What is Spiritual Direction?

The letters in this website reflect some of the heritage of letter writing from spiritual directors. The role of spiritual directors has evolved and differs somewhat in different traditions. I am of course biased towards the training I received at North Park Theological Seminary. Below is a list of definitions that the Center for Spiritual Direction at North Park has found helpful.

“We define spiritual direction, then, as 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 Barry and William Connolly, The Practice of Spiritual Direction, 1982

“Spiritual direction is a prayer process in which a person seeking help in cultivating a deeper personal relationship with God meets with another for prayer and conversation that is focused on increasing awareness of God in the midst of life experiences and facilitating surrender to God’s will.”

- David Benner in Sacred Companions, 2002

“Because we are speaking of an art not a science, the ministry of spiritual direction defies precise definition. The spiritual director is a midwife of the soul, present and attentive as a new life emerges.  The spiritual director offers hospitality, in the holy tradition of Abraham entertaining the angels.  The spiritual director is a teacher after the model of Jesus, who was called ‘teacher’ by those who loved him.  But whether we call him teacher, midwife, or host, the spiritual director is always and above all a holy listener.” 

- Margaret Guenther, in Handbook of Spirituality for Ministers: Perspectives for the 21st Century. Vol. 2, ed. Robert J Wicks, 2000

“Spiritual direction is not psychotherapy not is it an inexpensive substitute, although the disciplines are compatible and frequently share raw material.  Spiritual direction is not pastoral counseling, not is it to be confused with the mutuality of deep friendships, for is unashamedly hierarchical.  Not because the director is somehow ‘better’ or ‘holier’ than the directee, but because, in this covenanted relationship the director has agreed to put herself aside so that her total attention can be focused on the person sitting in the other chair.”

- Margaret Guenther, Holy Listening, 1992

“Spiritual direction is the act of paying attention to God, calling attention to God, being attentive to God in a person or circumstances or a situation….It notices the Invisibilities in and beneath and around the Visibilities. It listens for the Silences between the spoken Sounds.”

- Eugene H. Peterson, quoted by Marjorie Thompson in Soul Feast, 1995

“As companions, spiritual directors share in others’ struggles and joys.  They are not detached bystanders.  Rather they actively help others to develop a relationship with God.  Spiritual directors serve as a resting place for those who want to savor God’s loving presence and explore God’s seeming absence.  They become a contemplative presence for those who want to discover how God has been moving in their hearts and how God has been active in their lives.  The director listens reverently, and speaks evocatively so that the person can notice, savor and relive particular experiences of God.”

- Maureen Conroy, Looking into the Well, 1995

“Whether we have heard the term before or not, spiritual direction is somewhat of a misnomer because spiritual direction is neither exclusively spiritual nor particularly directive. However, the words do fit in other ways. They clearly identify the primary guide we seek, the Holy Spirit.”

- Jeanette Bakke in Holy Invitations, 2000

“Spiritual direction is a ministry of listening, discernment and prayer in a confidential setting of encouragement and compassion. Through this ministry one finds a spiritual companion who can listen to the stories of your life and help discern the presence and work of God’s Spirit.  Though we believe God is always calling us and leading us, sometimes we need a ‘soul friend’ to help us recognize God’s voice and respond to his presence.  This companion intentionally sets aside the concerns of his or her own life to attend to the other. 

The underlying assumption of spiritual direction is that God acts in every area of our lives.  God is present in our marriages, our families, and our friendships, our work and our working relationships, our leisure and our quiet times.  God is there in our doubt as well as our certainty, in our weakness as well as our wholeness.  To receive the gift of this ministry we only need to accept God’s presence in all areas of our live, commit ourselves to be as honest as we are able, and be willing to trust in the transforming power of God’s love.

The gift of spiritual direction is the gift of ‘holy listening.’ It is a gift given by someone who is willing to hear how it really is with us, who believes and trust that God is directing us from within our lives, and who reflects God’s own listening, loving presence with each of us.  The goal of spiritual direction is that those who enter direction would grow closer to God and become more the person God created us to be in Christ Jesus.”

- The ministry of Pastoral Spiritual Direction in the Pacific Southwest Conference, Evangelical Covenant Church in America/Center for Spiritual Direction: North Park Theological Seminary