Spiritual Direction
Are you interested in beginning a Christian spiritual practice which can lead to growth in your relationship with God?
How the practice of spiritual direction came about: Although modern believers may not be familiar with spiritual direction, it is a ministry and a practice that has formal roots in the early church. Think of the mentoring relationship between Jesus and Peter. Or the relationship between Barnabas and the newly-converted Paul. Later on, Paul embraced the role of a spiritual mentor to Timothy. And although it may only be inferred from the narrative, Mary and her older relative, Elizabeth, shared in a mentoring relationship before the birth of their sons. In the 3rd century, devout Christian men and women who renounced the world and went to live as ascetics in the Egyptian desert would provide guidance and counsel to seekers desiring to know how to live for God. By the 4th century, a Christian monk and theologian named John Cassian formalized this kind of mentoring relationship during his time in Rome. He recorded the first guidelines for this practice for use in the monastery. |
Starting a new spiritual practiceYou may be more familiar with attending weekly worship, serving others, fellowshipping with other believers, bible reading and study, and prayer. Or you may be engaging in more personal and particular practices that help you connect with God, such as being out in nature, reading spiritual books, or contributing to social causes. Spiritual direction complements all these practices by bringing a deeper and reflective dimension to your spirituality through a helping relationship, similar to the mentoring relationships of the early church.
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How a spiritual director can help you:
It's a relationship between a) a mature Christian and b) one who desires to develop greater attentiveness to c) the Person whom you are walking with in life (aka God).
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The journey of life is a journey with God.
Meet with a spiritual director about once a month. Talk about your life and you will realize that you are talking about you and God. Bringing any life issue or happening into the session is okay because the spiritual director will listen and ask thoughtful questions that will lead to reflection about your journey with Him.
My prayer is that through Son Clasp Ministries, I can provide a space where God can be met, and assist you to notice the depth and details of your journey. |