How Can Christians Use the Enneagram? with Guest Karissa Harrison

How can Christians use the Enneagram?

One thing I love about the Enneagram compared to other personality tests is that it doesn’t just list your strengths and weaknesses. instead, it helps you understand what is driving your behavior. But what does that have to do with the Gospel? In the first of a 3-part episode on the Enneagram, I’m joined by Karissa Harrison, an executive pastor and Enneagram coach. Today, we’ll talk about how partnering the Enneagram with God can help you find deeper levels of freedom and lead to spiritual growth.

“It’s difficult, if not impossible, to know God if we do not know ourselves.”

The Apostle Paul talks a lot in the New Testament about the difference between our true and false selves. Essentially, there is our true self that is hidden with Christ, the person he created and is now fully redeemed and whole. And there is the person we have become because of all the masks and layers we put on before we knew God. We thought those layers would help us be accepted and find success, but the true answer is only found in Christ.

The Enneagram is one tool that helps us uncover who we are in Christ by improving our self-awareness Without self-awareness, we’re operating on autopilot and that can cause us to stall in our spiritual formation. The Enneagram helps you discover why you struggle to align your will with the goodness of God and experience transformation.

Dying to Yourself

“For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin.” Romans 6:6

Romans 6:6 defines the concept many Christians call “dying to ourselves.” We think that means dying to our needs, wants, and desires. But we don’t see that in the ministry of Jesus. Jesus took time to be alone and take care of his needs with his Father.

Pray this: Father God, help me to understand who you made me to be and to identify any wrong mindset or motivation that is keeping me from you. Help me to be bold and to strip off every unnecessary weight, mask, or belief. I know that true freedom and fulfillment is in you! In Jesus’ name, amen!