Churches do some strange things and high among the head-scratchers is how many churches have an affection for promoting personality inventories in their congregation.
The most well-known of these is, of course, that one with a hyphenated name which doesn’t include the term “personality” at all. I pass on dropping the name because I don’t want the headaches of dealing with the True Believers of the thing. Some years ago an SBC numbers, stat kind of guy, said offhand in a meeting about demographics that the personality typing tool lacked a solid basis in research. His casual remark piqued my interest because I assumed if large corporations used such things that there was a solid basis for such.
Seems the solid basis is faith in the tools rather than the origin, science, and practice of these typing instruments. Every time I’ve been less-than-enthused about typing tools, I’ve been treated to a quick dose of chastisement. Used to be hymnals thrown at me. People do love these things and place a lot of faith in them. I’ll pass, partly because of my distaste for ‘forced choice’ questionnaires.
You might consider the latest foray into typing criticism and exposure, an interesting book by Merve Emre, The Personality Brokers. Christianity Today has an article on the book, a rather soft one. Don’t overlook this salient point: if respondants retake the test a few weeks after their first test over half of them end up with a different typing profile. A simple internet search will return plenty of material short of your buying a book. Take a look.
But if you want to just play games and maybe have the side benefit of learning what you mostly already knew, do the tests.
More popular in our circles are the numerous spiritual gift tools. I’ve used one or two of these. Their benefit is quite modest. If you like these and are sold on their value to the church, then explain how Christendom survived for over nineteen centuries without having these available? Maybe there was relevant teaching from pastors and elders? Maybe believers served and their gifts became evident? The matter of spiritual gifts is far less prominent in the New Testament that we have made it out to be.
But, play the games. Maybe your pastor is lazy and would rather rely on the manufactured and marketed too designed by one who is not the shepherd of the congregation. Mostly harmless. More of a product that might earn its publisher and seller a little money than anything that has deep benefit to a church.
The worst offender on the inventories are the ones that couple a personality test with a gifts test. At least the gifts test has some underpinning in scripture. Having been exposed to one of these paired tools, I conclude that we are in love more with technology (you can do all this online and have results tabulated, tabled, and graphed) and tools than biblical teaching and practice.
We have too much money and too much time; therefore, these commercial products have been thrust upon us with some success.
But…have some fun. Don’t take them too seriously. The pastor who loves his congregation and makes an effort to build relationships with all under his care already has an effective tool: God’s calling and that infallible tool, God’s Word.
And don’t throw that hymnal at me for writing this. Don’t type me either. If you’ve never met me but think you can label me with a string of letters, we won’t be friends anymore.
__________
I will admit to one occasion where a ‘forced choice’ helped me about a decade ago. I was called by the nursing home and informed that my father had been taken to the emergency room. When I arrived and met the ER physician in his examination room. I was shocked when she told me, “I don’t believe he will leave the hospital,” a blunt and candid assessment of his medical condition. Soon thereafter a chaplain or social worker asked me which hospice company I would prefer and named the two that served that hospital. I was hardly in a condition to evaluate the options whereupon he said pick a color: orange or green, a forced choice. I picked one and the decision was made. I don’t know if the hospital approves of such techniques these days.
Took the MMPI years ago and it said I might have religious delusions. It asked if I felt I should be punished for my sins.
I answered yes, but I don’t think they liked that.
Also took the LaHaye temperament thing – sanguine.
Spiritual gifts tests were real popular for a while.
I think knowing people is a lot more than taking a stupid test.
GET OFF MY LAWN
I’m an ENTJ
😉
LOL. INFJ. ( Sorry, William – I don’t put much stock in tests either.)
For sure, corporations hold personality inventories in high regard. They spend a lot on them. I suppose some are more accurate than others. In regard to the Myers-Briggs, there are longer and shorter versions. When I served in the Philippines, the FMB (now IMB) had all the missionaries take the longer version. I found it helped me understand the missionaries I worked with much better. I asked a guy with a PhD in religious education about spiritual gifts inventories. He was dubious as to their value, but he said they might provide some indication. I’ve taken several spiritual gift inventories.… Read more »
Off subject – Dr. Terry, I just ordered a book I believe you edited: Missiology: An Introduction to the Foundations, History, and Strategies of World Missions. I had classes with both Ebbie Smith and Justice Anderson at SWBTS.
Stephen, I’m glad you ordered the book. I worked with Dr. Smith and Dr. Anderson to edit the first edition. I edited the second edition by myself. I hope you find the book helpful. The royalties I receive from the book go to buy Christmas presents for little children (my granddaughters).
Ear, nose, and throat Doctor who jockeys on the side…
I’m a sanguine, INTJ, Enneagram number 31.2….
To your point, check out the book The Cult of Personality Testing (2005) by Annie Murphy Paul, where she argues the connection between personality tests and other psuedo-scientific means of determining “personality” such as phrenology.
Another good book. Read it back when it was first published.
It occurred to me a number of years ago that spiritual gift tests might be less than reliable. Why? We assume only a believer would take this test, but what if one of those unregenerate folks snuck into the church and took the test too? We would not only determine the believer’s gifts, but the lost guys gifts too! Hmmm. Something stinks in the frig.
I have something profound to say about how their are unlimited permution when giftedness is combined other characteristics, but I will save that for discussion for when I’m asked to help with interpretive dance or puppets. Instead, I will share a list of Spiritual gifts not mentioned in the canon. If you’re tempted to challenge one or more gifts, it means that you’re envious because you don’t have that gift. 1. Puppet hand tongues. This puppet that seems to be out of control, is actually expressing ecstatic utterances. The puppet that moves its mouth intermittently is the interpreter. 2. Communicating… Read more »
William, if we had hymnals, I’d throw one at you. But you’re safe. 😉
They were big on Meyers Briggs where I went to college. Over a two year period I took the test 3 or 4 times and got both ESFP and INTJ. (may have some of the letters mixed up, don’t remember for sure, but I got basically opposite results in every category). I think it depended on my mood whichever day I took it.
I’ve cautiously used spiritual gift inventories at our church, only after teaching extensively on the subject and making really clear that it was only one possibly helpful tool to help people think through the issue.
Methinkks those “games” are more about herding folks into someplace to work, and stem from people who don’t know enough Scripture to either decide where God wants them, or teach others how to. And yes, I am aware I used a preposition to end a sentence up with.