobic. The phobic is more like the debbie-downers: “It might rain.”“It probably won’t work.” “You better buy insurance for that.” “I think they don’t like me.”

The contraphobics address their fear by running headlong into the danger to meet it before it meets them. Here’s an example of that from The Enneagram: A Christian Perspective: "A man wants to hang a picture, but doesn’t have a hammer. He wants to go to his neighbor to borrow one. Then he starts to doubt: perhaps his neighbor won’t give him a hammer. Just yesterday he had given him only a hasty greeting. ‘He probably has something against me. But I didn’t do anything against him, did I?’ The man gradually works himself up into a rage against his repulsive neighbor. Finally he runs over, rings the doorbell, and shouts at his neighbor: ‘Keep your stupid hammer!’" — That’s how the contraphobic deals with fear.

To the 6’s, the future is a scary dark unknown monster, and no past success gives them security in what might happen next.

Examples: Mark Twain, Sigmund Freud, Richard Nixon, J.R.R. Tolkien, Mike Tyson, Bono from U2’s, Eminem, Robert De Niro, Woody Allen, Tom Hanks, Jennifer Aniston, Jay Leno, Ellen Degeneres, Rush Limbaugh, Frodo Baggins, Peter Pettigrew, & Marvin in Finding Nemo.Peter in the Bible had contraphobic 6 characteristics: I’ll never abandon you, Jesus! Tell me to come out to you on the water! I’ll chop off this man’s ear for you!

Not surprisingly, the Enneagram 6’s sin is fear, but it often masquerades as obedience or loyalty especially in religious settings. We can convince ourselves that we’re obeying God, when really, we’re just afraid of what God might do if we’re not loyal to him. This makes going to church, reading our Bibles, and prayer a compulsory thing.

This is not Christian obedience. Christian obedience is a byproduct of trusting God’s faithfulness, not our own. God will never leave us or forsake us, even though a hundred times a day we may act out of fear. God took care of our faithlessness on the cross. We are secure. We can trust that God is going to use any dark or scary unknown in the future for our good and his glory.

And God wants us to use the freedom he gave us to make our own choices, trusting his authority is at work through us. Take courage, for God has overcome the future already for you. He has planned it to work out. That is the gospel for the Enneagram 6.

A great hymn for the Enneagram 6’s: God Will Take Care of You by Civilla Martin.

The 7’s: Enthusiast/Optimist

At this point in this elective the 7’s are probably thinking, “Hey Abby, lighten up! Yeah, we all sin, but we need to focus on the positive!”

The last number we’re going to go through today is the 7’s, the Enthusiast. The 7’s value and long for God’s joy and delight.You know when you’re with a 7 because they don’t stop. Their life is one exciting and wonderful thing after another.

7’s have lots of irons in the fire and can’t abide anything that might curb their freedoms. They’re often good at making money because money expands their possibilities. They can talk and talk and talk about anything, and they seem to skim across the surface of life, nothing seems to bother them. They are the ones who change the subject or tell a joke when things get tense or too serious. And the 7’s do this because this is how they protect themselves from pain, suffering and boredom—all things that threaten their happiness.

 
Remember the 5’s fear the outer world so they retreat inside their minds. The 7’s are afraid of the dark inner world so they flee outside into non-stop activity.This leads to their basic sin, which is gluttony or consumption, defined as an insatiable appetite for more and more distractions, everything to the max to keep them safe from boredom and sorrow and limits. But they rationalize this sin by convincing themselves that they’re just enjoying life. They’re just being positive and it’s Christ-like to be full of joy!
Sometimes friends of the 7’s can think the 7’s are shallow, flaky, and can never be serious. The 7’s have depth; they’re just nervous about it.

Examples: Mozart, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Amelia Earhart, John F. Kennedy, Joe Biden, Elton John, Britney Spears, Steven Spielberg, Fred Astaire, Cary Grant, Robin Williams, Jim Carrey, Robert Downey, Jr. as well as Iron Man. Some people think Solomon was a 7, trying everything under the sun.

You might notice a number of comedians in that list as well as inventors & explorers. Wouldn’t it be interesting to know if Thomas Jefferson invented so many things in order to avoid discomfort and pain?
The gospel for the Enneagram 7 is the good news of God’s comfort. WHEN we find our comfort in God, and trust that he gives joy even in difficulties, ee don’t need to fear boredom or sorrow or our childhood wounds.

 
Much-Afraid in the book Hinds Feet on High Places gives a beautiful image for a recovering 7’s. You may remember that the good shepherd gives two companions to Much-Afraid on her trip up the mountain. And the names of her companions are Sorrow and Suffering.When she holds their hands, she finds she is better able to resist the taunts of her old relatives, the Fearlings.

 
She makes friends with sorrow and suffering and eventually she learns to understand their language. God himself speaks in sorrow and suffering, and there is true delight in learning that language.

That’s the gospel for the Enneagram 7.

VII. God Knew It Already

If any of you are feeling unsettled by any of the descriptions of these numbers, I want to remind you:None of these coping methods are news to God. He already knew we did these thing and disguised them as virtues long ago. He’s not shocked.The shocking part is when we discover we’re not doing as good as we thought we were. It feels like someone has pulled the rug out from under us. And that is okay. Because then we can remember: Oh, Christ died for that self that withdraws or trusts the wrong sources or pretends that everything is fine. I don’t have to do that anymore.

While we were still sinners Christ died for us. There is therefore now no condemnation.

Now that we’re discovered this empty place in our heart, we can hold it out for the Lord to fill us up. Praise God.

VIII. Diagnosing Others 

I want to note that just because someone behaves like a particular Enneagram number, doesn’t mean we know what’s going on in their hearts or how to fix them.For example, let’s say you have someone in your life who won’t listen when you talk about serious stuff. They’re always showing you how to look on the bright side and then they tell a joke or change the subject.

Why would it be inappropriate to assume that person is a 7 and that they have a problem with gluttony and then try to help them with that?

We may not be reading the situation correctly. Remember I’m only skimming the surface of the Enneagram here. They could be an 8 acting on their 7 wing. They could be a 5 acting on their arrow of insecurity. They could be a 1 acting on their security arrow. There may be more going on than what meets the eye. We can ask about it, but assuming we already know is arrogant.

Our motives are questionable—trying to “help” them just because they bug us.And when we’re doing something for the wrong reason, we tend to do it poorly. Telling someone their motives are bad is like running into someone’s house unwelcomed and throwing back all the closet doors and looking under the beds and pointing out all that they try to hide. It robs a person of their dignity.

It’s playing God. Us Christians are like patients in a hospital, awaiting the great Physician to operate on us with his gentle, steady, and piercing touch. This operation leads to turning us into sons and daughters of God, but something only God can do.

When we start trying to fix other people, we’re acting like the doctor. It’s like one patient turning to another patient and saying, “Hey, I’ve got this plastic scalpel in my jacket. How about I take a look at your cancer and try to cut it out for you. I know a thing or two about cancer. I’ve read an Enneagram book.”

So this prompts the question: what is our role in other’s lives regarding sin? Let’s answer this question next week.

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Link to Lesson 3