Suzanne Stabile
IVP, 240 pages
In recent years the Enneagram, a personality tool based on an ancient practice, has gained a much wider audience in churches and among Protestant pastors. That is due largely because of popular Franciscan Richard Rohr whose book has shaped a generation of seekers. Suzanne Stabile, one of those influenced by Rohr, has now become a premier teacher of the Enneagram with a particular focus on relationships. She and her husband direct Life in the Trinity Ministries, which is based at the Micah Center in Dallas. (She previously co-authored a book with Ian Morgan Cron on basic understanding of the Enneagram.) Her podcast has a large following of people who genuinely want help from a Christian perspective to improve their lives and their relationships. Stabile is a wise guide and this book is the fruit of wise teaching. She guides people into a deeper understanding of their relationship partners (friends, colleagues or family), providing a knowledge that releases judgment. This is the beauty of the Enneagram: self-knowledge that leads to a more compassionate honest life with others. The behaviors that puzzle us about others and often leave us frustrated or even estranged can actually be understood with the aid of this tool and a wise teacher like Stabile. For those who are afraid or skeptical of the Enneagram, this book will be helpful. John Calvin once said the knowledge of God and the knowledge of self are companions. This is one more guide to help with the journey into greater knowledge of God and self. Read it with a group in your congregation.
