First evangelical church association

Spiritual Direction Training Program (SDTP)                                              Back

 

 

Purpose

 

In spiritual direction, both the spiritual director and the directee are on a journey of imitating Christ. Jesus is the exemplary role model for all spiritual directors. A spiritual director seeks to imitate Christ in how He journeys with his disciples. Like Jesus, through compassionate listening and discernment in the Spirit, a spiritual director guides another to see life from the perspective of the Scripture and God's will, so that their hearts may burn with passion to love God more fervently, to embrace their call more fully, and to participate in God's mission more faithfully. Richard of Chichester's (1197-1253) prayer, "to know [God] more clearly, to love [God] more dearly, to follow [God] more nearly day by day" shows the bent of spiritual direction. It is very important for us to remember that Jesus, through His Spirit, is the ultimate Spiritual Director for all believers. But He has called us and given us the privilege to journey with others in their Christian walk. To journey with Jesus through journeying with others is the call to spiritual directors.