Today was a fascinating day. I quickly discovered that trying to describe and fully understand a 3,500+ year old spiritual practice like the Enneagram is not possible. I was hoping that we would just take some sort of test and then spend a few days talking about the results of our test with each other. NOPE!

Our teacher, Suzanne Stabile, said that your Enneagram number is established by the time you are 5, you are fully solidified in this number by the time you are 12. It is part genetic, part environment. And our number is determined by our motivation, not our behavior. Yea, that’s enough to make a person’s head spin just a little. 🙂

Google it and see what I’m discovering this week!
One of the great things I learned today came through this illustration. There are several of us who walk up to a fence that has a bunch of holes in it. We all look through the holes at exactly the same time. We are looking at exactly the same thing, in exactly the same direction. We spend a few minutes looking.

Then we stop looking through the fence and describe what we saw. Remember, we are all looking through the same fence, at the same thing, in the same direction, at exactly the same time. Is our description of what we saw all sound the same?

How could this describe who we are as children of God seeking to follow Jesus? Or, how is does this express a truth about who we are as followers of the risen savior Jesus Christ that may be Methodists or Pentecostals or Roman Catholics or Lutherans or even Baptists? We are all looking through the fence and seeing Jesus, but experiencing our life in Christ in very different ways. But…are they really different?

When you see Jesus, what do you see? I’m thankful to be able to share what we are seeing with each other. My prayer each day is that these experiences are challenging us to grow in relationship with each other and our God through a savior named Jesus Christ. Blessings to you as you peek through the fence today!

I’m in Dallas for a week called “re:fresh” at the Micah Center on the campus of Southern Methodist University…actually I’m not quite there yet, my bags missed their plane in Minneapolis. I’m waiting for them at the DFW airport before trying to find the hotel and go to bed.

This week is hosted by Life in the Trinity ministries and we will be invited to engage with some of my favorite thinkers and pastors in the church, most notably Brian McLaren and Tony Jones. The week will focus on practicing spirit disciples and listening for ways in which these disciples are integral to our life as pastors and children of God.

I’m especially looking forward to studying the Enneagram in depth. My Benedictine sisters in Christ at Annunciation Monastery have encouraged me to look into this for quite some time. This is the first opportunity I’ve had and, needless to say, I’m really looking forward too this aspect of the week that is before me.

As part of my walk this week, I’m hoping to post a short reflection each day about the experience. I’m not sure what these will entail or whether I’ll actually feel like writing during the week, but I’m hoping so. right now, I’m looking forward to a great deal of time simply resting in the presence of the Holy Spirit in new ways this week. If writing is part of that – cool. If not – I’ll offer a synopsis when I get back to the holy land of western North Dakota.

Grace and peace be with you in your journey this week!

Pastor Craig