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

Thank you Sherry Van Buren 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:

87%

100%

100%

68%

90%

87%

87%

90%

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 do love sharing thoughts and ideas with people regarding biblical principals and I am also open to interpretation of others. I feel the idea that, “I know it all, ” is pompous and ludicrous.

This gift’s evident in my life in the following ways:
I fail often. I get it. You have to get back up again from wherever you are and move forward.

This gift’s evident in my life in the following ways:
Again, I believe that mercy is what Jesus showed to us and thusly, we should show mercy in return.

[H]eart

1. I love to sing. Music moves me as long as it is music that I enjoy and understand. It has to speak to my soul on a deeper level than most “church music.”

2. I love to scrapbook. Lame, I know but the study and preservation of my family for generations to come is important. To understand who they were, who we are and let people know what our family stood for which is simple – Love God, Love People, Work Hard.

3. I love sitting and talking with people of all ages. The exchange of ideas is so amazing to me!

While youth has always been where I identified with for year, I believe that because of the fact that I am real with people – no sugar coating – that I also fit in with the “after youth” transitional people. That terrible gap between 10th grade when kids get bored and drop out of church until they get married and have children. Then they are ready to come back and raise their kids in church. After their kids have grown they tend to drop by the wayside again, as well.

Wow…. my biggest church issue is that we are fake. We don’t call a spade a spade. We SAY we want people to work in the church but there are those who are so critical in positions of “decision making” that we tend to fire those that are the most passionate. Don’t want to make waves. I struggled with trust after my experience with being told I was “evil” and to “go back to where I came from.” That information was relayed to the deacons of our church in a confidential manner and my Mom, whom I had not told, was confronted by the mother of a deacon about the event. I felt like I had been played.

Compulsive behavior
At-risk children
Divorce

[A]bilities

I have been the Volunteer and Bereavement Coordinator for VITAS Hospice since 2001.

Grant writing and computer reporting for the HIV/AIDS world at AIDS Outreach, AIDS Interfaith, Samaritan House and the Tarrant County HIV/AIDS Consortium.

I feel that I can relate to people who are struggling on a very real level. I’m not afraid to show who I am which in turn allows people to open up to me, as well. Most people know that I am a skilled musician, as well, but I do not use that much anymore.

Lots of things – HIV/AIDS Prevention and Education, Hospice 101, VITAS Volunteer Training and Orientation and too many youth classes to list.

Being real with people and having empathy for others.

[P]ersonality

Extrovert

High Risk

Challenger

People Driven

Leader

Team

Variety

Your Primary was ‘The Lion’, with your Secondary coming in as ‘The Otter’, 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

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

[E]xperience

Typical acceptance of Christ as a child. However, as an adult I have been challenged and discouraged by the church, as an institution.

Crestmont Baptist Church, Burleso1965-2007
Children’s Choir 15 years, Choir since a kid, Vacation Bible School Leader 12 years, Student Leader 30 years

Being a part of an amazing ministry at Crestmont. It was a church that was alive, breathing and daring. People were real and that was encouraged and OK.

I grew up as a youth under Rick Eubanks, my uncle and mentor. He taught me to think differently and question everything. I have spent my life spreading that message.

Mission trips.

My divorce.

The hate letter I anonymous received and the persecution and outcast feeling that seemed to go along with it. Like I somehow was converted from victim to enemy.

Being extraordinarily overweight – almost 400 pounds. I went through it with my friend who was literally, the other half of my brain. Then losing it and the journey it took. Then she died on me.

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. I would want to see church look more like a bar and less like a convention.

4. Re-establish Burleson Community Theater at Oak Grove. Use a church “sanctuary” for more than 1.5 hours each week and be welcoming of the types of people who are interested in it.

5. Establish a nursing home ministry where we go out and do crafts and make true relationships with those who have had to experience their life becoming so small and limited. You DO know that they live and are treated worse than we treat our children in daycare situations, right?????