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

Thank you Chris Kidd 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):

53%

31%

59%

84%

34%

65%

43%

31%

84%

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 have a strong financial mind and education with heart for stewardship and giving.

This gift’s evident in my life in the following ways:
I have a strong desire for the truth to be known fully, accurately, and understandably.

This gift’s evident in my life in the following ways:
I believe it is critical for people to understand the application and implications of God’s Word.

[H]eart

1. Manage well the resources (family, finances, health, time, etc.) God has given me.

2. Hosting people for fellowship, often over a meal (esp BBQ) and an event (pool party, movie/video, study, games, etc.)

3. Travel and explore the outdoors. What I long to do is have a boat and take friends/fellow believers/co-workers out on the lake.

I love to work with smaller groups of like-minded, motivated individuals. I enjoy working with peers, those older than me, and young adults. I enjoy helping people who want and are willing to change to become better stewards and more knowledgable.

Biblical studies, stewardship training, topical teaching, discipleship.

Financial stewardship
Policy/politics
Health/fitness

[A]bilities

Military airplane pilot instructor

Personal financial education/consulting, life insurance agent, Franchise sales and consulting (some experience with contracts and contact management).

Flying, budgeting, personal financial consulting, water sports (boating, wind-surfing, SCUBA diving, competitive swimming). I’m also a licensed life-insurance agent in Oklahoma with plans to work on my investments license.

Personal finance, young adult Bible study, 49 Commands of Christ.

Thirst for knowledge and doing things the right way.

[P]ersonality

50-50 Extrovert/Reserved

High Risk

50-50 Peace Maker/Challenger

Project Driven

Leader

Variety

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

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

Beaver- Organized. Beavers think that there is a right way to do everything and they want to do it exactly that way. Beaver personalities are very creative. They desire to solve everything. Desire to take their time and do it right. Beavers do not like sudden changes. They need reassurance.

Strength: High standards, order, respect
Weakness: Unrealistic expectations of self & others, too perfect.
Limitation: Seeing the optimistic side of things, expressing flexibility

[E]xperience

I grew up in a home where my parents were Christians active in church (Christian of various denominations) and believed in Jesus as the Messiah from my early youth. At the age of twelve, I was invited to accept Jesus as my personal Lord and Savior at an AWANA event and after going home and talking with my parents, I prayed that prayer. For me I was a formalization of what I already believed.

My family and I attended Strong Tower Ministries church in Altus, OK from 6/19 until 1/21. We did not formally become members. We volunteered at several church/Operation CARE (sister ministry) outreach events and helped with childcare on occasion.

My family and I attended Freedom Church in Altus, OK from 3/15 until 2/19. We became members in 2016 and I served on the board of directors as a deacon from approx. 3/18 until 1/19. I resigned due to the inability to attend meetings or perform duties due to multiple periods of family illnesses. I led two Financial Peace University classes, training another member to lead the second one.

I’ve attended a plethora of churches in my lifetime–from Southern Baptist, EV Free, and non-denominational churches as a kid to a house-church (Bridgeway, OKC), Vineyard (Cincinnati, OH), Assembly of God (moderately Pentecostal) (Altus, OK), non-denominational (Wichita, KS), LifeChurch (Wichita, KS–we helped launch that campus), and an Apostolic predominately Africa-American church (Wichita, KS). I’ve co-lead a couple Bible-study small-groups, a house-church, young-men’s study, facilitated Financial Peace University (FPU) classes, participated in numerous community outreach events, and have gone on one mission-trip to a poor community in TX.

My parents raised us to enjoy the outdoors: camping, hiking, days at the lake boating and swimming, trips to the ocean/beach to swim and bodyboard/surf. Enjoying nature is mentally, spiritually, and physically refreshing for me.

My college education in business finance honed my affinity and aptitude for financial matters, but my first time to attend FPU with my wife changed the way I thought about personal finance, how badly most people need help, and how much I cared about this stewardship gap.

I had a dorm-mate in college who was a missionary kid and deemed a bit strange by a lot of others around us. Before we became friends, he invited me to go rock climbing with him numerous times. I finally said yes, partially out of curiosity and partially to get him to stop asking. It was life-changing. The focus and effort it takes to climb well is intense and our ensuing times of fellowship challenge mind and heart. We became good friends, helping each other grow in mind, body, and spirit through our climbing adventures (inviting others to join), school activities, and ministry activities.

To begin, I wasn’t inclined to great compassion in my adult years. God has used some real difficulties to squeeze some out of me. That said, I’m still more of a things- and task-oriented guy.
The process of having kids was quite difficult for us. From challenges to conceive, to abnormal pregnancy sickness (even hospitalization) for my wife, to four babies that had excessive illnesses paired with unusual periods of poor sleep, rearing babies was extremely tasking and sometimes debilitating. These experiences have given me a better understanding of and relatability to those having challenges rearing kids.

My wife and I came from very different backgrounds when it came to lifestyle, finances, and stewardship. Early in our marriage, the addition of debts and expenses was more than I could adjust for with my income alone. It was a stressful and anxiety-filled time. I remember when our eating-out budget included two Chipotle burritos a month, which we would split on two occasions. We had other young-adult couples from church who would exclude us because we couldn’t afford to join in many of their activities–not to mention that we probably exuded the stress we experienced as a lack of unity. Stress, fights, feelings of isolation and betrayal–I can understand what many couples face who are not coupled and of one-accord when it comes to the stewardship aspects of their lives.

When we had our second baby in Feb 2015, there was a misunderstanding/misperception among members of my extended family regarding who got to meet the baby and when (their “pecking order”). As a result, my family members took great offense and walked out of the hospital. What ensued was a litany of accusations against us; anger, castigation, exclusion from family events, gossip by them in our church and community, lies on social media, etc. Hours became days, which turned into months, then years. My relationship with my parents was all but severed for about three years, then on the rocks (ebb and flow) for a few more. This year our relationship has seen more enjoyable times than before, but with regular reminders that we are still on the outside when it comes to them and my sister and her husband (the “core family”). My relationship with my sister and her husband has been nearly non-existent until early 2021, when we planned a big anniversary celebration for our parents. Since then, we’ve had a distant association with occasional pleasantries but no real closeness. Several years ago, my wife and I worked through our hurt and any resulting unforgiveness. Any time we begin to take offense we quickly encourage each other to repent. Unfortunately, my family (mainly my sister and her husband) still holds us responsible for what they perceive as a great offense, which has compromised our relationships. The cost has been great. I can sympathize with those who have been judged by the ones they love and trust. I have compassion for them. I also desire to encourage them to forgive quickly and completely in order to set themselves free and to be right with our forgiving God. As Jesus taught us to pray, “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”

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. Travel and take amazing photos

4. Host ministry and fellowship outdoor/boating/adventure events

5. Help others develop sound financial budgets, plans, and goals.