E-Book, Englisch, 103 Seiten
Smith Spiritual Direction
1. Auflage 2014
ISBN: 978-0-8308-6470-6
Verlag: InterVarsity Press
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)
E-Book, Englisch, 103 Seiten
ISBN: 978-0-8308-6470-6
Verlag: InterVarsity Press
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)
Gordon T. Smith (PhD, Loyola School of Theology, Ateneo de Manila University) is the president of Ambrose University and Seminary in Calgary, Alberta, where he also serves as professor of systematic and spiritual theology. He is an ordained minister with the Christian and Missionary Alliance and a teaching fellow at Regent College, Vancouver, British Columbia. He is the author of many books, including Courage and Calling, Called to Be Saints, Spiritual Direction, Consider Your Calling, and The Voice of Jesus.
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Weitere Infos & Material
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
The Ministry of Spiritual Direction
A 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 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 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 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 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 , 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: . 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 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 . 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 , 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 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...
