from the book Sacred Pathways

My ranking of the nine temperaments

SCORE CATEGORY
26 INTELLECTUALS
22 CAREGIVERS
17 ACTIVISTS
14 ENTHUSIASTS
12 SENSATES
11 CONTEMPLATIVES
11 NATURALISTS
10 TRADITIONALISTS
6 ASCETICS

 

1.) NATURALISTS: Loving God out of doors
2 1 I feel closest to God when I'm surrounded by what he has made - the mountains, the forests, or the sea.
2 2 I feel cut off if I have to spend too much time indoors, just listening to speakers or singing songs. Nothing makes me feel closer to God than being outside.
1 3 I would prefer to worship God by spending an hour beside a small brook than by participating in a group service.
2 4 If I could escape to a garden to pray on a cold day, walk through a meadow on a warm day, and take a trip by myself to the mountains on another day, I would be very happy.
2 5 A book called Nature's Sanctuaries: A Picturebook would be appealing to me.
2 6 Seeing God's beauty in nature is more moving to me than understanding new concepts, participating in a formal religious service, or participating in social causes.
11 TOTAL  
   
2.) SENSATES: Loving God with the senses
2 1 I feel closest to God when I'm in a church that allows my senses to come alive - when I can see, smell, hear, and almost taste his majesty.
2 2 I enjoy attending a "high church" service with incense and formal Communion or Eucharist.
2 3 I'd have a difficult time worshiping in a church building that is plain and lacks a sense of awe or majesty.  Beauty is very important to me, and I have a difficult time worshipping through second-rate Christian art or music.
2 4 The words sensuous, colorful, and aromatic are very appealing to me.
2 5 A book called The Beauty of Worship would be appealing to me.
2 6 I would really enjoy using drawing exercises or art to improve my prayer life.
12 TOTAL  
   
3.) TRADITIONALISTS: Loving God through ritual and symbol
2 1 I feel closest to God when I'm participating in a familiar form of worship that has memories dating back to my childhood. Ritual and traditions move me more than anything else.
1 2 Individualism within the church is a real danger. Christianity is a corporate faith, and most of our worship should have a corporate expression.
2 3 The words tradition and history are very appealing to me.
1 4 Participating in a formal liturgy or prayer-book service, developing symbols that I could place in my car, home, or office, and developing a Christian calendar for our family to follow are activities that I would enjoy.
2 5 A book titled Symbolism and Liturgy in Personal Worship would be appealing to me.
2 6 I would really enjoy developing a personal rule (or ritual) of prayer.
10 TOTAL  
   
4.) ASCETICS: Loving God in solitude and simplicity
2 1 I feel closest to God when I am alone and there is nothing to distract me from focusing on his presence.
2 2 I would describe my faith as more "internal" than "external."
1 3 The words silence, solitude, and discipline are very appealing to me.
0 4 Taking an overnight retreat by myself at a monastery where I could spend large amounts of time alone in a small room, praying to God and studying his Word, and fasting for one or more days are all activities I would enjoy.
1 5 I would enjoy reading a book A Place Apart: Monastic Prayer and Practice for Everyone.
0 6 I would really enjoy spending time on a night watch, taking a short vow of silence, simplifying my life.
6 TOTAL  
   
5.) ACTIVISTS: Loving God through confrontation
3 1 I feel closest to God when I'm cooperating with him in standing up for his justice: writing letters to government officials and newspaper editors, picketing at an abortion clinic, urging people to vote, or becoming familiar with current issues.
4 2 I get very frustrated if I see apathetic Christians who don't become active. I want to drop everything else I'm doing and help the church overcome its apathy.
3 3 The words courageous confrontation and social activism are very appealing to me.
3 4 Activities like confronting a social evil, attending a meeting to challenge the new curriculum before the local school board, and volunteering on a political campaign are important to me.
1 5 The book written by Frank Schaeffer, A Time for Anger, would be an important book for me to read.
3 6 I would like to awaken the church from its apathy.
17 TOTAL  
   
6.) CAREGIVERS: Loving God by loving others
5 1 I feel closest to God when I see him in the needy, the poor, the sick, and the imprisoned. I feel god's presence most strongly when I am sitting quietly beside the bed of someone who is lonely or ill or taking a meal to someone in need. You can could on me to offer a ride or  volunteer for helping activities.
4 2 I grow weary of Christians who spend their time singing songs while a sick neighbor goes without a hot meal or a family in need doesn't get help fixing their car.
5 3 The words service and compassion are very appealing to me.
5 4 I sense God's power when I'm counseling a friend who has lost a job, preparing meals for or fixing the car of a family in need, or spending a week at an orphanage in Mexico.
2 5 The book entitled 99 Ways to Help your Neighbor would be very appealing to me.
1 6 I would rather nurse someone to health or help someone repair their house than teach an adult Sunday school class, go on a prayer and fasting retreat, or take a lonely walk in the woods.
22 TOTAL  
   
7.) ENTHUSIASTS: Loving God with mystery and celebration
2 1 I feel closest to God when my heart is sent soaring and I feel like I want to burst, worship God all day long, and shout out his Name. Celebrating God and his love is my favorite form of worship.
4 2 God is an exciting God, and we should be excited about worshipping him. I don't understand how some Christians say they love God, and then act like they're going to a funeral whenever they walk into church.
3 3 The words celebration and joy are very appealing to me.
2 4 I would enjoy attending a workshop on learning to worship through dance or attending several worship sessions with contemporary music. I expect that God is going to move in some unexpected ways.
2 5 I would enjoy reading the book The Mystery and Excitement of Walking with God.
1 6 I spend more money on music and worship tapes that on books.
14 TOTAL  
   
8.) CONTEMPLATIVES: Loving God through adoration
2 1 I feel closest to God when my emotions are awakened, when God quietly touches my heart, tells me that he loves me, and makes me feel like I'm his closest friend. I would rather be alone with God, contemplating his love, than participating in a formal liturgy or being distracted by a walk outside.
1 2 The most difficult time in my faith are when I can't feel God's presence within me.
2 3 The words lover, intimacy, and heart are very appealing to me.
2 4 I really enjoy having thirty minutes of uninterrupted time a day to sit in quiet prayer and "hold hands' with God, writing love letters to him and enjoying his presence.
1 5 I would enjoy reading The Transforming Friendship.
3 6 When I think of God, I think of love, friendship, and adoration more than anything else.
11 TOTAL  
   
9.) INTELLECTUALS: Loving God with the mind
5 1 I feel closest to God when I learn something new about him that I didn't understand before. My mind needs to be stimulated. It's very important to me that I know exactly what I believe.
5 2 I get frustrated when the church focuses too much on feelings and spiritual experience. Of far more importance is the need to understand the Christian faith and have proper doctrine.
4 3 The words concepts and truth are very appealing to me.
3 4 I feel close to God when I participate in several hours of uninterrupted study time - reading God's Word or good Christian books and then perhaps having an opportunity to teach (or participate in a discussion with) a small group.
4 5 A book on church dogmatics would be appealing to me.
5 6 I spend more money on books than music tapes.
26 TOTAL