Christopher Heuertz’s Enneagram Projects Halted Over Abuse Allegations

Zondervan will no longer promote the best-selling author’s books or release an upcoming documentary.

Zondervan, the Christian media and publishing company, is suspending promotion of two books and indefinitely halting a documentary by popular Enneagram teacher and best-selling author Christopher Heuertz after allegations by nearly three dozen people who saw or experienced “spiritual and psychological abuse” by him.

A spokesman for Zondervan said a foreword and endorsement written by popular social scientist Brené Brown would be removed from Heuertz’s latest book, The Enneagram of Belonging: A Compassionate Journey of Self-Acceptance.

The decision by Zondervan follows a public post on the platform Medium signed by 33 women and men who wrote that Heuertz “has harmed many people and we cannot remain silent anymore.” Many others have since corroborated the accusations and added their stories.

The June 10 post described a pattern of spiritual and psychological abuse by Heuertz, a liberal Christian active in social justice causes as well as the contemplative tradition borrowed from Catholicism. He is an expert on the Enneagram, a model of the human psyche based on nine personality types that has exploded in popularity in certain Christian circles.

Heuertz apologized publicly on his webpage, saying, “I failed to maintain suitable boundaries in some of my friendships with women.”

“We are suspending any promotion of The Sacred Enneagram and The Enneagram of Belonging as we sort through information that is presented. We have also placed NINE: The Enneagram Documentary release on hold indefinitely,” a Zondervan spokesperson said.

The board of Heuertz’s Omaha, Nebraska-based organization, Gravity, said it would hire a firm to investigate the allegations. It also announced ...