S.H.A.P.E. Assessment Results

Thank you Stephen P. Rininger for taking the SHAPE Assessment. We encourage you to meet with a Church Leader that you respect, to go over your results, so that they can help you discover a place to serve in the church and/or community, and also to help you fine-tune your 5 Main Focuses/Priorities listed at the bottom of this email under the ‘Wrapping it up’ section. May God Bless You!

[S]piritual Gifts

Here is how your spiritual gifts scored (in alphabetical order):

84%

100%

90%

78%

100%

84%

87%

37%

90%

To see descriptions on the Spiritual Gifts and how you can use them to further Christ’s Kingdom on earth, visit this link.

This gift’s evident in my life in the following ways:
I just know how lost I was and how I changed after finding and accepting a personal relationship with Jesus, my Lord. I realized I now had SOMEONE who knew everything about me AND still loved me enough to forgive my horrible sinful debt I could never repay. Then, even though I was still going to go through hard times, challenging times, sickness, loss of family and friends, and other irksome tasks and weighty responsibilities ….He-MY SAVIOUR would always be right there with me through His Holy Spirit guiding and comforting me.

This gift’s evident in my life in the following ways:
When I think of my sinful life how can I not show mercy to others, especially those who do not have a personal relationship with Christ. My Christian mentor from Promise Keepers said he always did one thing to men he worked with, mentored, or led to Christ….He always “cut them a little slack.” He knew that sometimes people can have a supernatural life change after accepting Christ but many others still fought against their sins. To me….it IS all about GOD’S GRACE!

This gift’s evident in my life in the following ways:
I love to encourage!!!!!!!!! Just like EVERYONE ELSE in this world, we all have stories of hurt, pain, rejection, struggles, etc…. I get excited when sharing how Christ delivered me, and walked with me through, or sent people to me at just the right time! (esp. during 8 hour experimental spine surgery at 23, brain surgery in January 1999) God IS GREAT! In 1999 I was told by a doctor that he thought I had anywhere from six months to two years to live! I guess HE ended up being WRONG! Thank you Jesus!!!!!

[H]eart

1. 1- Visiting and praying for men of all age at hospitals and nursing homes as well as during my Bible Study time at home

2. 2- Doing clean comedy and Godly inspiration to groups of all types and sizes

3. 3- My daily Bible Study and prayer time

I’ve worked with all ages (from boys eleven to men and women of all adult ages) but at this age I am more comfortable with adults, 40 and up.

I love to teach, counsel, and pray for believers… I have the most experience and training in doing such. I have been a full time teacher since 1978 and gave my notice to leave teaching at the church I was at when I decided to come to the Chapel about ten months ago.

Educational
Health/fitness
Other – People that are LONELY

[A]bilities

Disabled- That is why I did not list doing chores, etc. around the church. I can’t lift anything or bend very well.

All have been involved with working and dealing with youth an adults from 1978 until I came to the Chapel- I still do visit some of the people who count on me to be there but not like I was when I cam here.

Stand up Comedy, Encouragement, and Inspiration
I preached at the last two churches I attended on a regular basis (one for ten years and one for I think five years.

Christian Leadership Skills, Books of the Bible, Christian Health (Bible based),
various Bible studies, etc.

I think it is my outlook on life…After everything I have been through it has led me to lean on and rely on the Lord’s strength for everything…and thus my life saying that came about after my brain surgery that was so devastating they said I would never bounce back but I did by Gods Great Grace….So I live by this saying for me…EVERDAY IS A GOOD DAY…TRY MISSING ONE! Plus if I die I know that will be good, too!!!! I will be with Jesus!

[P]ersonality

Leader

Your Primary was ‘The Otter’, with your Secondary coming in as ‘The Lion’, and here are the descriptions of your Personalities, and how they can be used for God

Otter- Otters are very social creature. Otter personalities love people. They enjoys being popular and influencing and motivating others. Otter can sometimes be hurt when people do not like them. Otter personalities usually have lots of friends, but not deep relationships. They love to goof-off. (They are notorious for messy rooms.) Otters like to hurry and finish jobs. (Jobs are not often done well.) The otter personality is like Tigger in Winnie The Pooh.

Strength: People person, open, positive
Weakness: Talks too much, too permissive
Limitation: Remembering past commitments, follow through with discipline

Lion- This personality likes to lead. The lion is good at making decisions and is very goal-oriented. They enjoy challenges, difficult assignments, and opportunity for advancement. Because lions are thinking of the goal, they can step on people to reach it. Lions can be very aggressive and competitive. Lions must learn not to be too bossy or to take charge in other’s affairs.

Strength: Goal-oriented, strong, direct
Weakness: Argumentative, too dictatorial
Limitation: Doesn’t understand that directness can hurt others, hard time expressing grace

[E]xperience

Youth Group Retreat- realized what a sinner I was with no hope, and accepted Christ.

I’ll do my best (brain injury doesn’t help) New Hope Christian Fellowship in North Akron I taught the Men’s Sunday School Class and got to preach every once in awhile. Maybe there for 3-5 years? Left there 10 months ago to come here.

Church of the Nazarene (first in Akron and then in Tallmadge (for about ten years) I taught a class of about 20 men and women in Akron and to over 40 at the Tallmadge church; served on the church Board of each and was the Missions President at both. At the Akron Church I also got to preach every Wednesday Night Service and one Sunday each month. At Tallmadge I got to preach once a month.

Firestone Park United Methodist Church- attended from age 14 until 40 when I had brain surgery and I needed a closer church…I couldn’t drive and that’s how I become a Nazarene. There was a church one block from my house and I could walk there! Hallelujah!

I was a Lutheran from birth until I was confirmed in the faith at 14. I give them credit for my two year weekly Saturday Confirmation classes (9-noon) where we really studied and learned about the Bible together. I appreciate them to this day for giving me that love of the Bible!

I learned from the Bible this great truth….It won’t matter in the end how much money I make, the house I lived in, all the things I acquired, but the world might be better if I spend my life making a Christ-Like difference in and for others!

There were several important Godly men, pastors, youth leaders, and elders who came into my life at just the right time to counsel, encourage, and love me.

By having deep hurts I came to realize that just because someone else’s hurts are different than mine, it doesn’t mean theirs ARE LESS PAINFUL! That really helped me to show mercy and to love even the unlovely.

At 23, my spinal l surgery was experimental, quite long, and they didn’t know if I would even live through it let alone how long. My aunt who was a writer for the Akron Beacon Journal for over 50 years told me something when I was in 5th grade wearing a full heavy body cast with my left arm in its own cast like I was giving a Hitler salute and it had a wooden pole propped from the arm cast into the lefts side of the main cast. What kid wouldn’t feel sorry for himself? Many people made fun of me because I looked so different. Here were her WISE words…She said Steve what you need to do is find someone who is hurting worse than you and go love them. Wow! She was right I found my neighbor who was an orphan, now an older lady, no family, no kids, all alone. Not only did I love her she in turned loved me back!

I was picked on during my JR. High days but I was able to finally realize that the kids that were “hurting” me had hidden hurts themselves and I was able to realize their hurts and actually “talk” to some and actually become friends. My biggest bully also the biggest kid would actually later become my protector and after that no one at Jr. High or High School ever made fun of me again! I actually became very popular at High School having many large acting parts and even being voted Class Clown. (Most funny people come from mighty places of hurt.)
So, I said all that to say that I never hang out with the “in” people. I will go talk to the person who is by themselves or someone with disabilities, or to those who most consider “unlovely”.

Wrapping It Up

The Challenge: Based upon your S.H.A.P.E. Assessment above (the way God wired you), If you knew you couldn’t fail … and ‘lack of money, or time’ was not an obstacle… list your Top 3 Things you would ‘Focus’ your Life on, next to #1 Loving God & #2 Loving Your Neighbor (these would be your ‘3 God-Sized Dreams’ for your life)?

1. My Relationship with GOD

2. My Relationship with Others

• Putting Your Spouse First
• Your Kids Second
• Everyone Else After those

3. Be an ENCOURAGER for fellow Believers in specific ministries

4. Teach a Christian Health Class (spiritual, physical, mental)

5. Continue sharing my story at churches, youth groups, senior groups, Sunday School Classes, Retreats, campss, etc. with clean comedy with Godly inspiration, and encouragement