by Greg Curtis: Can you imagine Van Gogh, one of THE largest influences on Western Art, visiting your church this Sunday? One of his paintings sold recently for over 100 million dollars. His style and story have impacted artistic expression, home decor, and Hollywood film. It’s hard to imagine someone of his stature walking into your church lobby.

But that’s not as far fetched as you think.

In addition to being the artistic icon he is now, you may not have known that…

Van Gogh was a pastor’s son

Van Gogh went to Bible College to become a pastor

Van Gogh served as a missionary

Van Gogh was also a Four and Fours are visiting your church right now.

How a Type Four sees their world

The world is inseparable from the unique way in which they see it.

“Real painters do not paint things as they are… they paint them as they themselves feel them to be.”-Vincent Van Gogh

The way Van Gogh saw the world has changed the way we see it. His unique take on people, fields, scenes and himself, has altered how we look at things. Fours are introspective and think about their individuality more than any other number on the Enneagram. Their distinctions, values, opinions and ideologies are important to them because it makes them who they are. To appreciate and understand those things is to understand them.

Because of this, having assimilation environments that are “Four Friendly” means having opportunities for them to be known in a non-judgmental way. Discussion tables with hosts that know this and can guide discussion with the goal of knowing them rather than analyzing them is key. They see their take on things as a huge part of their contribution to a church. Their biggest fear? To be lost and unknown in the crowd.

Van Gogh paints a cottage a few years apart. Note the first one is dark and somber, the second is light and whimsical. This is a window into the life of a Four.

Their world can be a tumultuous place

You’ve heard of the phrase “tortured artist”? At times, this can describe Fours but this next statement is very important: not all creative people are Fours. Far from it. The truth is, Fours have a higher percentage of creatives in their populace than any other number. Just remember that just because you are a creative or gifted artist that does not mean you are a four. I have 4 very creative artist in my family (3 of them professional artist) but none of them are Fours.

That being said, the world of a Four is a world that can have exceptional highs and bitter lows. Van Gogh tried multiple times to pass his Theology Exams to become a pastor but failed each time. When he then chose to serve as a missionary to coal miners in Belgium, he chose to live with them on straw beds in poverty rather than in clergy housing. Those in charge of the ministry saw this as “undignified” and removed him in such a way as he had to walk over 47 miles to Brussels where he eventually committed himself to an Asylum.

He is thought to have been bi-polar and his art may betray that. Though Fours to not have a corner on mental illness any more than another number, the roller coaster of their emotional landscape can be a challenge for themselves and those who love them.

They are in search of the ideal

Van Gogh would paint the same scene over and over again in an effort to capture the magic of how he saw a subject. Do not be surprised when a Four shows up at your church if they have tried churches over and over again to find the magic of how they want to experience God and themselves as a follower of Jesus.

The perceived uniqueness of a Four feeds their search for the ideal, even ideal church. If not church, the ideal vision, theology, concept of spiritual formation, or ideal sense of belonging. Belonging and being understood is huge for a four. Taking the time to get to know and appreciate both them, and their ideals, is essential to connecting them in families of faith.

How Fours experience your church

Ready for this one? Fours see your church as a buffet. They are looking for the things that they like to use and digest the most, as well as to discover some others that would help them grow as an individual. Another way of saying this inspired by Van Gogh is that Fours see your church as a palette with many colors to choose from that they can paint something new from. This equates to the variety of small groups, ministry teams and even potential friends that your church can offer them.

So how to you help connect with and converse with a Four without making them want to remove part of their ear? Here are the Dos and Don’ts.

Dos and Don’ts for for connecting a Type Four

Do: Let them explore something deeply

They have a heard time coloring between the lines and with staying to a strict stop start date. I can remember people in my church with an artistic Four type leaning that would stay up almost the entire night with some friends decorating our church for Christmas. When I came in the morning, words fail to describe the world they created for us to experience Jesus in.

They were really just letting us into what they already saw. That is a privilege and you need to give Fours the ability to go deep and long, not just wide or to “check a box”. Again, this applies to theology, art, tasks, experiences and relationships. Know what ministries and contexts in your church have this flexibility and passion and guide them towards it.

Don’t: Make them feel guilty for not finishing something

Passion ebbs and flows and so can the heart and attention of a pure Four. Allowing them to taste the buffet and not finish the meal is important here. Acknowledging their contribution to an endeavor, even though it may seem incomplete, is key. You will figure out how to leverage their contributions over time as well as how “not” to use them.

Fours are in the Shame Triad of the Enneagram and guilt along with judgement are particularly painful to them. They may avoid it, avoid church or a specific leader, or even God if it is used to lead them.

How do you lead and connect them? By remembering that they are not EGRs (Extra Grace Required). They are just GRs (Grace Required) like the rest of us. While we can getaway with brash criticism with some other types, you do not have that luxury with Fours without doing damage. Van Gogh’s ultimate suicide at age 37 is a cautionary tale not just to his own choices but also to those around him who struggled to love someone who suffered from mental illness as a Four.

What is the “Superpower” of a Four on a volunteer team?

Even though he had a wife and a new born son, Vincent’s brother Theo seemed to have trouble embracing a world without his older brother in it. Theo died at age 34.

Ideas. They have them. These ideas form ideals that become guiding lights or “values” that a ministry can build on. These are common contribution of a four.

Their creativity can express itself in art. It can also express itself in creative solutions to long standing problems or even issues with people that your ministry has faced. Give them a go at it.

They are also great endorsers of authors and teachers that can become important resources to develop a ministry or a team. Wade through their bibliographies.

David Sotelo is a young adult in the photo in my introduction to this series. He is a Four. He has recommended books and that are rocking my world right now. Let Fours do that to you. They will love it and you will benefit.

Van Gogh’s life, though tragic was high impact. When he passed away, his brother Theo passed away shortly after. His older brother was a big part of his world. Fours, though unique in their perspectives and sometimes moody, offer a whole new world to the tribe that includes them. So include them. You’ll be glad you did.

Does your assimilation strategy (and church culture for that matter) have the flexibility for someone to not finish something and yet still have opportunities to serve and be valued?

Does your church have small groups that could be categorized as “special interest” groups where people who have a passion for a niche area of theology, art, or ways of looking at things (i.e. the Enneagram) can be explored more deeply?

Tell a story of someone you suspect is a four that found a meaningful ministry role at your church. Tell a story of a Four that was a challenge to assimilate. What are the “whys and hows” behind each story?

It there a place at your church where a Four could share their perspective and ideas without having to be the one to implement them? Where are good brain storming and evaluation opportunities that Fours could share their unique take on things and benefit the development of ministry at your church?

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Source: How a Type 4 on the Enneagram experiences your church and how to connect them

The post How a Type 4 on the Enneagram experiences your church and how to connect them appeared first on Passion for Planting.

by Rich Birch: Have you ever felt like the training for your guest service team is lacking something?

Are you ready to take your team to the next level, but you’re not sure where to begin?

Are you tired of seeing another list of “tips” to help your team improve their service?

Do you want to add a training element that actually gets to the heart of what it’s like to be a first-time guest?

Oftentimes when we train our leaders it all focuses on tactics (or tips, or tools) and doesn’t get to the heart level. I wonder if your team might be missing something to connect with emotionally in their serving.

A first-time guest at your church, on the other hand, usually has an experience filled with thoughts and feelings. Your guests feel such a wide variety of emotions when they arrive at your church, so you need to help your team identify and empathize with those feelings.

Rather than offering another list of ways to hand out programs or tips on what to do when someone on your team has bad breath, I’m offering you five practical and different training experiences that can help your team understand first-time guests on an emotive level.

Take Your Team to Play Bingo

I know this sounds strange but stay with me. A number of years ago, I volunteered to help out at a fundraiser for my kid’s school, and it happened to be a bingo night. It was an amazing experience.

Bingo has its own subculture, and this bingo night had all the trappings of a religious experience. People brought special lucky charms that they arranged in a particular order on the table in front of them. They all had their own reserved seats in the room. They wore certain jackets. They used a vernacular unique to the bingo hall. The way people picked their cards was a ritualized experience. Money was involved.

The experience of going to that bingo hall all those years ago is still fresh in my mind every time I think about it. So much of it reminded me of what it must be like to come to church for the first time. There’s so much about what we do in churches that is foreign and abstract to those who have yet to come through our doors.

“Secret Shop” Another Church

Whether it’s the church down the street or a sanctuary across the country, there’s something about visiting another church that can help you see your own church more clearly.

When you arrive, pay attention to how you’re feeling as you enter the building. Examine the lighting and ask yourself what the room tells you about the church. How does the signage communicate what it must be like to visit for the first time?

There are two polar opposite ideas that we need to resist when we go to a different church:

What is happening at this church is exactly what’s happening at your church. // While you may feel this way, the reality is that it’s not true. Every church has its own unique flair. Look for those distinctions. Understand what that may look like from church to church.
What is happening at this church could never happen at your church. // If you visit a church that’s much larger or more effective than your church, it can be tempting to think that there’s no way that could be replicated at your church. However, you need to remember that God wants to use your church in a special way too.

Scout out the church ahead of time and develop a small list of items that you want your team to notice. Grab lunch after the service and talk about your reflections on the visit. You’d be amazed how much clarity an experience like that can bring to your team!

Share Their First Time Experiences

Learning each other’s origin stories is not only a great way to build community, but it’s also a valuable technique to gain insight about what it’s like to arrive at church for the first time. Simply gather your team in a circle and start a conversation about what it was like when each one of them first came to church. I find it fascinating to understand what it must have been like in those early days; gaining that kind of clarity helps me understand what it must be like for people who are arriving now. Here are a few conversation starters you can try:

Tell us about the morning before you first came to church. What did you experience/feel before you arrived?
Who invited you to come to church for the first time, and what was that interaction like?
Do you remember when you first entered the property at our church? Tell us about that experience.
Can you recall the very first Sunday service you attended at our church? What are the prevailing memories or feelings that have stuck with you since then?
What was your first negative experience at the church? How did that make you feel?

Go to a Theme Park Together

Theme parks provide a great training ground for teams that are discovering what it’s like to have guests come to their church. Like church, theme parks:

Offer physical, tangible experiences
Regularly host a large population of visitors who have never been there before
Try to generate emotions in people
Deal with parking issues

Imagine taking your core leaders to a local theme park on a Saturday with the sole purpose of trying to learn what you can do to help first-time guests at your church. Consider how the park manages parking, their arrival process, and how they handle guests with strollers and/or special needs. What does the theme park do to keep things clean and tidy? Spending a day at a theme park will provide your team with insights that are possibly greater than any other location that you could visit as a team.

Visit a Synagogue or a Mosque

Are you looking for a training experience that might step it up a bit? If you take your team to visit a synagogue or a mosque in your town, I guarantee you’ll have conversations for years about that experience. Not only is it fascinating to understand how other people worship, but it will also give you clarity about what it’s like to be a first-time visitor to your church. Those who attend synagogues or mosques are insiders to their religion while we are outsiders. These experiences are filled with great reverence and a mix of humanity.

These religious organizations have their own code of conduct and approach to worship services, and this may be largely unfamiliar to people who usually aren’t part of that experience. How your team responds emotionally to the mere thought of visiting a synagogue or mosque will give them a sense of what people think when coming to your church:

What are you supposed to do, take your shoes off or leave them on?

Will someone give a message?

Is there music?

Do we raise our hands?

Do I sit?

Do I stand?

I am not sure what this experience is supposed to be like.

All of these responses are exactly the kind of things your visitors likely wonder about and feel as they prepare to visit your church.

Maybe your team is missing an opportunity to wrestle with the complex emotions of showing up somewhere for the first time and then relate those feelings to the experience of visiting your church. I believe if you try one or two of the above training opportunities, your team will be more effective as you go into this next season of serving.

Do you have any other ideas about how your team could train at the emotive level to help first-time guests? I’d love to hear from you. Feel free to leave a comment below.

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Source: 5 Training Experiences to Help Your Team Feel Like First-time Guests – unSeminary

The post 5 Training Experiences to Help Your Team Feel Like First-time Guests appeared first on Passion for Planting.