When you first get to Westmont, there are lots of people to meet and plenty of small talk to be had. You know the drill: “Oh, hi! What’s your name? Where are you from? What’s your major?” If you’re a first-year student (or just live under a rock), you were probably caught off guard the first time you heard this one: “What’s your Enneagram number?” For those of you still perplexed, here is a quick Enneagram 101 lesson.

The Enneagram is a personality tool that sorts everyone into one of nine types based on their deepest motivations. Your type will not change, although you can become a healthier version of that type. You may have a secondary type (your “wing”) that is either the number above or below you. No number is better than another, each having its own strengths and weaknesses. The types as listed by the Enneagram Institute are:

1. The Reformer
2. The Helper
3. The Achiever
4. The Individualist
5. The Investigator
6. The Loyalist
7. The Enthusiast
8. The Challenger
9. The Peacemaker

The Enneagram has surfaced in Christian institutions within the past few years, but it actually began as a secular, ancient system. Why, then, have so many Christians gotten hooked on the Enneagram? In our community, a few things make it attractive. First, it helps us to be more self-aware, especially because the Enneagram explains our “shadow sides,” our weaknesses. This produces in us both humility and the desire to grow. Second, the Enneagram gives us more compassion for those around us. We can love our brothers and sisters more effectively when we understand them, and the Enneagram gives us language for this. Finally, the Enneagram can help us with discernment for our lives. For example, at a Christian liberal arts institution, we can use it to look at our strengths and weaknesses vocationally or relationally.

It’s a great tool, but it’s easy to take it too far. I want to challenge us, as a Westmont community, to use the Enneagram faithfully. Don’t allow the Enneagram to define you or the people around you. You are a child of God, not a number! The Enneagram gives us articulate language to understand ourselves, but God created each of us uniquely, and we don’t fit into a singular box. So let’s put the Enneagram in its place—as a wonderful tool we can use to bring healing through understanding both our beauty and our brokenness.