Kim and I are in the middle of a small group, going through the book Living Your Strengths. I wasn't really sure about it, before we got started, but so far, this has been the best small group that I have ever been a part of. Not only is the book great, but it has really led to some great discussions about how we can use our strengths within the church. Based on the Strengthsfinder test I took with the book, my strengths are:
Belief
Maximizer
Responsibility
Ideation
Strategic
I wasn't sure if I agreed with those, until I read a little more into them. I think ideation and strategic really fit me. One of my favorite things to do is to dream about how the future could be. And I love to plan for it too. I thought there was no way responsibility should be on my top 5, until I read that it means I stick to my word, and will often take on too much, because I want to help. People with the strength of responsibility need to develop the art of saying no. Maximizer was obvious to me, based on how I choose to spend my life. In teaching and coaching, I am always trying to get the best out of people. And belief just means that I have my values and stick to them, and they are what I use to guide my decisions.
This study has really helped me discover more about myself, and how I can work with some of the others who have different strengths. In our small group, something like 30 of the 34 different strengths are represented, which I think means that as a group we are set up for success. It also shows how God created us to part of a community. By ourselves we are incomplete, and we need each other to be effective.
If you haven't ever gone through this before, I highly suggest it as a group study.
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2 comments:
Thanks for the recommendation. I'll keep that in mind. How did this test match up with what you found your values to be while reading Chazown?
Honestly, I read through Chazown in a big hurry, and doing it on my own, I didn't follow through on the assignments. However, I am doing a book review on it at my church this December, and I think we are going to use it starting in January as a follow up to the strengths group. I really do a lot better in a group than on my own.
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