The 5 Ws of Spiritual Direction: WHO and WHY

For whatever reason, spiritual direction seems to be a ministry that confuses people.  It is not widely experienced in the Protestant tradition and perhaps that is why it leaves us without a solid understanding of what spiritual direction encompasses.  This is the second in a 3-part series on the five Ws of direction -- the what, where, when, and today, the WHO and WHY.

In my last post, I mentioned that spiritual direction presupposes faith.  A person coming to direction is generally someone who is already walking with God and living in the grace of Jesus Christ.  People who come to direction are people who are longing to be more aware or more in sync with God's activity in their lives and the world around them.  They come seeking to align their heart more fully with God's as they grow deeper in love and faith to God.  Can people come who are not Christian?  That is up to the director -- for myself, what I offer is Christian spiritual direction; a focus on the Holy as experienced through God and embodied in Jesus Christ.  For the person seeking a  first time relationship or understanding of God, direction could indeed be a means of grace by which a relationship with Christ is built however, it is not the norm or among the primary goals of spiritual direction.

As I mentioned in the WHAT of spiritual direction, this is not a time for counseling or confession.  That said, people often come looking for a sense of peace or understanding, a place to come and sort through our struggles (and our joys) in a way that helps us find God in the midst of them.  People come with a desire to understand where God was or how God acted in a time of loss or trauma. They may want to remember, linger and savor a special God-moment.  They may be in a time of seeking discernment on an important decision in life.  The WHY of spiritual direction is widely varied -- just as varied as each one of our own faith experiences.  The only WHY that is truly important is the one that starts you on the path of direction, for it is what starts you on the journey of  growing deeper with God and yourself.  

Next up:  the final part of the series - the WHERE and WHEN of spiritual direction.