What Type of Worshipper Are You? (Enneagram and Worship)

I’ve always grown up hearing the phrase, “Love God with all your heart, mind, and strength.” (Okay, there’s soul too, but that’s the spiritual side that everyone has. We’ll leave that alone for now.) Only recently, however, did I realize that maybe God put this in the Bible because he knew we would all worship him in different ways depending on the way He created us.

According to the Enneagram personality model, people see and experience the world (this includes God) through one of three different ways – their head (thinking), their heart (feeling), or their body. (instinctive). To match up with the Bible verse above, the head would be mind, and strength would be the body. The head is all about logic, reasoning, and mental clarity. The heart is all about how they and others feel and how things make them feel. The body is all about doing and instinct.

(Btw, If you haven’t heard of the Enneagram personality types, you should totally take the test to see which of the 9 types you are (there are 3 types in each of the 3 triads). There are several tests out there, but the most accurate one I’ve seen so far is here. Once you get your type in the form of a number (1-9), you’ll want to go here for the best information; it’s more thorough than the other website. The Enneagram model is great for not only showing you your strengths and weaknesses and motivations, but also how to grow and improve yourself.)

So, it occurred to me that people from these different triads or ways of experiencing the world, would probably approach God and worship differently. I set out to see what I could discover, and what I found was so intriguing I just had to share. I’m going to quote below what 3 different people said about how they relate to God through worship. See which one you relate to the most!

I’ll start with my own words as a BODY TYPE:

“I think I relate more when people say bring your whole self, all of who you are, or your whole being to God, rather than bring your heart to him or lay your emotions at His feet. Strength resonates with me because I envision myself, even when I’m feeling weak, pulling whatever strength I do have up to the surface and presenting it God. I can also relate to bringing my mind to him because I know mine needs him, lol. But I don’t feel it much. It’s more my body presenting my broken mess of a mind to him, hoping he can do something with it.” (Fyi – The mind is my weakest as a type 1 personality.) 

“It takes a lot for me to get to even the surface of deep, specific emotions. I can get into worship and even cry at times, but it’s different. It’s more of a warm feeling that covers my whole body from the outside and then seeps into my chest. When it hits my chest, that’s normally when I get choked up. I’ll often at that point get either a more specific feeling like humility or awe and/or a revelation in my mind like one Sunday when I heard a young girl singing at the top of her lungs and God told me I needed to trust him like a child. The feeling I had, though, wasn’t super specific. It was just kind of an overwhelming feeling, both good and bad. I guess it’s hard for me to decipher those feelings and dig deeper to feel them specifically.”

“When I’m going through something difficult, I’ll feel even more of a need for God, and he’ll always come through. But instead of feeling an emotional connection to him, I feel a more tangible one. There was one time I remember specifically feeling like God was the rope I was clinging to when the ground underneath me had given way. I’ve felt similar things at other times, like I was physically clinging to God. Any vision/image God gives me generally has some tangible aspect to it.”

From my sister who is a HEART TYPE:

“When I come to the foot of the King for worship or repentance, I’m giving my all which includes my highs and my lows. I feel everything from my beating heart that’s racing with excitement or pain to the tears rolling down my cheeks which are often, all the way to a more inner action of my heart breaking. It breaks for what I’ve done, for what Jesus endured for me, for the injustice in the world, and even for the idea that God knows my heart is breaking. I don’t “feel” worthy of His attention sometimes but at the exact time, I feel grateful, excited, humble, and joyful. I feel almost all of these most Sunday mornings because my feelers are always on high alert on Sundays and at certain times through the week.”

“(During a time of deep sorrow after a loved one’s death), I felt every word of worship songs like a knife to my heart, knowing I wanted to believe the song I was singing but being so hurt by my creator and protector at the same time. I let the words and the tears consume me as I sang out in pain, anger and sorrow. I almost hugged the feelings like a pillow that you cry into. I knew that I had to keep singing or I would be left with only anger. The more time went by and the more songs I sang, the easier it was for me to sing songs and believe them, not just with my head but with a warm feeling feel the truth permeate my being.”

“A few times when my life’s circumstances were great, there have been times when I felt so care free and it’s like my heart was dancing right in front of my Father! It’s not the warm fuzzy blanket feeling (although I feel that more often than this), but it’s more I feel like light beams are shinning from my fingers, toes, and eyes. I even feel a physical tingle.”

From a friend who is a HEAD TYPE:

“When I think of times, particularly while singing worship songs during corporate worship, that I feel close to God, it’s because I can “see” him. I visualize the lyrics in my head and it brings me a sense of awe and surrender to God. For example, this is an old song but has great visuals for me. “Over the mountains and the sea, your river runs with love for me.” When I sing this, I see majestic mountains in my head, scraping the sky. I stand in wonder at how God made the mountains and that he made them for us to enjoy. I picture the sea and its vastness, the beauty of the water and how the waves can be calming and yet overwhelming. Again, God made the sea and we are to enjoy it and yet stand in wonder and amazement at God’s creation (same with the mountains). I think of a river, ever flowing, the rapids hitting the banks. It is long, deep and wide. This is how much God loves me. Just as a river always has fierce waters flowing through it, God’s love for me is fierce and will always flow over me and is never-ending. I need to mention here, since I am such a literal thinker, that a river never stops flowing unless there is a drought and dries it up. But, there are never droughts in God’s love, if I ever experience a “drought” it is because of me, not Him.

“A more recent song that really gets to me is Revelation Song. “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God almighty. Who was and is and is to come. With all creation, I sing. Praise to the King of Kings. You are my everything. And I will adore you.” I think of the definition of holiness and what “almighty” means. I am always taken aback by the thought that God was and is and is to come. There is no stopping his existence and presence. He has existed since the beginning of time and will never cease to exist. I think of what it means to praise and that He is the King of Kings – there is no king greater than him, he is more powerful than any earthly ruler that has ever been. We really can’t compare him to any earthly ruler. “You are my everything” – I think of how He is all I need. No one else can fill the “God void.” When all around me there are things and people who will fail me, He is my sustainer. Then, I think of what it means to adore. I truly do adore God for all he has done in my life personally (giving me peace when it seemed illogical to have peace, blessing me with my parents, husband, kids, giving me all the necessary things I need to survive and then MUCH more) as well as the big picture – creation, sending Jesus to die for the sins of mankind, miracles, etc.

“To sum it up, I guess I analyze rather than “feel” but yet, when I think deeply about these things, it makes me feel deeply as well. In order for me to really feel, I have to think first.” 

  

So? Which one do you relate to the most, and do you have something to add? I’d love to hear it! Also, if you know your # type, share that as well.

~ by Dusty Crabtree - Author of Shadow Eyes on November 11, 2017.