Christians, Please Stop Freaking Out About the Enneagram

When I first started learning the Enneagram more than a decade ago, a pastor asked me not to talk about it in church or with people from church. Since then, I’ve watched a growing number of Enneagram books by Christian authors get published and many podcasts on the topic spring up. And now, it’s backlash time.

Sigh.

The pendulum of favor is a fickle thing. I’m glad that the Enneagram has gotten popular enough to warrant backlash, but I wish people would be more careful in their assessments – and less afraid.

This article, for instance, doesn’t pull any punches: Don’t Bother With Enneagram. My first beef with the article is this: “Perhaps the mysticism surrounding Enneagram should cause Christians to question its acceptability.” Umm, could you describe the mysticism? Could you define what you think mysticism is? Are you unaware that Christianity is largely mystical?

The definition of mystical is “inspiring a sense of spiritual mystery, awe and fascination.” So, this should definitely be present in Christianity. If Jesus doesn’t continually blow you mind, you’ve missed something. In addition, this fits the Enneagram to a T. It is fascinating and awe-inspiring in how accurate and effective it is as a tool for spiritual growth.

I’m guessing that the writer believes the Enneagram is steeped in some kind of “dangerous” Eastern mysticism. But I have it on no less an authority than the co-founder of the Enneagram Institute, Russ Hudson himself, that this is not the case. He made it very clear at the training I took in June that the Enneagram is grounded in Western thought and monotheism.

Next, the writer says, “Supposedly, Enneagram is no ordinary personality test.” Well, she’s right about that. It is NOT a personality test. It is a model of human behavior that is diamond-sharp in its accuracy and shows people where they are stuck. Some people get confused and identify with their personality type initially, but with further study, they realize this isn’t the goal. Rather, by learning about type, they learn what freedom from type could look like.

Also, it’s pretty telling that she said, “Supposedly.” It’s a dead give-away that she did not spend much time researching her subject before drawing a conclusion. This is sadly endemic to our culture. Yes, it’s true that we suffer from information overload and can’t possibly process everything that comes at us. But why in the world, then, would any of us go on to write an entire article about something we know almost nothing about? All of us have become too free with our uninformed opinions.

I could go on to debunk this article point for point, but that’s not the point of my post. My point is that we Christians can sometimes be certain and dogmatic before actually looking into things. This is not unique to Christians; it’s a natural trait of all humans who believe strongly in something.

But we are called to be wise and discerning, to be slow to speak and quick to listen. This includes listening to God rather than assuming we know what he thinks. If we as followers of Jesus could just get that listening thing down, all would be amazed at how glorious this world would become.

Clearly, the Enneagram is not for everyone. I mean, it is for everyone, but not everyone will receive it. Jesus knows how that feels. And this makes me sad.

Please know that I am not trying to demean the writer of this article. She is God’s beloved, and I am certain we will spend eternity together, and all shall be well. I disagree with the conclusions of her article, not with her right to write it.

My hope is that as it becomes more popular, there will be some strong Christian voices that will be able to articulate the power of the Enneagram in ways that scared people will be able to hear. I hope that you will be able to share your experience with this marvelous tool with those you love in ways that they can hear.

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