Week 1 Extras

Congrats—you’ve survived Week 1! I hope you’re getting as much out of this adventure as I am in both comfort and challenge.

Because of the magnitude and timeframe of this project, we’ve only been skimming the surface on some pretty big topics: identity, personality, sin, learning styles, strengths, stories, and values. There is so much more to discover about all of these, and the pursuit of becoming an expert in any one of them would be a worthwhile (if time-consuming) goal. If you’d like to revisit something we’re covered and camp out there for a while after this is all said and done, here are a few resources I’d recommend:

Identity: Never heard of Serge’s study on Gospel Identity? Well, then, you’re in for a glorious read. It works best in community, so grab a few friends or a mentor and digest it together. If you need some quick reminders about the names God calls you (and they’re all good), here’s a helpful printable.

MBTI: Please Understand Me 2 by David Keirsey includes in-depth descriptions of the 16 personalities, outlining how types get along with one another in romantic, parenting, career, and leadership relationships.

Enneagram: Did you have trouble identifying a number? Try this article. Or for book lovers, The Road Back to You (by Cron and Stabile) is a fantastic starting point. If I could only recommend one resource for this whole week, it would be the sermon series Sandals Church did over the Enneagram. SO GOOD. I can tell you from experience that the entire thing is worth bingeing, but if absolutely nothing else, skip to your type and watch that one. If you want to understand yourself and the people around you better, the series is a game changer.

Learning Styles: This post is great when you need to communicate in groups so that everyone engages. And though I haven’t gotten to it yet, The Way They Learn looks really good if you have littles in your life.

Strengths: Strengthsfinder 2.0 is the best book I’ve encountered on this topic—and it includes a passcode to take the official online assessment (which includes your top five results, what your strengths look like and how you personally interact with each, and an action-planning guide to help you grow even more in how you’re already gifted).

Story: If you’re wanting to dig into exactly how your experience shapes your soul, Dan Allender’s To Be Told is your best bet. To get even more out of it, try the workbook, too.

Values: A good chunk of Craig Groeschel’s book Chazown is dedicated to this topic… though I’ll probably also be using it as a resource for spiritual gifts in Week 3. Either way, it’s totally worth a read. And finally, this fun little resource is a value deck of cards; I’ve found it helpful when a situation is so convoluted that I need to narrow down what I’m hoping for, but it also works for putting the right person on your team or for making core values part of your work/home/ministry environment.

I can’t even deal with how excited I am for Week 2. God is up to something, friends, and it’s gonna be good. See you tomorrow!