Matthew’s question to Madison: Why have you chosen to take a Masters degree in Theology?

You know how there are categories of people when it comes to feelings towards school? Some people love it so much they never leave; others leave as soon as they can, and do minimal work while in it. Some people are natural with every subject and get all A’s, and others struggle to learn certain topics but thrive in others. I would categorize myself right in the middle of it all.

I love being in learning environments – but I don’t always jive with the traditional classroom style of learning. I’m capable of enduring it, but it honestly drains me. I thrive in environments that are activity oriented and hands on and interactive. (Though my shy younger self only secretly loved it since she was too intimidated to get involved in anything). Even when I lead any sort of learning, I never go for the ‘person stands at front of room and speaks at faces’ method. I want to get people engaged and moving and creating.

I’m imagining you, the readers, and the variety of emotions you’re all experiencing. Some of you are cheering with me and got a rush of adrenaline at the thought of interacting, others of you are cringing at the thought of ‘okay, we’re going to do an activity’, and some of you saw the word ‘school’ and cortisol started pumping.

Despite your reaction, and my reaction to school, I’ve decided to not take the open door that would put school in my past.

Let me be honest about something first. School is not the only way to learn – it may be the first thing we think of, but learning is way beyond the education system. Humans are not wired all the same, and that is a beautiful thing. Some people are incredibly creative and just need a canvas in front of them or music notes on page. Other people are handier and work best fixing a car or building a table. Some are the logical type, but would rather have a Bunsen burner or robot to learn with.

It’s important for us to find those ways that we learn best and lean into it.

There are many ways I love learning, but to keep my logical brain engaged, I do find school to be a good environment for me. So I have begun the journey towards a Masters of Theology by taking a course through Tyndale Seminary called Worship and Liturgy. There are 5 of us in the class and we meet every Monday evening. Since it’s a distance course, we watch lecture videos together and then talk about it; we share what we learned in the readings, and discuss how to do assignments.

So why school?

There are a few reasons that I’ve come up with:

1. To keep my mind focused — I don’t want my mind to get stale. I want my ideas to be challenged, and I want to enhance my understanding of topics.
2. Learning accountability — it’s appreciated having a group of people learning with me which doesn’t give me a reason to be lazy and forget to read and write.
3. Structured conversations — we all go to have good discussion, and are intentional with the things we share and discuss.

One of my favourite parts of attending Bible school was the lectures. Most of my friends thought I was crazy since they loved the free afternoons and easy travel more than anything else – and don’t get me wrong, those were great perks. But, for me, there’s something about taking a deep dive into Scripture that gets my gears working. For some, personal devotions is what makes them feel connected with God; for others, which I would include myself in, listening to intellectual minds and sharing in conversation is what makes the God-inspired words take deep roots.

God is such a creative Creator. He has created us unique, with different ways of connecting with Him, and with the world around us. Finding yours is not only life giving, but will help you stay engaged and learning about new and exciting things – the opposite of the worst class experience you’ve had.

So deciding to starts my Master’s of Theology was almost an easy choice – and it was an easy opportunity considering my home church and workplace offered the course.

For me, this works. I learn jaw dropping, stomach fluttering, heart melting things about who God is and who I am because of who He is.

Madison’s Question to Matthew: How do you see Personality Assessments such as Myers-Briggs and the Enneagram beneficial in your life? In your walk with God?

I became interested in personality assessments in the early 2000’s, so much so that I took two separate weeks of training to become certified to administer the Myers-Briggs assessment. As a family, we have had a lot of fun talking about this at home and I believe it has helped us to honour each other in deeper ways. Interestingly, I married the complete 4-letter Myers-Briggs opposite of me so many discussions have ensued over this. (I have ENTJ tendencies and Jan has ISFP tendencies)

Recently I have been introduced to the Enneagram personality process. This has further enhanced my desire to continue to embrace the insights that these theories provide.

In reality, I engaged it on a deeper level not only for myself but because of the dynamics of teams. I wanted to understand how I could more effectively allow each person’s personality distinctives to benefit the entire group and not allow certain personalities to dominate the discourse.

In the context in which I lead, we use personality language all the time and I believe it is being used to respect and honour each other which is amazing to watch. Everyone has a piece of the puzzle to help a team do the best work possible – we ignore the pieces to our peril.

It has given me insight into how to respect other peoples’ work preferences. A great example is how I connect with those who have introverted tendencies. In working alongside introverts, I have recognized their preference to be given an agenda for a meeting as well as pre-reading. This allows them to reflect prior to meeting and add greater value. As an extrovert, I can engage in a meeting on the fly, however it is never as efficient since I typically talk things out to come to a conclusion while an introvert reflects internally and speaks once they can articulate their conclusions.

Additionally, big picture thinking personalities versus detailed thinking personalities has led me to lean into certain people’s natural tendencies at specific times depending on the need – I believe that I am a better leader as a result of this understanding.

Personally I have become much more self-aware of my tendencies and how I react in different circumstances. For example, my personality has a specific way of responding to stress – at its extreme it never looks good. Once I became aware of this, I reflected back on my life and was enlightened on why I reacted in a certain way in stress induced situations. This has made me aware of my inclinations when being in stressful conditions and I believe that I am able to respond in a better way knowing where I could go if I don’t counteract my natural response.

Spiritually, I have recognized that my personality will naturally engage with God in a certain way. I am a group person. I like to talk things out, I enjoy praying in groups. However, I have recognized the need for me to embrace the spiritual discipline of solitude from time to time. In doing this, I know that it will be tough and even tiring (something that would not be part of by wife’s experience), and yet I believe that it is good for me to embrace solitude. Knowing that my natural tendency will be to fight it and perhaps give up and make the excuse that it just isn’t for me, I can enter into these moments of solitude fully aware of how I may feel yet still lean into these moments – and God has shown up in beautiful ways that I would never have enjoyed.

It has been interesting in speaking with people about personality assessments over the years. I have often had people respond in a negative way. They reject any assessment as someone trying to “peg” them. They believe that they can be whoever they need to or want to be in any circumstance.

I really don’t know how to respond when these conversations come up. All I can say is that it has been life-giving for me. In many ways it has been a spiritual experience. Knowing that we are all created uniquely and have been given gifts for the sake of the church is amazing. Knowing some of the intricacies of my natural tendencies has freed me to enter into aspects of ministry that I am more naturally inclined to. I have seen too many people live life in frustration. They take on tasks that they know need to get accomplished yet you watch at how much it drains them, it just doesn’t fit how God has made them.

I know that I will continue to lean into this learning. I want to live in my sweet spot more and more. And I want to allow others the same privilege. I believe that we will all be better off as a result.