Descriptions of Spiritual Temperaments
In her book, “What’s Your God Language”, Myra Perrine describes nine possible spiritual temperaments that we might possess. Perrine acknowledges that this list is not exhaustive and that there may be more temperaments, but she says that these nine provide a good starting point for us as we begin to contemplate our unique ways of responding to God. She also acknowledges that these temperaments are not mutually exclusive, so we may possess any number of them at the same time, although we may gravitate particularly to one or two of them. Here is a summary of these temperaments.
The Contemplative
“Loving God Through Adoration”
Contemplatives are people who much prefer “being with the Lord” than “doing for the Lord”. Like Mary of Bethany who sat at the feet of the Jesus, contemplatives love to sit at Jesus’ feet, basking in His love and delighting in His presence. Their primary task in life is adoring God, and thus they tend to see “God in all things.” Every situation in life is an opportunity to develop a “deeper friendship with Jesus”. As such contemplatives can be drawn to more mystical experiences. They also tend to more openly talk about finding intimacy with God than others do. For example, James Houston, Professor of Spiritual Theology at Regent College once described his times of prayer as “‘two lovers [who] do nothing but gaze into each other’s eyes.”
The Enthusiast
Loving God Through Mystery and Celebration
Enthusiasts are people who love God with great enthusiasm and vigor. They love joyful celebration and often have a creative, playful, and child-like spirit in relationship to God. Usually, they are very comfortable with expressing emotion in their worship of God and do not care what onlookers think. They are not interested in attracting the attention of others; they simply do what they do in order to express their love and affection for God. Since they often love worshipping the Lord in song and dance, we often find them leading the music in our worship services. Some enthusiasts are charismatic, particularly interested in and in touch with the work of the Holy Spirit in their lives, thus they may gravitate towards spiritual and mystical experiences.
The Intellectual
“Loving God Through the Mind”
Intellectuals are people who feel closest to God when they are engaging their minds and grappling with truth in order to understand Him. When they are reading theological textbooks or Bible commentaries, hearing sermons or theological podcasts, sitting in a class at church or seminary, or writing or taking notes about God, they are opening themselves up to a profound encounter with the Lord. For the intellectual, the process of wrestling with deep truths about God is the avenue to drawing closer to Him and entering into a place of worship and praise.
The Naturalist
“Loving God Through His Creation”
Naturalists are people who feel closest to God when they are outside in God’s creation. They are rejuvenated when they feel cool breezes on their cheeks, when they hear the soothing sounds of the waves crashing on the shores, when they observe microscopic organisms under the microscope, or when thy they observe a mama fox caring for her young. Naturalists experience God’s glory and love when they observe the intricacies of nature. They also learn rhythms of balance in their own lives from the rhythms of the natural world. Naturalists find the world around them deeply beautiful, and this beauty draws them to the One who created this beauty.
The Ascetic
“Loving God Through Solitude and Simplicity”
Ascetics are the type of people that are nourished by extended times of silence and solitude. They are most able to encounter God in quiet spaces where they can listen for God’s still small voice and be refreshed by His presence. Ascetics tend to be distracted by a great deal of sensory input, and thus prefer to live simply. They tend to encounter God in more simple, barren places. Some ascetics also live in difficult conditions that require them to endure significant hardship and suffering, for example missionaries who live in undeveloped parts of the world. Their suffering becomes a way for them to mature in their love for the people they love and for Jesus, the “Suffering Servant”.
The Caregiver
“Loving God Through Serving Others”
Caregivers are hospitable people who welcome others into their lives with warmth, acceptance, and joy and seek to take care of very practical needs in others’ lives. These people especially experience God’s love and presence when they are serving others, whether that be through cooking, cleaning, binding up someone else wounds, visiting those who are homebound, interceding for others, etc., etc. Like Mother Teresa who saw Jesus in the “distressing disguise of the poor”, caregivers see and experience God in the faces of the people for whom they care.
The Activist
“Loving God Through Confrontation of Evil”
The Activist – “Loving God Through Confrontation with Evil”
Activists are the type of people who constantly work to share the Gospel in word and deed. They are the ones to confront injustice in this world, despite the personal costs that this work can entail. They are often the prophets within our midst. They are also often the evangelists. These courageous people want to see the Kingdom of God tangibly lived out in this world. Thus, some activists become missionaries who actively share their faith with others who do not know Jesus. Others spend their lives fighting against poverty, racism, discrimination, hunger, sex-trafficking, pornography, war, cultures of death, environmental destruction, and many other systematic injustices that dehumanize men, women, and children throughout the world. It is when activists are engaging in this kind of work that they feel their closest to God. In the words of Eric Liddel, it is in their work for the Kingdom that they “feel God’s pleasure”.
The Sensate
“Loving God Through the Senses
Sensates are the type of people who are very attentive to what they taste, touch, smell, see, and hear. When they are confronted with beauty, whether in the form of beautiful architecture, fragrances, music, stained glass windows, icons, or art, they are drawn towards God. Sensates are also the kind of people who experience God’s presence when they are enjoying a scrumptious meal or when they are watching an artistically-crafted movie. Experiences that engage the senses awaken a deep sense of thankfulness within sensates, as well as a desire for beauty. Both of these responses draw them to God who is Beauty Himself. Sensates are often the artists within our congregations and are generally the ones who prefer the “smells and bells” in our church services.
The Traditionalist
“Loving God Through Ritual and Symbol”
Traditionalists are people who enjoy practicing their faith in familiar, regular ways that connect them with Christians practice that has been handed down over the millennia and has been practiced around the globe. Traditionalists enjoy age-old liturgy, ritual, and symbol that allows them to worship with the “communion of saints” and is itself imbued with deep theological truths of who God is, truth that has been accepted by Christians throughout time. Traditionalists prefer this liturgy because it provides no surprises from week to week. They know they will hear from Scripture and receive Communion, and that the truth of the faith will be safeguarded each week in the words of the liturgy. For the Traditionalist, engaging in familiar rhythms of the liturgy each week is much preferred to ever changing practice (and perhaps even belief) from week to week. This provides the space they need to enter deeply into the presence of the Lord.