Feeding the Soul through Spiritual Direction
Brenda Golden is founder and director of the Agape Center for Spiritual Formation. She frequently offers her gifts at the Spiritual Formation Leadership Summit. Here she articulates the value of spiritual direction.
Mark began his ministry in the church after graduating from seminary. He felt certain he was called to this work but after 25 years as an Associate Pastor he began to doubt. He wondered if he really heard God’s voice. He felt stuck in his faith and spiritually dry. Mark got to a point where he wondered if God was still with him. There was no one in his church community that he felt comfortable to talk with about his crisis of faith. A book he was presently reading talked about spiritual direction. Curious, he reached out to a local spiritual director and, through that relationship, began experiencing God in new ways and discovering His presence in the midst of his desolation.
Where do you go when you are confused about what God is doing in your life? There are so many loud voices in our lives yet the quiet comfort of the voice of a spiritual director can make a life changing difference resulting in a deepening relationship with God. “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” Evangelical Spiritual Directors Association. We see this kind of spiritual relationship in Scripture.
Jesus was the greatest example of a spiritual director. He listened to the questions, struggles, and desires of His closest friends, noticing, pointing out what He saw within them, teaching them how to pray, always encouraging them to look to God. The apostle Paul served as a spiritual director to a number of Christians including Timothy. In Phil. 2:4 Paul writes “Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others”. Spiritual directors follow this counsel, taking interest in the needs of those who come for spiritual direction, setting aside their own needs in order to fully listen to their directee and to the still small voice of God.
Most of spiritual direction is listening, paraphrasing what has been said, honoring the silence, noticing and asking thoughtful questions like “Where might God be in this? “Are you making this decision based on fear or anger?” Spiritual direction differs from counseling in its focus: in spiritual direction the goal is not to solve a problem but to look for God’s activity within the problems and life experiences. A spiritual direction session can take place in person, over the phone, or through video conferencing. A session lasts an hour and takes place once a month. Each spiritual director sets their own fee but the average cost is $50.
If you want to explore your relationship with God, discover your purpose and calling in life, share your joys, fears, desires and struggles in a safe environment, then you might consider getting a spiritual director. The Evangelical Spiritual Directors Association (graftedlife.org) has a list of trained spiritual directors as does The Agape Center for Spiritual Formation (agapecenter.com).
Brenda Golden is founder and director of the Agape Center for Spiritual Formation. Brenda earned a master’s degree in Community Counseling from Georgia State University and a Diploma in Christian Counseling from Richmont. She is a certified addictions specialist and a trained spiritual director. Brenda is both a member of Spiritual Directors International (SDI) and Evangelical Spiritual Directors Association (ESDA). Brenda frequently offers her gifts and talents at the Spiritual Formation Leadership Summit.