Spiritual direction is an ancient practice, having been part of Christian life for centuries. It is more familiar to Roman Catholics and is only recently becoming more known by Protestants. The name “spiritual direction” is a bit of a misnomer. First of all, it is not always strictly “spiritual,” having to do with the ordinary, the every day, the mundane events and flow of life’s daily activities (although some would maintain that all of these things have a spiritual dimension). It is also, not strictly speaking, “direction.” Ideally, a spiritual director should offer very little direction to their directee. Rather, it is an activity of sitting and listening to the life of the directee in the presence of the Holy Spirit. If there is any direction occurring, it is the director helping the directee to notice the movement of the Holy Spirit in his or her life.

 

While spiritual direction does share some common characteristics with other disciplines such as counseling, mentoring, coaching, and discipling, it is a distinct entity. In particular, it is not primarily problem and solution focused. Also, you will not be hearing much in the way of “advice” from me as your spiritual director. Rather, I will use evocative questions and moments of silence, to help you ponder and reflect on your journey and where God is present, speaking, and embracing you in the midst of your joys, victories, struggles and hardships. If there are any problems to solve, it is within this context of listening to the Holy Spirit that they are solved.

 

Who is the ideal candidate for spiritual direction? I believe that anyone can benefit, wherever you are on your faith journey — whether you are just beginning or are a “seasoned veteran.”  If you have a desire to draw closer to God in intimacy and character formation (becoming more like Jesus), if you long to better hear his voice, experience his presence and his love, then spiritual direction is for you. 

​

On a practical basis, the usual rhythm of spiritual direction is once a month, although there may be seasons in your life where it may be helpful to be more or less frequent. I offer both in person spiritual direction as well as virtual, generally using zoom as the platform for the virtual meetings.