Living Your Strengths

by Albert L. Winseman, Donald O. Clifton, Curt Liesveld

Personal stories and actionable advice for the spiritually committed, all rooted in decades of research.


Even in a country as religious as the U.S., many people feel disengaged from their faith communities. More than half report that they really don't get the opportunity in their congregation to do what they do best. People just feel disconnected.

Maybe it's because those faith communities make unwitting Pastors ask shy people to be greeters or recruit innately disorganized people to coordinate church events.

The problem is simply Too many people's talents are going unappreciated. But it doesn't have to be this way. Living Your Strengths shows readers how to use their innate gifts to enrich their faith communities. The book — written by former pastors Albert Winseman and Curt Liesveld and Don Clifton, coauthor of the national bestseller N ow, Discover Your Strengths — shows people how to identify and affirm their talents and how to use them for growth and service. Most importantly, Living Your Strengths helps people discover their true calling.

The book includes an access code to take the CliftonStrengths assessment (formerly called Clifton StrengthsFinder) that reveals a reader’s top five talent themes. Spiritual enrichment begins with turning talents into strengths. Living Your Strengths is an indispensable guide to help readers to just that.

Genres: Leadership, Nonfiction, Self Help, Christian, Christian Living, Personal Growth, Spirituality

246 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2003

Reviews

[Mark Sequeira]

Okay, I'll be frank. I bought this book as the recommendations were glowing. BUT if you have already taken the Clifton Strengths Finder, then 90% is basically a repeat of that book, "Now Discover your Strengths" or "strengthsFinder 2.0" Note also that thecode for the test does NOT include the 30 page or so report that 2.0 includes - A REAL DRAWBACK as the basic test doesn't seem that helpful IMHO, where the 30 page is very useful and worth the price of the book.



Also, even though there is some good pointers regarding ideas for how to use your talents in church per strength, I felt the integration of the test, strengths along with gifts of the H.S. was very weak and poorly integrated. There was no good explanation and no direct connection to the fivefold ministry or the four placesin rthe Bible where the gifts are listed.



If you don't already have the book, I suggest StrengthsFinder 2.0 as you'll get the better test and extensive report FREE with purchase.



If you are a church looking for help employing your people's talents, there might be some value here but I'd rather invest in the StrengthsFinder 2.0 books to give out and have people report back how they feel their talents could be better used in service based off what they discover about themselves. Of course, gifting may not equal natural talents/personality or interests, but that is a whole other discussion and this book will not be of any help there.

[Cecilia Cicone · Rating 2 out of 5]

This whole book read as one big advertisement to try to sell more books, to encourage parish leaders to have everyone take the assessment. Knowing your strengths is great, but adding a few Bible verses and having church-related stories does not make a self help book a Catholic one.

[Phil M · Rating 3 out of 5]

Got book from library, however the entire book revolves around the quiz results that are only available if you purchase the book/quiz access yourself. I might revisit another time.

[Jeanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book and accompanying test code were bought for a class as I am starting my Master’s degree in spiritual formation. I am always eager to find information to help me better utilize personal characteristics and talents. And the Strengths Themes test is unique. The short descriptions in the book, for each theme, are a good starting point along with the ideas of how to implement the strengths in a ministry, work or personal life. The book is certainly not exhaustive. However, depending on circumstances, creating yourself to fit into situations, you will be stronger going into groups knowing a bit more about yourself.

[D’Arcy Murphy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book felt redundant after having read my inventory from Gallup a few years ago. Much of the content felt repetitive, although I did appreciate hearing some biblical references and personal testimonies connected to my talents. The book lacked direction and seemed to just be a collection of anecdotes and profiles without any purpose.

[Ashley Palma · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was thoroughly excited for this book! I just wish there were more to it.

[David Orvek · Rating 1 out of 5]

A book that could have been a blog post. 75% of the book is just summarizing the characteristics of the strengths inventory they have you take, and these summaries are also available on the assessment website. The attempt to connect this to religious calling is tenuous at best, and there were some pretty foundational ideas that were never interrogated.

[Elizabeth O · Rating 1 out of 5]

While I agree with the premise (God has created each of us with unique gifts and talents to fulfill His specific purpose for our life), this book is not written from a Christian perspective.

When describing several of the themes (talent areas), it becomes obvious that these are secular descriptions that were likely taken verbatim from another one of their books with Bible verses (many of which are a stretch) tossed in afterward to Christianize the concept. The writers did not ask the question "What would this theme look like from a Christian worldview?" and then write a description specific to the Christian faith. Anti-Christian concepts such as spiritualism and karma are described, though not named, in the discussion of the different themes. My husband, who was assigned this book as part of a seminary leadership class, was extremely frustrated by the tendency of the book to attribute his actions to non-biblical motives and beliefs.

Additional problems can be found in the chapter on how to implement your theme in the church. Several of the themes include encouragement to tithe as a way of stroking ones ego and tapping into your theme, ignoring the widely taught evangelical belief that the tithe belongs to God and its surrender isn't subject to whether God has given a person a specific talent. Once again, it is an issue of not understanding Christian motivation. Other themes encourage inter-faith promotion (i.e. many ways to heaven) as a path to world peace. From a biblical perspective, this "peace" is a false hope in direct opposition to Scripture and the effort to attain it will be at the eternal expense of many souls.

A note on the online assessment: The book comes with a one-time use code to complete an online assessment which is supposed to identify a persons top five themes. The book is of very limited value without taking the assessment, especially since its lack of a Christian worldview makes some of the themes harder to establish close identification. My personal opinion is that the use of this code was to force sale of new books and hinder the used book market. Also, when taking the assessment, those of a more deliberating or exacting personality may have issues since only 20 seconds are given for each question and there is no visible timer on the page. Unanswered questions are not repeated and can skew the results.

Overall, I would caution fellow Christians when reading this book and those similar to it. I agree with other reviewers who have said that this book was rehashing material that appeared in the secular versions of this book while trying to monetize on the Christian segment of society. It may be better to read the secular versions in order to activate a greater level of discernment when reading and not be lulled to passive acceptance by the Christian labeling. While psychological research has shown a great ability to explore how God made us, the field itself has historically been biased against religion, viewing Christian revivals as a precursor to insanity. I do not want to disparage Christians in this field, but it is very difficult for even them to separate the data from a tradition of anti-Christian interpretation of data. How much more difficult is it for the rest of us who are not experts? Psychologically based self-help books should always be read with prayer for discernment. In the end, they are still man's wisdom and likely to error greatly when compared with God's Word. The Christianized versions are no exception.

[Joshua Ray · Rating 3 out of 5]

This rating is for the book itself and not the test. I found the StrengthsFinder test to be useful (especially when combined with other tests such as the MBTI).

The book itself is basically just a reference volume listing all the different themes-their names, characteristics, and some Bible verses to go with them. There is also some explanation from the authors about their theories as well as many stories of the ways the results from this test have positively impacted church members (and thereby churches) from all over the country.

Again, the test itself seems great but this book is just ok. It's really a dictionary of sorts to explain the text. I found the attempts to use Scriptural examples of these principles only partially successful: about half the time the correlations seemed a stretch at best and spurious at worst.

Overall, this is a fine book. Nothing special, but not terrible either.

[Sherri · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you've ever wondered why you are the way you are, or why some things make you tick, then check this book out. I've often been frustrated helping out on committees, groups, and friends, only to realize that maybe those things were my niche while I'm trying to be helpful.

This book gave me a better understanding and put labels on ah ha moments and kind of a "why the way I am" idea. I recommend taking the online strengthsfinder quiz and follow-up with this book. Also a spiritual gifts assessment comes in handy as you start to figure out the package of YOU. I would recommend a follow-up with a life coach.

[Cher · Rating 2 out of 5]

This theory of living and the 34 types identified are interesting and valuable. However, this book is a 200 page informercial on how great the system is. I felt disappointed with the lack of depth. If you want that, you can sign up for $500+ seminars and individual coaching sessions. I'm taking a 6 week class regarding this system at my parish, and it looks to be interesting.

[Paul · Rating 2 out of 5]

Of course I'm peeved about how expensive it is to get their bloody online test. I took a VIA test instead and fudged things. Even considering the strengths that are obviously appropriate to me (analysis, strategy for example) their suggestions were underwhelming.

I could see this being part of a useful parish program, but I thought the value of going through it by myself was pretty small.

[Tanya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very exciting and inspiring! A direct path to discovering who you are and who you are meant to be. Sets up a wonderful life journey! I would highly recommend this book for our young folks.. High school and beyond. It may save you a lot of time in the long run. :)

[Andi · Rating 1 out of 5]

I would give it a zero if I could. I hated it and found it totally disheartening

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you've taken the Clifton StrengthsFinder test in your workplace, this title challenges you to use those strengths in your spiritual life, your place of worship, and your home.

The appeal of this book lies in how useful you find the StrengthsFinder test. I happen to find it insightful, and have used it in my workplace. In fact, I have all new employees take the test and I give them a copy of the StrengthsFinder 2.0 book, as I believe it helps them to understand themselves better, it allows their co-workers to understand them better, and it allows me to find ways to let them do whatever it is that they are best at doing.

Thus, I found this title's spin on StrengthsFinder intriguing. How can knowing and using my strengths make my relationship with God better and make me a useful, contributing member of my church?

Winseman gives solid, practical suggestions and his writing is accessible.

I had the opportunity to read through this and discuss it over several weeks with a group at my church, and I think being a part of that group was more useful perhaps than the book itself, as I enjoyed working through the ideas with others.

Overall, a worthwhile read for those interested in the subject matter.

[Elizabeth Bolthouse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Purchased from Amazon as it was required for a course I was taking. At the back is a little packet that you have to open for a code to redeem the assessment for free. When I opened it up however it was blank. It took five days to get a hold of anyone at Gallup (including two emails that went unanswered, and a phone call which required at least a 20 minute wait on hold to talk to a person who finally emailed me a free code). Taking the inventory was very interesting and I actually found the results helpful and affirming of other assessments like this that I have taken but with a different spin on things. I appreciated that. However, the book didn't provide much help for the inventory itself other than chapter 5. Most of the book was not worth reading. So my recommendation is don't buy the book, instead just take the Clifton Strengths assessment.

[Catherine Sorensen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book does a great job in walking through different strengths, which is not only helpful in better understanding yourself but also in better appreciating the talents of others. It was striking how deeply relatable some strengths were and how oddly foreign others were. IT was also illuminating in understanding how areas I thought were flaws are often strengths being applied suboptimally. After walking through the strenghts, the book then gives practical guidance for how you can grow in your faith and contribute to the Church using your unique strengths.

Unfortunately getting this book on audible meant it did not come with the access code to take the assessment - will probably buy the book to be able to take it and get personalized results. Removed a star because the book loses value without the assessment.

[George Bastedo IV · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting read. Its psychological model seems similar to Gardner's multiple intelligences, except this book's model is actually based in research. It aims to help companies (and anyone else who might be interested) to better understand the strengths of those who are working for them. My biggest reservation about things like this—and it comes out quite strongly in this book—is that it seems to put an overly positive interpretation to things, such that I wonder whether it might lead one to avoid working on legitimate faults.

[Tesse Loveless · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Everyone has a calling. You just need to discover what it is. And that calling doesn’t come from God‘s voice thundering from above; it comes from his whispers deep within you, from the very essence of your being. God expects nothing more from you than to live that life for which you were created. He wants you to be yourself.”

“... Like everyone, you’ve been blessed by God with a deep reservoir of untapped potential.”

“Dare to dream: If time and money were no obstacles, what would you do for God?”

[Kathryn Whitaker · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a re-read for me. I recently re-took the strengths finders test for two conferences I’m participating in and I wanted to reacquaint myself with the themes within each strength.

I really think you have to take the test to appreciate the book (it’s a great test btw) but I agree with most reviewers. The book is just okay. There were a couple of suggestions on applying your strengths that were helpful. I didn’t think the scripture verses were overtly helpful though. Get this one from the library or share it with a friend. Some decent taps on the shoulder in here.

[Nickolas Hartman · Rating 3 out of 5]

The majority of the book is based on the StrengthsFinder personality assessment. The first chapters are the introduction to everything, the middle chapters all highlight the 34 strength themes and how they apply to your church/ministry and the last chapters wrap up the book. I gained some valuable personal insight but it’s not necessarily a book you’ll read every part of. If your work place deciders to utilize this, it’ll be extremely help to read and own.

[Raoul Bascon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has a lot of really good aspects pulling for it: the strengths finder test (for those who own the book), suggestions for using your talents, testimonials. But overall, the book is too shallow for my liking; I’d be interested to learn more about the theory and practice of this idea. My biggest qualm is that the authors (none Catholic) seem to be squishing Christianity into the Strengths Finder psychology rather than the opposite.

[Patrick Santino · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good concept about leaning into & perfecting your natural talents into strengths, vs targeting your weaknesses, & trying to improve those. Focus on the talents God gave you & figure out how those can serve the community/parish. Given an eyeball test I think the test was fairly accurate actually, and not just horoscoping. Then while the book did have a lot of fluff & was TOO thorough, I thought the 5th chapter with idea generation for your talents was the best & most productive part.

[Adriane Cole · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was an assignment from my boss after we as a company took the strengths assessment. This book is very geared towards the church and I had to keep flipping the script in my mind to make it more applicable to what I do for a living. I personally, did not need several paragraphs of scripture.
There are parts I found helpful, but overall do not highly recommend this book if you are seeking to apply and understand your strengths outside of a religious organization

[Kathleen Brandt · Rating 4 out of 5]

I took the inventory and received the book when I restarted my career in 2012, after having been out of it for a number of years. I found it to be helpful, and wrote my strengths on the inside cover. I still read it from time to time and feel that the inventory I took was helpful.

It's not for everyone, and I was NOT bent out of shape that it is as much secular as it is "Christian".

[Joseph · Rating 3 out of 5]

A compendium of the strengths that all possess, coupled with scriptural examples of their use and function. More structural and primer than encyclopedic and exhaustive; also appears more intended to inform than strategize and integrate (i.e., it does not appear to describe its use in groups or how to best combine the strengths)

[Daniel Wray · Rating 4 out of 5]

The inventory itself was very good, I feel the book could better address how we can use our talents in the Church. In particular it would be helpful from a Church leadership perspective of use these different talents.

[Evan Hoekzema · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’d put this in the same boat as ‘Strengths Finder 2.0’. I think it’s a helpful tool, but I think there are better self-discovery assessments out there. A good read for one-time use. I haven’t used it as an ongoing resource.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Basically the same as Now, Discover Your Strengths book but in a Biblical context. I liked how they identified verses that related to each strength and also listing different applications of the strengths in the church community.

[Tammi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Purchased this book (rather than get it from the library) because it included the free code for the online test. It really brought so much clarity to my strengths and helped me to see why I struggle with certain tasks/responsibilities.