Need help with "Uniquely You Personalizing My Faith"

Hello All,
I have been asked (after offering) to assist with a class that my church puts on that is a combo of the DISC profile and a Spiritual Gifts profile (called "Uniquely You Personalizing My Faith"). I have observed the class one time and will be thrown in to teach the DISC portion in the near future. This is a program that is already somewhat mapped out in their own format, and I could use some help and guidance on the following item:

The class is three sessions long for about a "church service" length of time (meaning that the starts and finishes are flexible and people can be challenged with kid care and such). So - really we probably have 45 min each time. In that first session they want to not only give a quick overview of why we're looking at personalities and spiritual gifts, but also have them take the tests, score them, plot the graphs, and then give more info. Now, as a high C I believe that this is too much for one 45 min session. I know that all of this in 45 min and then maybe another 20-30 minutes the next time on DISC is really (in my opinion) doing a disservice to the information. So I'm looking for guidance and suggestions on how to be most effective with the time I have because my natural inclination right now is to come in and revamp the whole thing. :)

I'll probably have some more questions as I get your input, and I'll start at this point. PLEASE give me your two cents or more! Thanks!

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Permalink Reply by Pierre DesMarais on March 10, 2009 at 9:12pm: Hi Teresa,

What an awesome opportunity to share this with your church.

First can I ask you two little questions...

1- This class, is it offered to the leadership of the church or is it an open to all invite and how many people are registered
2- What is the purpose for the class by the board.

Pierre; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Teresa Lindquist on March 10, 2009 at 9:44pm: Hello,
Thanks for responding. I am excited to share this and honored too.

1) The class is for the general members/attendees of the church and from what I've seen and been told it usually starts with about 40 and drops each week until your down to about 10-15.
2) The purposes are many. The main ones are to 1) help people understand that they are created uniquely by God for a special purpose, and 2) to help them find a place to plug in and serve.

Additional info that may be helpful to you is that our church is geared towards people who are new believers or just finding their way back. We are a large church that keeps growing a a huge pace, and it is often easy for people to just come and "watch a service" and not really make a connection with people because we are so large.

Thanks!; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Shirley Voorhees on March 11, 2009 at 8:16am: Teresa:

I have done a similar thing several times at churches where I was on staff. It is definitely a challenge to do justice to the information in that short of a period of time. However, I found that it is better to leave them wanting more than to try to cram it all in a short amount of time.

My suggestion would be to give your short overview and allow them to take the assessment in the first session. (We used the Blue Score Sheet rather than the full Adult Profile. It is less expensive and you don't really have time to cover everything in the Adult Profile anyway.) Depending on the size and make up of the class, it will probably take them that long to complete it and score it. I would be sure to hit hard the fact that DISC is not about labeling, pigeon-holing or putting people in a box. I have found that when people are initially exposed to DISC, they typically go away maybe knowing what they are, but little else and so they get into the whole labeling thing without understanding what that really means as far as their relationships go.

I would then, in the next session, probably do the Making Sense of the People Puzzle. It will give them a quick picture of each style, enough to begin to understand their primary traits, but not be too much for them to absorb in that short amount of time.

In the third session I would then help them understand how that plays into spiritual gifting and let them ask questions.

One thing we did that we found helpful was to set up individual interviews with each person as follow-up and help them see where they might fit best in the body with their gifts. We found that people were quicker to get involved in ministry when we did that and less likely to remain "spectators".

Anyway...that's my 2 cents worth. :)

You go, girl!

Shirley Voorhees; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Mary Trefney on March 11, 2009 at 11:22am: Teresa & Shirley,

I am very excited to see this dialogue, thanks for starting it Teresa. It is so helpful for the newly trained to hear what has worked for others. I love your response Shirley. It has been very helpful in something that I am planning too. I definetly agree with the "leave them wanting more" instead of trying to cram to much in a short amount of time. Great thing for a newbee trainer to remember! Thanks!!

What a perfect time to teach the DISC model in conjunction with helping people understand where to "plug in and serve". To learn and understand themselves better will definetly help them understand the best fit for where they could be most useful. It makes me think of our churches "Stewardship Week" and what a great time that would be to introduce this.

:) Mary; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Kimberly Sellnow on March 11, 2009 at 9:45am: Hey My Friend!
Great question from you and very wise words commented so far. I'm in agreement with Shirley - Leave them wanting more. A very wise man reminded me, just last night, that 'Less is Best'.

You know that understanding the model of human behavior can help a person in every area of his/her life. But they don't know that...yet. Keep it simple. From experience, I have learned that the individuals who are hungry to learn more will identify themselves. It is up to you to inform all the attendees that you are ready, willing and able to meet individually (at another time) to follow-up and address specific interests.

Additionally, I too would use the blue score sheets for the assessment for time sake. Making Sense of your People Puzzles is a quick, very positive and fun way to disseminate the information. Remember, if you are delivering the info in an upbeat, energetic manner, the audience will respond to that. They will keep the pace with you and also keep their interest.

This group will be blessed by your serving and caring nature! Blessings to you as you move forward with this venture. I look forward to hearing about the light bulb moments that the group had.

Kim :>); ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Teresa Lindquist on March 11, 2009 at 11:36am: Kim, Mary, and Shirley,

Thank you ALL for your great input and insight! You ROCK! I will tell you that the format does already include a offer for a follow up session, so I think that's wonderful.

Also -- just being transparent -- I realize that part of my struggle with this set up is that I want to provide more time and more information (Yes, that "C" and "S" are coming on out). I love the "leave them wanting more" because I have to remember that for some of the people, they will get all they want and need at this moment in time. :)

I also appreciate the suggestions on the materials; however, I am stuck with using the materials they've already selected/purchased. Perhaps in the future I can influence this as I'm the first person they have teaching this that's actually had ANY training at all on the DISC model.

Thanks again and keep sending any further thoughts along!; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Robert Sjoberg on March 11, 2009 at 11:58pm: I would personally start with the people puzzle to lead in to; if we know and understand the pattern everything will be easier. Everything!
If you have to use some other material, I would have to say that the DISC format might not come out. If you have a 75% drop out, they did not understand the value. Why should I go to these sessions? WIIFM? (What's In It For Me?)
So if you have the same material presented the same way you will have the same results.
The key is change! Change the layout, have fun with it, Start with 100% enthusiasm and accelerate!
You are awesome and I know you can do it.
Let them know your ideas on how it could be better with the right tools.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Derek Arnold on March 30, 2009 at 3:48pm: Honestly, 45 minutes is what I typically get when I teach a local college class. I teach the People Puzzle in that 45 minutes, but don't even try to get into the Adult Profile - and I'm an "I". It just can't effectively be done, even talking fast.

If the one 45 minute session is all they can afford for personality types, I would go through the People Puzzle and give them the Adult Profile to take home with them. With the results from the Adult Profile, you can start making applications to the Spiritual Gifts in the next class.

Here's my plan that I put together last summer with JJ's help.

2 Minutes

Have you ever been acluistic? Acluistic is being without a clue. Let me tell you about a time that I was acluistic.
(Short story about missing a critical piece of information)

1 Minute

What makes DISC better than other models? DISC has more congruency. (It relates to reality)
It is the only model based on healthy human behavior.

Zig Ziglar – “You can get everything in life you want if you help enough people get what they want.”

40 Minutes

People Puzzles

2 Minutes

THIS IS WHERE THE RUBBER MEETS THE ROAD:

People don’t do things to hurt you; they do things for themselves.
Doesn’t negate altruism

Every interaction nurtures strength or emphasizes weakness.

How do you think people would respond if you said, “Listen, I know that I’m not you, but I’m sincerely trying to learn to understand you?”

I'm glad you're taking very seriously your position of influence in your church!
Be a blessing!

Derek; ▶ Reply to This