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

Thank you Keith Williston 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):

65%

53%

93%

75%

65%

62%

56%

65%

68%

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 deal best with people who are struggling. Struggling implies some knowledge that they have not yet achieved but are still trying. I can often offer an insight that assists such people find a solution they have not thought of or a reserve of resolve they did not know they had.

This gift’s evident in my life in the following ways:
I like giving. I just rarely am in a position to give like I would like to.

This gift’s evident in my life in the following ways:
I’m not the best at inspiring people to learn, but I do a pretty good job at teaching those who already have the desire.

[H]eart

1. I like puzzles. People who are puzzles fascinate me. Relationships that are puzzles fascinate me. I like solving these puzzles.

2. Working in partnership. I do not enjoy being sent alone to do tasks or doing tasks one must do alone. I thoroughly enjoy working as part of a team and would really prefer someone else get the credit and attention.

3. Solitude. Despite having skill sets somewhat aimed at helping people, I am introverted. It’s a bad combination, but it’s what I’m stuck with.

I love working with people who are struggling. People who already know they need change and are either working towards change or seeking to change. I am at my best helping them find the path forward. And I have a rule: never offer advice if I am not willing to help.

Concerns:
1) The internet is the new printing press. The Church is being left behind because we are not adapting to it. What churches are seeming to adapt to it are also often also adopting false teachings, letting the culture control the message instead of finding the way to give the message in the medium.

2) Wokism. Wokism is the new false religion. Except for it being false, it is like Christians branching out from Judaism. It is largely built on the Judeo-Christian heritage, but introduces new concepts that make it incompatible with our faith.

Marriage/family issues
Educational
Policy/politics

[A]bilities

Attorney

Social Work, Mental Health, Substance Abuse, Lobbying

Seeing things from a new perspective.

Lots of things. Politics, religion, activities of daily living. . . long list.

I am willing to do what nobody is willing to do.

[P]ersonality

Reserved

High Risk

Challenger

50-50 People/Project Driven

Leader

Variety

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

Golden Retriever- Good at making friends. Very loyal. Retriever personalities do not like big changes. They look for security. Can be very sensitive. Very caring. Has deep relationships, but usually only a couple of close friends. Wants to be loved by everyone. Looks for appreciation. Works best in a limited situation with a steady work pattern.

Strength: Accommodating, calm, affirming
Weakness: Indecisive, indifferent, unable to express emotional, too soft on other people
Limitation: Seeing the need to be more assertive, holding others accountable

[E]xperience

I was attending church before I was born. I first committed my life to Christ as a very young child and have been in church my whole life.

Trustee, First United Methodist Church of Independence 2018-2019 (I think those are the right years)
General Pain in the Neck: Dream Church in Blue Springs, MO 2015-2016
No other official positions of note.

When I was young, I was allergic to corn (which is almost everything Americans eat) and had asthma. I couldn’t take it and prayed that God would cure one of them. He took my corn allergy. In hindsight, I should have asked for both.

I married my wife in 2000. She was a new Christian then, and it forced me to take on the responsibility of teaching and discipleship. Over time, I then had to learn to realize she isn’t a “new Christian” any more. It is very nice to be able to shift from being the “older believer” in a relationship to being an equal. There are still times where I’ll know things she does not, but it is usually more of an “interesting fact” instead of “life-changing basic principle.”

I worked with Robert Brown at Grace Christian Fellowship in the youth department. He was an amazing man with simple faith. It was not ignorance, just simplicity. I was raised with a complex faith, and I still tend to overcomplicate things. He set a good example of living a clear, honest and simple faith out. In the end, it is all about following Jesus to God. There are a lot of details, but you really need to get that one right.

I was born and raised in a legalistic environment. I still have legalistic tendencies, but I usually recognize them for what they are. It is not enough to be “good,” if such a thing were even possible. We must live by faith and grace, not our own works.

When I was young, the youth pastor, Tim Coons, suddenly died. This opened my eyes to the fact that, although he was part of the legalistic church I was being raised in, he had an honest faith and truly loved people. He had lived his life as Jesus had told the Israelites, doing what the Pharisees told them to do but not being a white-washed tomb. His faith was real. His love was real. It is a shame I did not see it till he died.

My mother was mentally ill. Her first episode occurred when I was 5. This radically changed my life, in part because my father had no idea how to handle this and my brother clocked out. I was a parentified child, and I still carry a lot of those tendencies today. I have a hard time socializing, as I did not learn those skills as a child. There are a lot of conflicts between my “natural personality” and the one shaped by these events. This also means I am often misunderstood by others. I’m not as introverted as I might appear, but I have to be cautious in making friends, as people who take the time to get to know me often realize I’m a decent guy, but a lot of people make quick, snap judgments that misinterpret my odd habits.

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. None, really. That seems a bit odd, but I really need to have a goal of not doing things for now.

4. See above.

5. See above.