Articles Archives

Soul care is slow painstaking work, with ebbs and flow, up and down, freshness and dryness, progress and regression. It is hard work for it is the renovation of our souls to the character of Christ; the fully restored image of God. Like drops of water than can wear down a mountain, soul work needs patience but is a powerful vocation.

spiritual direction is the process where two or more companions on a spiritual journey help one another to be open to God, to their inner lives and to each other

spiritual direction is mainly about rest; rest in God's goodness, rest in believing God will reveal Himself to us and guide our actions, and rest in His sovereignty

Trust is holding the hand of God as we walk through the woods that is our lives

spiritual direction is cultivating awareness-the awareness of the movements of the Holy Spirit in our lives; of what God is working with our lives in the past, present and future; and to get on board with what ever He is doing now. Awareness is seeing God in all things.

Love is the emotion and the passion that is the matrix of our spiritual life

Spirituality and Spiritual Direction in the Puritan Classic 'Pilgrim's Progress' (Barnabas Boon 2012)

Contemplative prayer and spiritual formation is not New Age

An examination of the topic of Group Spiritual Direction and key spiritual disciplines using Alice Fryling’s “Seeking God Together: An Introduction to Group Spiritual Direction” as a basis (Shireen Chew)

We are not alone in this work of the re-formation of the heart. It is imperative for us to help each other in every way we can. And in our day, the desperate need is for the emergence of a massive spiritual army of trained spiritual directors who can lovingly come alongside precious people and help them discern how to walk by faith in the circumstances of their own lives.

Please note that I said "trained" spiritual directors and not "certified" spiritual directors.

There is a genuinely bad idea circulating these days that if we take a certain number of courses and read a certain number of books and receive a certain kind of certification, we will be ready to be spiritual directors. I'm sorry; I really do wish it were that simple. But no, we are here talking about life training. And it is only by life training that we will see the development of a certain kind of life, a life of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. It is this quality of life—the ability to forgive when it is painful, the yearning for prayer—that we are looking for in trained spiritual directors.

Richard Foster
Spiritual Formation Agenda

Soul Care Postcards

Trained and Untrained Spiritual Directors