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Spiritual Direction

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“What exactly do spiritual directors do? The simple and most direct answer I can give is that they help others attend to God’s presence and revelation and prepare to respond to him. In other words, they help people attune themselves to God.”

David Benner, Sacred Companions

Spiritual direction, an ancient practice that has its roots in early Christianity, is an interpersonal relationship through which one person assists another person in attending to God’s presence and call on their lives. As Richard Foster observes on the Renovaré blog, “Though not always called by this name, spiritual direction has been a vital ministry in many streams of the Church for hundreds of years.” A form of pastoral care, spiritual direction is growing in popularity among Evangelicals and Protestants as a powerful tool for transformation.

How does Spiritual Direction Work?

The spiritual direction relationship involves a “spiritual director,” generally a mature, seasoned believer with significant spiritual and life experience and a “directee,” an individual with a yearning for God. Spiritual directors and directees usually meet for one hour a month, but sometimes meet more frequently.

People come to spiritual direction for many reasons, including these:

To grow deeper spiritually
To cultivate emotionally healthy spirituality
To spiritually heal from past wounds
To get spiritually unstuck
To discern the next steps in their lives and ministry
To discover and understand their life’s purpose and calling
To process disappointments, grief, relationships, life challenges in a spiritual context
To walk through a faith transition
To seek truth and understanding in a season of spiritual deconstruction and reconstruction

The process invites and assumes the active participation of Father, Son, and Spirit. Throughout the process, the spiritual director is seeks to listen to both God and the directee. The spiritual director may make observations, ask probing questions, and hold space for waiting on God together. Both the director and directee explore what God may be speaking and doing through circumstances and events. In reality, very little “direction” goes on. Rather, the process is more of the director and directee co-laboring with the Holy Spirit.

If this speaks to you, contact me to schedule an exploratory session where together we can discern whether spiritual direction is a good fit for you.

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