This is the third and final installment of our mini-series on career and personality assessments. I am highlighting a few of my favorite career and personality assessments that help people do their best work.
Here are the winners so far:
Winner of the “Quick Team Wins” category: 6 Types of Working Genius
Winner of the “Maximising Potential” category: CliftonStrengths
This final category is specifically for individuals, groups, and churches trying to follow Jesus. We’ll call it the “Faith First” category. And the winner of the “Faith First” category? The APEST assessment by Alan Hirsch.
To an American church that has lost its way, a man with long hair and an Australian accent calls from down under saying, “Wake up! Refocus on Jesus and his mission!”
In preparation for this post, I reached out to the assessment creator, Alan Hirsch. Alan is a thought leader, a pioneer, and a visionary for today’s church. I have read five or six of his books and each of them has impacted and encouraged me in my faith journey (my favorites are probably ReJesus, The Shaping of Things to Come, and The Forgotten Ways). So when Alan not only responded to my first email but subsequent nagging emails with thoughtfulness and humility, I was immensely grateful and encouraged.
About APEST
The assessment is in some ways a “spiritual gifts” test, but it can’t quite be cornered into this category. The test and the philosophy behind it break the normal categories that typically follow “spiritual gift” conversations and seek to answer more expansive questions like “Why are people given gifts in the first place?”Here is a very brief synopsis of the assessment:
APEST stands for:
A- Apostle
P- Prophet
E- Evangelist
S- Shepherd
T- Teacher
This fivefold ministry model is taken from a letter from Paul to the church in Ephesus. In this letter, Paul says, “… each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it […] So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”
For Alan (and Paul), there is an inherent logic that connects Christ’s ascension and Christ giving these gifts. As Christ goes to the Father, he gives us these gifts to continue his work–to be the Body of Christ. Jesus says, “Just as the Father sent me, now I send you.” The visual element of the ascension is helpful because you can picture Christ going up, and his gifts coming down. APEST, as Alan states, “is nothing less than the means of Christ’s agency in the world through his Body and his people.”
This reminds me of a famous poem by St. Teresa of Avila
Christ has no body but yours,
-St. Teresa of Avila
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks
Compassion on this world,
Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good,
Yours are the hands, with which he blesses all the world.
Yours are the hands, yours are the feet,
Yours are the eyes, you are his body.
Christ has no body now but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks compassion on this world.
Christ has no body now on earth but yours.
I named this the winner of the “Faith First” category because if you are a person of faith, you are looking to keep your faith as your top priority in life. You want to love God, love people, and make an impact on the world, but sometimes you are not sure about your role in all of this. The APEST assessment is not the answer to all your questions, but it gives language to articulate how your gifts connect to the broader mission of God. It reminds you that no matter your job, status, age, or connections, you have been given a unique set of gifts and you have a part to play in God’s grand story of redemption. It is the “Faith First” winner because getting clear on who you are and why you are here is how you can live with purpose in both your personal and professional life.
How Do You Know The Test Is Any Good?
Below is the set of questions that I ask myself when determining if a career and personality assessment could be helpful to me or my students and clients. Under each question, I give a short response.
Accuracy: Was the test an accurate picture of my lived experience and what other people say about me? Did other people find the test accurate?
Absolutely! And, like many good assessments, there is an option for other people to take the test on your behalf. This is a great way to compare your self-perception with those who know you well.
Research: Is the assessment backed by science? Is there a large sampling of data to support the validity of the results?
In 5Q, Alan makes the case that “APEST is rooted in God, laced throughout creation, expressed in our heroic archetypes, reconstituted/restored in Jesus, given to the Body of Christ, and then is expressed through the ministry of various people in history, and which leads to the fullness of Christ.” The depth and breadth of the research is something that makes Alan and his work especially unique.
Applicable: Could I instantly apply some of the results to better myself or my team?
Yes, yes, and yes. The assessment is only 50 questions questions and the results will provide you with your top APEST giftings and some practical ways to apply them.
Inspiring: Did the assessment create an exciting vision for how I’m wired and what I could do in the future?
If you are a person or organization trying to follow Jesus, this assessment provides a fresh new way to view your giftings and how you can play a part in God’s big story.
Lasting Change: Did the assessment have a lasting impact beyond some immediate wins or conversations?
For me, this has been a game changer. It’s not as much the assessment as much as the paradigm shifts and aha moments that have influenced how I see and live my life.
Cost:
As of December 2024, the personal APEST test costs only $10.
Visit the 5Q site to check out the assessment, the book, and other resources. If you are interested in learning how these concepts can connect to teams and organizations outside a faith-based audience and into the broader marketplace, check out the MPACT assessment.
