Failing a Personality Test

Ever done one of those personality tests? You know, the ones that nail down with disturbing accuracy your strengths and weaknesses for all to see?

While I know many prefer the Myers-Briggs, the one I'm more familiar with is the DISC Profile approach. Like any of the other popular personality profiles, it raises some interesting issues for anyone trying to create a missional community. Using the DISC, let me unpack that a bit.

Under the DISC model -- and I'm glaringly generalizing here -- the four personality types are basically:

• D: this is the driving, dominant, get-things-done kind of person; can at times be dictatorial and callous towards others
  
  
• I: this is the persuader, high-energy, creative and life-of-the-party type; can at times be scattered and not good at following through on plans or intentions
  
  
• S: this is the more sensitive and intuitive person who places a very high value on relationships; can at times be manipulated by or manipulative with emotions
  
  
• C: this is the quality-control, organized, and more analytical person who appreciates and pays attention to detail; can at times be over-analyzed into indecision, or too rigid on "following the rules"

Of course, no one person is typified by only one personality type; we are all combinations of all four, just in different levels. But here's where it gets potentially problematic for missional community builders.

When I took the DISC at a Sonlife Youth Strategies Advanced seminar (back in the late 80's), I notice something initially amusingly but later of concern in how the four personality types were presented. Each personality type had it's own page of description, but the thing that drew my attention was the pictorial line drawing that represented each personality type. In reverse order:

• C: a drawing of a short, pimply kid with taped-together over-sized coke-bottle eyeglasses, a bow tie, and a pocket protector -- in other words, the classic smart-but-friendless "nerd"
  
  
• S: a drawing of two teenaged girls in their pyjamas, sitting on a bed during what appears to be a sleepover, waving their arms in the air, with the words "yakkity yak yakkity yak yakkity yak" over their heads -- in other words, silly little girls blabbing the night away
  
  
• I: a drawing of a mom & dad, dressed in vaudeville costumes, complete with straw hats and canes, dancing across the room with goofy grins on their faces, while their teenagers cowered in mortal embarrassment on the couch -- in other words, adults acting in an immature and embarrassing manner and not noticing that their kids were deeply ashamed of them
  
  
• D: a drawing of a football coach, clipboard in hand, smile on face, as he diagrammed a play on a chalkboard while his attentive players hung on his every word -- in other words, an American icon (the coach figure) equipping his players who obviously highly valued his wise input

Would anyone care to hazard a guess as to the personality type of the person who put that material together? (HINT: It's not I, S, or C)

As we attempt to build missional communities, or lead our churches into a more missional expression, the high emphasis on relationship and community could possible result in a similar situation to the above caricatures. There is a subconscious tendency to see our own personality mix as superior, and to surround ourselves with people just like us.

If the S (highly relational) personality is leading the missional community (which is really common in my observation), then more driving, results-oriented D's are usually viewed as a threat, someone to be fixed, or resisted because they don't "get it". And then the community creates an ethos that panders to one personality type as more spiritual, while (usually unintentionally) denigrating some of the others as unspiritual.

The use of personality profiles can be a very useful tool in helping our communities to appreciate and embrace the differences found in the local gathering. This same tool can also become a weapon to control others if used inappropriately -- "hey, this test is just revealing the deficiency of your worldview/sinfulness of your heart", when one personality type tries to subtly (or not so subtly) exalt one personality style above the others, and tries to enforce conformity. The need for integrity in the use of these tools is profound.