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

Thank you Matthew Stroup 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):

78%

68%

62%

81%

53%

78%

71%

84%

87%

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 am a preacher’s kid. I have always served in some capacity in the church. It comes naturally to me. My primary love language is acts of service. I find serving others to be very fulfilling.

This gift’s evident in my life in the following ways:
I have done classroom teaching and led small groups many times. I enjoy teaching something I know well and love to impart knowledge to others, especially if it helps to improve them in some way. We homeschool our kids and have graduated two and about to graduate a third.

This gift’s evident in my life in the following ways:
I have always faithfully given tithe to the church I attend and offerings to various ministries, and I feel very blessed by God because of it. I believe God has given me a well-paying job so I can help fund the Kingdom in this way.

[H]eart

1. I love music and worship specifically. I play acoustic and electric guitar, electric bass, keys, drums, percussion, ukulele, and harp. And I can sing adequately. I have played on worship teams since I was 13, and have been a worship leader for a variety of different ministries.

2. I run a computer gaming group (ozonegaming.org). We play online games on Tuesday nights in a family-friendly environment. I also organize and run five LAN Parties and a Retrogaming Party at my house every year. I focus on keeping things God-honoring, respectful, friendly, light-hearted, and welcoming to all skill levels. I created this for fellow Christian gamers to have an alternative to the often toxic and God-dishonoring gaming environments online.

3. I’m a computer geek. I enjoy fixing up computers like some people like fixing old cars. I use these fixed-up computers for people who don’t have computers so they can attend my LAN parties. And I have donated computers to needy families. I have provided computer support to multiple ministries over the years.

I enjoy working with all ages of people who are humble before God and ready to learn and grow and be sanctified in Him.

I usually find myself involved in worship, sound, media, and/or IT. I have run sound since I was 9 years old. I have been on multiple worship teams since I was 13 and have often led worship. I have produced, directed, edited, and starred in multiple TV shows, and even helped create an award-winning 3D-animated short film. I helped my last church get set up for streaming services during COVID. I have also led small groups related to finances, marriage, and child-raising. I was a youth pastor for many years, and I was the “campus pastor” for five years at a home church in my home (we had a senior pastor over multiple campuses who preached over Skype, long story). I tend to prefer to be behind-the-scenes (I’m an introvert), but God has a way of putting me into leadership in one way or another, and putting me in front of people.

Abortion/sanctity of Life
Marriage/family issues
Policy/politics

[A]bilities

Web developer for the Department of Defense web site used by their 1.5 million employees for signing up for medical and dental benefits.

software and firmware development, TV productions, directing, video editing

computer hardware and software, music (guitar, bass, keys, drums, singing), video production

child-raising, marriage, finances, worship, running sound (I wrote the curriculum for the last two)

my wife and kids

[P]ersonality

Reserved

50-50 High/Low Risk

50-50 Peace Maker/Challenger

Project Driven

50-50 Follower/Leader

Routine

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

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

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

My dad was a pastor (he passed in August 2020). I gave my life to Christ at home. My dad led me through the process. I was 4 years old, and have served God as faithfully as I could ever since.

Crosswind Community Church, Palmdale, CA, worship, sound, media, video, IT, 1 year

Roseville City Church, Roseville, CA, worship, sound, media, IT, 1 year

Artisan Christian Church, Roseville, CA, worship, sound, media, IT, campus pastor, 6 years

Being raised in a solid Christian family and being raised by my father who was a pastor and served God his entire life, and my mother who was an amazing woman of God. I was blessed to have such excellent role models.

Meeting and marrying my wife, Christal, who is a Godly woman, and has been a perfect help-meet and friend to me.

God has provided me many opportunities to learn and serve in various ways. God allowed me to be given expert training in computers, music, sound, media, video, and productions, and I have been able to use these skills for the Kingdom of God in many ways, which I find very fulfilling.

I was too eager to have a girlfriend. I ended up with a girl that was a bad influence on me, and I ended up getting hurt and regretting many things. I learned the hard way to trust God to bring the right person into my life, and not try to make it happen with my own ability. When I finally surrendered this area to God, He brought Christal into my life.

I lost a job I had for 16.5 years doing something I loved and did quite well. I was appreciated by my peers and management. But I was laid off without warning because the company was splitting, along with 39,999 others. It was devastating, but I leaned on God, and He blessed me immensely through the process of being out of work and finding the awesome job I have today. I have many stories to tell of God’s goodness.

I was producing (and directing and editing and starring in) a Christian music video show that was about to go international, and I was working on creating a production company focused on creating Christian animated shows for kids. God suddenly closed the door on both of these opportunities. Although I still don’t know why this happened, I have learned to trust God and be grateful for the closed doors as much as the opened ones.

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. being involved in worship

4. being involved in Christian productions

5. using the talents and skills God has given me for His purposes