Have you ever taken a learning style inventory? Chances are at this point that you wouldn’t learn anything new, but you might. At the very least, it could confirm your suspicions. I’m sure you could tell me that you prefer to learn new things in a certain way—by watching someone else do it or by reading an instruction manual or by just starting to do it. You may have struggled as a child wanting to learn by doing and thinking out loud in a classroom where material was presented only in visual, logical form to be silently absorbed while seated.
Very generally speaking, there are five major learning style groupings, which run as follows: (with different sets of terminology for slightly differing models)
Visual—learning with pictures, images and spatial (location relative to other) awareness
Auditory—learning with sounds and music
Verbal—learning with words, both spoken and written
Physical—learning with the body: hands on, physical movement, sense of touch
Logical—learning with logic, reasoning, systems
These five preferences also sort themselves out around solitary and group—that is working alone vs. learning in groups.
Of course, no one person falls 100% within one of these categories to the exclusion of the others. I, for instance, am strongly solitary, leaning heavily toward verbal and logical. I do have some social learning tendencies—depending on what we’re learning and I’ll try to figure out something new by looking online first. Someone else may be social and kinetic, on the phone most of the day and figuring out how to do things by jumping in there and going by the seat of their pants.
It comes as no surprise that science—and a lot of common sense observation—links certain learning styles to certain personality types. The two together are pretty much how you approach life—how you tackle problems and get things accomplished.
There seem to be more personality types than learning styles, and more models upon which to pin understandings of personality. I’ll bet you’ve heard of the Myers-Briggs personality typology or the MMPI. There are also the Enneagram and the Big Five and a bunch of other inventories that have been developed for determining individual suitability for or likelihood of this that or the other.
Even if you haven’t taken an inventory, you can probably tell me without much thought whether you’re a glass half full or a glass half empty kind of person, an optimist or pessimist or realist, introverted or extroverted, and so on.
It’s useful to understand your learning style and personality type. Knowing your strengths and preferences, you can find tasks and solutions that maximize on your best abilities, increasing your chance of success. When not constrained by outward forces like lack of resources or fear of punishment or sanction, your learning and personality styles significantly inform your choice of career, hobbies, communication preferences, friendships, and so on.
So why does it matter when it comes to practical Christianity?
First of all, knowing your learning style can help you engage the Bible and fellowship in ways that are most helpful to you. If you’re an auditory learner, you may be more likely to recall and apply the Bible by listening to it rather than just by reading it. A logical learner is more likely to appreciate a class on systematic theology, while a kinetic learner could get really excited about acting out Bible lessons in conjunction with the peaching. Go with your strengths, as they say.
Additionally, knowing your tendencies can help you to be aware of what you’re not as likely to do, so you can take care to not neglect the full call of the cross.
For instance, I can study up and outline the ways Jesus uplifted the disenfranchised in His everyday actions, but other than writing an interesting article about it, what use is that when I, a fairly solitary soul, am not out there loving and lifting up the same people in my every day actions—like taking the time to make eye contact and ask a sincere question and then listen. Like speaking up about unkindness and unfairness instead of pretending to not notice.
Someone who learns by doing and loves being out there with people can go tirelessly from cause to cause. But what about when what they are supporting is not something a Christian should endorse—not because they agree with it, but because they never really stopped to think through all the implications. Their love for people might enable them to neglect knowledge of Scripture, and therefore of the ways of God.
I will stand before the throne and may get a gold star for my correct theology but have very few standing there with me who can tell God they’re in Heaven because I deeply impacted their lives. My kinetic learner friend will stand before God to receive his reward for serving people in practical ways, but God may also point out that his support of this or that actually hindered others from seeing Jesus as clearly as they might have otherwise.
Being aware of my tendencies helps me avoid the extremes, keeps me from being lopsided. It keeps me from being complacent that I’m a good Christian by reminding me that we’re all called to the same standard of holiness. We all need to be spending time developing intimacy with God Himself. We all need to be meeting the varied needs of those around us. I’m grateful for those who spend hours on their knees pleading with Heaven, and for those who are skilled in music making. Yet each one of us is called to intercede for others as well as to express ourselves and love on God in worship.
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. Ephesians 2:10
I’m of the opinion that what you’re good at and enjoy is where your gifts are—the good works God created you to accomplish. If you and I were to have a conversation about doing what God wants you to do with yourself, I’d encourage you to explore your preferences and gifts and find places to get engaged where you love to be and feel great, not where you go with guilt and resentment.
But also leave room for the Spirit to nudge you in other directions. Be ready to see and serve others as well as get still with yourself and let God speak to you.
Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to follow all that I commanded you. Matthew 28:19-20
What’s one tendency you’ve noticed about yourself that you’ve had to consciously try to steer one way or another? Leave a comment!
For fun and practical purposes, there are a lot of websites out there with which you can pin down your learning type and personality type. Just try learning type inventory or personality style inventory in your web browser and you’ll get a mind-boggling number of links, both long, detailed questionnaires that will give you percentages and short tests that will land you in the ballpark. If you search for learning style AND personality type you can explore even deeper.
My only caution is to not try to pin yourself into one understanding.
You’re way more than your tendencies and preferences.
Toward the promise,
Lana
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