Thursday, November 3, 2011

What's going on?

Outdoor chapel, Mt Eagle
While I was sitting in Bible study the other night, Edna leaned over and said "I'm reading your blog." I thought, how cool! Yeah! Maybe she will comment one of these days. Then she added "I don't understand what's going on, but I'm reading it." That's when it hit me. I really don't know who is reading this, so I need to make some things clearer so everyone can be on the same page. 


I am seeking to be a Certified Spiritual Director through SMU. When I talk about going to Mount Eagle to hang out with 17 other's, this is our class. We meet 6 times over a 2 year period and we learn. I just completed class #4, there are 2 left. 


I also am learning that not everyone knows what a Spiritual Director is or does, so I thought I would look that up and give you the correct definition, as I have a tendency to mess these things up. (Cinnamon vs Cumin)



Spiritual Direction

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)


  • Spiritual direction focuses on religious experience. It is concerned with a person’s actual experience of a relationship with God.
  • Spiritual direction is about a relationship. The religious experience is not isolated, nor does it consist of extraordinary events. It is what happens in an ongoing relationship between the person and God. Most often this is a relationship that is experienced in prayer.
  • Spiritual direction is a relationship that is going somewhere.God is leading the person to deeper faith and more generous service. The spiritual director asks not just “what is happening?” but “what is moving forward?”
  • The real spiritual director is God. God touches the human heart directly. The human spiritual director does not “direct” in the sense of giving advice and solving problems. Rather, the director helps a person respond to God’s invitation to a deeper relationship.
So Edna, there's the beginning of what I'm trying to do and what I'm talking about. A spiritual director is a companion that walks beside another. I am sure you have done this without even knowing it!  

1 comment:

Leslie said...

"as I have a tendency to mess these things up. (Cinnamon vs Cumin)" You don't mess things up. Remember it takes both Cinnamon & Cumin to make Cincinnati Style Chili. You might just define Spiritual Director differently.
Love ya friend,
Leslie