Spiritual Direction E-Book

Gordon T. Smith

• Herausgeber: IVP Formatio
• Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 127

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2014

Beschreibung

We are not alone.God is present with us. And God gives us companions on the journey. A spiritual director is one such companion, offering spiritual guidance to help - make sense of the faith journey - interpret the significant markers on the road - encourage us, particularly through the more difficult transitions and valleys of our pilgrimage - and, most of all, to notice the ministry of the Spirit in our livesGordon Smith writes:Even if we have been Christians and maturing in our faith for many years, we still need the encouragement and guidance that might come through spiritual direction. . . . Genuine humility is evident in our realization that we need a companion, a fellow pilgrim and Christian, who can help us discern and foster an attentiveness to God's presence in our lives. This is the gift of spiritual direction.Whether you are a director, a directee or simply someone who wants to learn more about this ancient ministry, you will find this book to be a helpful guide.

Leseprobe

Spiritual Direction

A Guide to Giving & Receiving Direction

Gordon T. Smith

www.IVPress.com/books

InterVarsity Press P.O. Box 1400, Downers Grove, IL 60515-1426 World Wide Web: www.ivpress.com Email: [email protected]

©2014 by Gordon T. Smith

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from InterVarsity Press.

InterVarsity Press® is the book-publishing division of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA®, a movement of students and faculty active on campus at hundreds of universities, colleges and schools of nursing in the United States of America, and a member movement of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students. For information about local and regional activities, write Public Relations Dept., InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA, 6400 Schroeder Rd., P.O. Box 7895, Madison, WI 53707-7895, or visit the IVCF website at www.intervarsity.org.

Scripture quotations, unless otherwise noted, are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

While all stories in this book are true, some names and identifying information in this book have been changed to protect the privacy of the individuals involved.

Cover design: Cindy Kiple 

Image: Leaf illustration © mxtama/iStockphoto  Two birds in a tree © Amy Weiss /Trevillion Images

ISBN 978-0-8308-6470-6 (digital) ISBN 978-0-8308-3579-9 (print)

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Contents

1 The Ministry of Spiritual Direction

2 Theological Perspectives

3 Focused Conversation

4 Attending to What Is Happening in Our Prayers

5 A Spiritual Direction Session

6 Pastoral Ministry, Evangelism and Friendship

7 The Qualities and Character of a Director

8 The Qualities and Character of a Directee

9 The Holy Spirit as Spiritual Director

Notes

For Further Reading

About the Author

Books by Gordon T. Smith

1

The Ministry of Spiritual Direction

We are not alone—or, better put, we do not need to be alone and we are not meant to be alone, particularly when it comes to our attempts to make sense of God’s presence in our lives.

We each need to take personal responsibility for our own growth in faith, hope and love. A maturing Christian will desire to push deeper into studying Scripture and not expect to be spoon-fed Bible teaching. Likewise, each of us is called into a mature adult faith in Christ. We grow in confidence as we discern and make the key decisions that guide our lives.

And yet, while we each live the Christian life to which we are personally and individually called, we are not alone in this journey. We are part of the faith community; we have the joy of knowing others on the road who support us, encourage us, teach us, guide us and provide correction as necessary. Indeed, as we grow into an adult faith we learn, at each stage of the way, that we cannot make it on our own.

There is a certain irony here: the more mature we are in our faith, the more we recognize our need for others—companions, friends, pastors and spiritual directors. Each of these is a gift from God, a means by which we might appropriate God’s grace and respond to God’s call on our lives. Potentially, one of the more significant of these gifts is the ministry of spiritual direction.

The Ministry of Spiritual Direction

A spiritual director offers spiritual guidance and companionship to help us make sense of our faith journey, interpret with us the significant markers on the road, and encourage us, particularly through the more difficult transitions and valleys of our pilgrimage. Most of all, a spiritual director helps us make sense of the witness of the Spirit—assisting us to respond well to the question, How is God present to me and how is God, through the ministry of the Spirit, at work in my life?

Even if we have been Christians and maturing in our faith for many years, we still need the encouragement and guidance that might come through spiritual direction. Only pride would lead us to think we could go it alone. Genuine humility is evi­­dent in our realization that we need a companion, a fellow pilgrim and Christian, who can help us discern and foster an attentiveness to God’s presence in our lives. This is the gift of spiritual direction.

Some might prefer that we use a different designation to describe this ministry. They suggest that the term director seems too authoritative or invasive, that the language of direction implies more actual direction than is appropriate—for only Christ is Lord and thus only Christ should actually direct. Many suggest that spiritual mentor might be a better designation, or perhaps spiritual companion or spiritual friend. As Simon Chan notes, there are some who resist the implied authority in the term director and prefer something more obviously egalitarian, something that connotes the other as one who comes alongside but does not actually “direct.”1

I concur with Chan’s observation that the language of spiri­­tual friendship suggests another kind of relationship—an equally important one, but a different ministry and relationship. As I will discuss in chapter two, the mentoring relationship is also a different grace in our lives. And while companion might be an appropriate way to speak of direction, the issue with each of these alternatives is the resistance to the idea of real authority in the life of the Christian believer.

To some degree, of course, the concern is legitimate. And yet spiritual direction is a tested and in a sense ancient designation. Further, all ministries, regardless of their name—be it pastor or apostle or evangelist—are open to abuse and the imposition of one person’s will on that of another. Changing a standard label does not remove that potential problem. But more specifically, the language of direction is so very appropriate in the sense that to direct is to be a companion with a very specific agenda: to help the other direct heart and mind to listen to the one most needed, Christ Jesus. We are like Eli who urged—indeed, directed—the young man Samuel to be attentive, to recognize the presence and voice of God and to respond appropriately. William Barry and William Connolly, in The Practice of Spiritual Direction, suggest that the language of direction implies that this conversation, in particular, is not casual, aimless or incidentally “along the way,” but focused and intentional.2

Spiritual direction has a very clear agenda: directing our attention to the presence of God in our lives. The language of direction recalls for us the legitimate place of spiritual authority and accountability in our lives. But first and foremost, spiritual direction is the ministry of directing our thoughts and the movements of our hearts toward God and the presence of God in our lives.

A spiritual director urges us to focus our thoughts—to direct our heart and mind—to God. This is typically and rightly done gently and perhaps by way of either question or suggestion. As a rule, we will not feel the force of the director’s presence or intentions as much as the gracious nudging, the gentle urging that calls our attention back to God. A director might ask, “Where do you sense the presence of God in your life at this time?” or perhaps offer a suggestion: “As I listen to you, I wonder if it might not be good to consider the following course of action.” In either instance, the intent is the same: through question or suggestion this companion is directing our attention to the presence of God in our lives.

We need this. Perhaps it is too much to say that the ministry of spiritual direction is indispensable in our lives. And yet, for many of us it is invaluable. It is a vital dimension of the way in which pastoral care and formation equip us for our lives and our work, fostering our capacity for prayer and the deepening of our faith. And many are coming to see direction as an essential element of pastoral ministry. Both ordained and lay leaders in the church will find that many members of the congregation would benefit from this ministry if and as it is available.

Spiritual Direction: An Ancient Practice

Spiritual direction is not a new ministry for the church. For many evangelical Christians, the emphasis on spiritual direction seems to be a recent development. But this is an ancient practice, and for many chapters in the history of the church it was an integral part of pastoral ministry. We know of remarkable tales of fourth- and fifth-century Christians heading into the desert to seek the insight and counsel of the desert fathers and mothers. And over the centuries this has been, for many Christians of many different theological and spiritual traditions, a means by which they have found substantive guidance and encouragement. The renewal of this practice for contemporary Christians gives us the opportunity to draw on the wisdom of the church, to learn how it can be most fruitful for us in our current circumstances and, in so doing, to encourage one another in the Christian journey.

What I share in this book is very dependent on this heritage in the church, and certain voices are particularly noteworthy. Most of these are from the Roman Catholic side of the Christian “neighborhood.” There is no doubt that the Roman Catholic theological and spiritual heritage has given more attention to spiritual direction over the centuries. Within this tradition, of premiere importance is the work of Ignatius Loyola. Ignatian spirituality finds its anchor piece in the Spiritual Exercises, which is essentially a guide to prayer—indeed, a guidebook for a spiritual director who monitors and encourages the prayers of another. Ignatius was the founder of the Society of Jesus, typically called the Jesuits. Until recently, the vast majority of spiritual directors were either Jesuits or were trained by Jesuits. As I draw on this tradition, I am particularly indebted to two authors: Thomas H. Green, SJ, who for many years was the director of spiritual formation at San Jose Seminary in Manila, Philippines; and John English, SJ, former retreat director at Loyola House in Guelph, Ontario, Canada.

Another key and indispensable voice is that of John of the Cross who, like Ignatius Loyola, was a religious leader in sixteenth-century Spain. Ignatius, John of the Cross and Teresa of Ávila, his contemporary, were the three major voices of reform and renewal from within the sixteenth-century church. It is helpful to think of them as the southern Reformers: counterparts to Protestant Reformers Martin Luther and John Calvin, and southern in that they largely ministered in the church of modern-day Spain, southern France and Italy. They remained in and sought renewal for the Church of Rome. In his Living Flame of Love John of the Cross gives major attention to the ministry of spiritual direction, and his advice and counsel to contemporary spiritual directors is invaluable.

There are also fine contributions to the practice of spiritual direction from the Catholic Benedictines and Salesians (heirs to St. Francis de Sales), as well as Eastern Orthodox, Anglican and Puritan-Reformed traditions.3 And yet, while much of this book draws on wisdom from more than one stream in the history of the church, three things bring many of us in this ministry back to the Ignatian tradition as a baseline for guidance. Each of these three is particularly valuable to someone who approaches this ministry as an evangelical Christian. First, we find the clear and defining focus on Christ Jesus. Second is the unique use of the Scriptures, particularly the Gospels, in guiding our prayers. Third, so very noteworthy in Ignatius and the Spiritual Exercises is the invaluable instruction on the particular place of the affections—the movements of the heart—for those who seek to respond to God’s presence in the world and in their lives.

And yet, each of these streams naturally and obviously builds on the precedent that is set by Scripture. We have, for example, the words of St. Paul offered in correspondence with a younger pastor and leader, Timothy. In many respects, the book of 2 Timothy is a model of spiritual direction—as Paul writes to Timothy in direct response to themes and issues that were clearly particular to Timothy. While in this letter we find wisdom for Christians in each culture and generation, it was originally directed to an individual: Paul, writing to Timothy, in response to the specifics of his life. When we draw on the classics of our spiritual heritage, we simply gain further insight into how we might similarly participate in this invaluable ministry in the life of an individual Christian believer.

A Personal Ministry

Paul’s ministry to Timothy, in 2 Timothy, is particular. This is the genius of spiritual direction—wisdom and guidance and encouragement for this pilgrim who is on the way, seeking to grow in faith, hope and love. In our spiritual journey, we need good teaching and effective preaching. We need to be in the company of others and receive the liturgical leadership of those who preside at worship. But we also find much value in spiritual direction as the counterpart to each of these group ministries. Spiritual direction makes the diverse ministries of the church personal and individual. Spiritual direction is the ministry of attention to one person, this person, at this time and in this place. While there is a limited place for group direction, generally to speak of spiritual direction is to highlight that this is a one-to-one ministry: one person, present to another, attentive to the work of the Spirit in this person’s life, relationships, work and especially prayers.

I stress this individuality without hesitation. Yes, we need group religious activities and exercises. We need to be part of the assembly of God’s people, the church, for worship: for the ministry of the Word, as we respond to preaching and teaching, and for the shared participation in the Lord’s Supper. Participation in the communal exercise of life in Christ—the activities of the faith community—is indispensable. But the beauty of spiritual direction is precisely that at this time and in this place, one person is being considered—not alone, but in the company of one other, a spiritual director. While they are not alone, it is just one who is the focus of reflection, the one receiving direction. If you are the one receiving direction, you can now, in this time and space, give purposeful, focused attention to the state of your own soul. Without apology. And for the director, the call of the moment is to be present to another, just one other.

Many find value in group spiritual direction. But in these pages I am highlighting the indispensability of a conversation where just one child of God is the focus of attention before God and in the presence of a spiritual “father” or “mother” who comes in the name of Christ to listen. With a group, the network of relationships, while valuable, is immediately more complicated. Indeed, it is challenging enough to listen to one person with the kind of focused attention of which I will be speaking here.

While personal and particular, spiritual direction always assumes an external reference—the triune God, present to us in Christ Jesus, and the witness, guidance and encouragement of the Scriptures. Indeed, in many respects, spiritual direction is nothing but two things—assisting the other to make sense of their experience of Christ, and assisting the other to make application of the Scriptures to their specific circumstances. But it is important to stress that spiritual direction is not merely