Kendall Smith, No-Div
Kendall is an elementary science teacher and an avid lover of books, nature, and long walks. She is easily distracted by thunderstorms and loves a good conversation over coffee.
Are you familiar with the Enneagram? It’s gotten a lot of buzz lately--some good, some bad. At its most basic level, it is a tool that helps individuals understand their own personality better-- mostly why we do what we do. I love this stuff and have found it tremendously helpful in my journey over the past three years.
If you’ve read our bios, you’ll see that Tyler relates mostly to a Five, and I relate mostly to a Six. Of course, we all have the capacity to act like any number on the enneagram--we are full-bodied people. But these are the numbers we most identify with. My Six-ness tends to come out in a number of ways. Let me assure you--there are some beautiful gifts that we Sixes bring to the world: we prioritize relationships, have an awareness of the potential dangers around us, and can be a calm and stable presence most of the time… But we have some struggles, too. For me, it centers around finding danger around every corner, distrusting others (even those I love), and moving into group-think (identifying strongly with a group to the point where I don’t fully know how I feel or think about something). I have spent tremendous time and energy (and counseling!) working through these things so that I don’t unintentionally ransack every relationship dear to me.
What we all have in common, despite our number, is that whatever behaviors we have taken on, (whether consciously or unconsciously) these behaviors and ways of thinking at one point acted as a protection for us. Eventually we outgrow the need for this. Eventually, these protective behaviors can sabotage the way we live and connect with others. Left unchecked, they will do exactly what we don’t want them to do.
Have you ever wondered what American Christianity’s enneagram number is? (I’m sure this is a fairly common question, right?) My mind wandered here while reading some notes I’d written from earlier this summer on Paul’s letter to the Galatians. I’ll connect the dots in a bit. But for now, let’s think through some of the types: Is the American Church today a One--concerned primarily with doing things right? Or how about a Three--image-conscious, yet boldly leading the way? Is She a Four--creative, unique, beauty-centered, emotive? Or what about an Eight--deeply concerned with justice and rightness, hell-bent on strength and power? Honestly, I can see seasons throughout Christ’s Church where she exhibited signs of all of these numbers. The Church’s personality seems to ebb and flow over time.
Which is why I believe that today, in America, the Church is taking on characteristics of a Six. Here’s why I think this is true: for Sixes, we are most concerned with safety. Keeping ourselves from danger. It’s like a knee-jerk reaction! We avoid unnecessary risk and uncertainty in favor of what we know to be safe and good. In our worst times, we sit in high-alert, ready to fight or run from the smallest sign of danger. When there is no apparent danger, we can fixate on what might go wrong in the future. We can operate at a constantly elevated level of stress because we are constantly trying to protect ourselves and those we love. Psychologists talk about this as an over-active amygdala, the part of our brain that senses and reacts to danger. In some of us, it is working overtime when it really doesn’t need to. But the problem is, we can’t just turn it off. At least not without some deep breathing and awareness of our stress.
For me, this has presented itself in some humorous (albeit frustrating) ways:
*When I was young, I felt the need to always be ready to jump into the front seat of our station wagon while on roadtrips in the event that both my parents died in the same moment so that I could protect my siblings from a crash.
*My insistence on spending $40 for bear spray while hiking in the Grand Tetons.
*The way my blood pressure immediately rises just thinking about buying plane tickets. (I have a pretty major fear of flying)
*That one time I called my parents from school in 8th grade because I was sure I had AIDS and needed to go home.
*That one time in 8th grade I thought for sure I was dying of cancer and they weren’t telling me.
*That one time in 8th grade when the nightly news reported meteors falling and I freaked out and thought it was the end of the world.
(8th grade was apparently a rough year for me…)
But see what I mean? Sixes always have their danger radars on.
The Church in America seems to have her danger radars on, too. There are some words that are “triggers” for the Evangelical Church in America: abortion, gun rights, social justice, LGBTQ matters, Black Lives Matter, evolution...and I’m sure I’m missing some. These “trigger words” kick the American Church’s amygdala into panic mode--stopping all blood flow to the prefrontal cortex (where rational thought and thinking happen) and instead concentrate all the energy on fighting and survival. (In the education world, we call this “lizard brain” or “turtling”) In effect, it stops intelligent conversation, reflection, and the ability to connect in meaningful ways with those around her. Like Sixes in their unhealthiest moments, the American Church seems to be on high alert for danger today (even where there isn’t). She is distrustful of “experts”, of science, of scholars, of women, of those who look or believe differently. And she seems to have moved into this group-think mode where we have to move together (for security and protecting our beliefs) and any dissenters are the enemy. The American Church, like many sixes, seems to have an unhealthy relationship with authority—claiming to be independent from the need, yet pledging allegiance to anyone who will ensure the comfort and security we long for. Like Sixes in our unhealthiest moments, the Church today seems to be sabotaging her own mission.
That’s why Paul’s comments seemed so startling and refreshing. His words to the Galatians, living in as tumultuous a time as we are today, feel shockingly simple and Christ-like:
“What matters is something far more interior: faith expressed in love.”
“My counsel is this: Live freely, animated and motivated by God’s Spirit.”
“Stoop down and reach out to those who are oppressed. Share their burdens, and so complete Christ’s law.”
“Live creatively, friends.”
“It is not what you and I do—submit to circumcision, reject circumcision. It is what God is doing, and he is creating something totally new, a free life!”*
Paul writes like he believes that God’s Spirit lives and moves in us! Paul seems to believe that we are free—to stop trying to do things for God, as if God is a demanding slave master…but rather, we are free to live fully into what God is doing in us. Paul writes as if he believes that the kingdom Jesus spoke of was strong and sure.
Could these words calm our Church’s over-active amygdala? Could this posture of being open, humble, and ready to see God at work turn our attention from the threat of danger to the possibility of incredible beauty and purpose?
Maybe, if God’s Spirit is at work in us, we will be led in directions we wouldn’t otherwise choose for ourselves.
Maybe we will get to meet and interact with those we previously would have felt threatened by.
Maybe God can again demonstrate his Love and Power through unlikely means—not by being ready to attack any threat, but by being shaped by God’s dynamic, always-at-work Spirit. In the words of Paul:
“…what happens when we live God’s way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard—things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely.”*
Ah, yes. Loyalty, affection, compassion. This is the work of a healthy, thriving Six. May we, as Christ’s Church, come to embody these traits more and more as we trust in the Spirit who is already at work within us.
*These excerpts are from the Message translation and are scattered throughout Galatians 4-5.