Spiritual Formation and Spiritual Direction
A Christian spiritual director is a trained listener who will accompany you as you share about your spiritual journey, helping you to notice God’s presence and activity along the way, as well as your personal reactions and responses. Hospitable, confidential, and grounded in biblical truth, spiritual direction is a ministry that helps you grow in prayer and live into your calling as a follower of Christ.
Spiritual direction is “help given by one Christian to another which enables that person to pay attention to God’s personal communication to him or her, to respond to this personally communicating God, to grow in intimacy with this God, and to live out the consequences of the relationship.” (William A. Barry and William J. Connolly, The Practice of Spiritual Direction)
A few years ago a good friend said to me, “You should become a spiritual director”. I had no idea what he was talking about. It was like a foreign language. “What is that?” It was shortly after that I joined the Unhurried Collective, a two-year cohort program with Gem and Alan Fadling of Unhurried Living. Little did I know that I was entering a program of spiritual formation. It has taken me a while to try and form my own definitions of these terms. But I realize I may have been making it more complicated. It’s just what it says. Spiritual Formation – how am I being formed spiritually. Spiritual Director – a person who helps to direct you towards God. They seem like easy definitions. But how they play out in your life is less than simple.
Most of my adult years have been spent in a branch of the Church of Christ tradition.
So joining Unhurried Collective was like a stepping into a color painting out of sepia. There were practices that allowed me to experience God in a way that I never had. I would have never considered spending extended time in silence with God. But 3 hours one Saturday, I found the experience changed me, transformed me. Over the last 6 years I have experienced Spiritual Formation. Which made me crave more, and now Spiritual Direction.
It’s almost easier to understand what Spiritual Direction is when you understand what it is not. Other professionals can include:
· Therapist – a trained and licensed individual that helps to diagnose and create a treatment plan for an ailment.
· Mentor – an individual older or more advanced that you to help you to mature in a specific area. They help you to move from one level of achievement to the next.
· Coach – an individual that helps you to identify skills that you need to improve on. They help you set goals and get a plan to achieve them.
But a Spiritual Director does none of those. A Spiritual Director helps you to experience that you are exactly where you need to be. God loves you just exactly as you are. You are not missing a thing. You are more than just being enough. God is doing something. A Spiritual Director helps you to engage in God’s movement. Because there is something more important than fixing your problems.
An important note. There is a time for each of the above. As someone who is training to be a marriage and family therapist, I can say that all can play an important role in your life. There may be times to consider seeing a therapist. Or you may need a mentor to help you in your career. Or a coach to help you develop a life skill. These are all great people to have in your life.
But imagine if you also had someone to notice how God is gazing at you. Someone to help you see and hear a little clearer what God is trying to say to you in your life. A one-on-one relationship that is completely focused on helping you to position yourself to hear directly from God.
If you are interested in finding out more about Spiritual Director, please complete the form below. I would be excited to connect with you.
If you are interested in finding a certified Spiritual Director you can visit the ESDA website for a current listing.