The Road Back to You

Starred review from August 8, 2016
Cron (Chasing Francis), an Episcopal priest, brings his witty, energetic voice to this collaboration with Stabile, a retreat director and expert on the Enneagram—a system of personality typology with roots in Christian and Islamic mysticism. The beauty of the Enneagram is its charity: the system clearly names the flaws as well as the virtues of each personality type. The Enneagram also counsels humility and acknowledges its own limits (“ is not infallible or inerrant,” writes Cron and Stabile)—a welcome modesty in religious understanding today. As one of a number of ways of thinking about personality, it is a helpful spiritual analogue to Myers-Briggs typology. The authors counsel the use of the system, which includes nine distinct personality types, for self-knowledge: “The objective of it is self-understanding.” It is also a useful tool for ministers and managers and anyone who has to work with diverse personalities, which will make the book appropriate for seminary study. There isn’t much literature on the Enneagram, with little for curious evangelical Christians. Cron and Stabile’s approach is likely to appeal particularly to thoughtful younger Christians.

October 1, 2016

Cron (Chasing Francis: A Pilgrim's Tale) and Stabile (cofounder, Life in the Trinity Ministry) find robust pastoral merit within the Enneagram, a personality modeling system with nine interconnected personality types. According to the authors, the Enneagram is the key to self-discovery, particularly for relationships: "The Enneagram shows us that we can't change the way other people see, but we can try to experience the world through their eyes and help them change what they do with what they see." Chapters go on to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of each personality type, including the "wings," or characteristics of related personality types that may further impact the way one understands the world. These are then understood in terms of relationships and the path of spiritual transformation or healing. The goal of this self-help guide, conclude Cron and Stabile, is to encourage self-forgiveness and open ourselves to all of the characteristics within our God-given selves. VERDICT An aid to those seeking to identify personality types, with a little bit of spirituality on the side.--SC

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