Lately I’ve been pulling together observations about how people connect with God. Here are some random thoughts – please take a moment to read, think and respond.
Layer 1:
People’s Love Languages
Layer 2:
The way people receive information (audio, visual, kinesthetic) seems to be related to their preferred way to connect with God.
Layer 3:
The Myers Briggs (MBTI) gives us a different insight. For the second letter of the four that you get when you take the test, the second letter is either an N for iNtuition, or S for Sensing. People who prefer Intuition lean heavily on information they gain in a sixth-sense sort of way – a feeling, a hunch. People who prefer Sensing take in information through their five senses. Yet, our church services are geared toward those who lean toward Intuition. (For more information on this, see Knowing Me, Knowing God: Exploring Your Spirituality with Myers-Briggs
Now for the tangibles:
- A young lady feels very uncomfortable and disconnected in (and therefore prefers not to go to) a Sunday morning service; yet connects well in a small group, casual setting.
- Another avoids small groups, but loves to teach a Sunday School class and volunteer at events.
- One friend never seems satisfied unless she is leading a community group, while another has a deep prayer life but doesn’t seem to enjoy “community” life.
- A house church in Seattle deliberately keeps itself small. Instead of focusing on growing a congregation, they focus on impacting their community.
- Another congregation focuses on a concert before a message, building big gatherings and great small group venues, and does little for social justice.
- The Eastern Orthodox church uses icons (and some would say that The Passion of the Christ
is also an icon). Icons are said to be sensory input helps to see God through.
How does your personality affect how you connect with God?
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