At a recent workshop that I gave on leadership in the church, I was able to use two portions of the book in worship services. One was the section looking at how Jesus exhibited characterises of all eight preferences. This related very well to my topic as I was trying to show that although everyone is a type, a leader needs the flexibility to use all eight preferences to be effective. A closing worship involved the Medicine Wheel of the Plains Indians described by Johnson in which the four directions of the compass represent the four dominant functions which are our “beginning gifts.”
As a child of eight Johnson was fascinated when he was taken to the fingerprint section of the FBI. Here he was shown that all finger prints can be identified by four types (loops, arches, whorls, and composites). This gave him the idea of naming personality type as “soulprinting.” He has provided a 32 question quiz to give you an idea what your soulprint might be.
When the author discovered Jung/Myers theory and read the description of his type, it gave him great insight into both his personal and spiritual life. It is with this passion that he wants to share how typology can enrich the reader’s spiritual life as well.
Johnson devotes a chapter to each of the eight functions and gives a name for each of these functions. For example he calls the extraverted Sensors, ESTP and ESFP, the Energizers. However, he does not further differentiate between the T and the F aspects of these types. He uses a biblical character to represent each of the eight dominant functions. In this case he uses David to represent the Energizers and describes key attributes of these types, citing the biblical stories for examples. Then he looks at the Energizers’ creative gifts and their infirmities, or the positive and negative aspects of this group. Johnson gives some excellent ideas for these types to nurture their faith, and a suggests path they might follow for wholeness. Each section concludes with a meditation of prayers and activities for them to consider.
This book is aimed at the more traditional Christian but I feel that those with a more liberal outlook would also find it insightful. Johnson has presented the Jung/Myers concepts with clarity and depth. The book would be an excellent book for a bible study group. I can see a spiritual advisor passing the book on to give insight to someone who sought spiritual counsel. A spiritual retreat could be built around the concepts in this book. A minister might also get eight good sermons out of it.
Beside chapter notes at the end of the book, Johnson has included a rather extensive list of suggestions for further reading on spiritual formation. These are not Jung/Myers theory books, but ones a person might read for spiritual growth.
This book is not just for the clergy. Knowledgeable lay people and Jung/Myers facilitators will both gain insight from it. Lay people could use it to enrich their spiritual lives. I find that applying typology theory to different aspects of life helps me have a better understanding of the theory. So even if your are not particularly interested in the topic of spirituality, Johnson’s knowledge of typology is very sound and clearly presented, and I felt gave me new insights into the eight functions.
This is a book well worth having in any facilitator’s library. For those of you wanting some spiritual nourishment, this will be an added benefit as well.