2) Discuss your response to Gerald May's caution with the "Integration Movement" in Christian Counseling to include spiritual direction in the therapeutic process p. 182-185).
I found this whole chapter to be very helful and interesting. Most of you know that I am a school psychologist, but maybe you don't know why I have come to seminary. One reason was to be able to integrate my traning as a psychologist with my call to ministry. First I looked at Pastoral care and counseling in my previous seminary, then at Christian counseling and now at Family Ministry at Winebrenner. page 177 has a list of 8 functions and how a spiritual direction verse pschotherapy would handle these. I guess, that integration can happen as a person has skills and is called to practice these skills. The setting is very important. I do believe that we are whole beings, and the spiritual life and the psychy are not seperate part but part of the whold person. The trick is in the creativity of knowing when and how to use these techniques to bring Wholeness to a hurting person. This for me depends on who is paying my salary and what is permissable or not. In the discussion about tranformation on page 178, this is not limited just to a spiritual director but one who is also equiped in psychology, with God's help, this can be achieved. Knowing that we have hurting people in our congregations is very important, but also knowing when to refer them on, and to who is also very important.
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Thanks for your insightful post which raises issues that will continue to be on the front burner of spiritual direction and integration. Your psychological skills and insights will inform but not replace the spiritual direction skills and insights. Several issues that can prompt further research are:
1) Anointing for Your Calling: The gifts and empowerment of the Holy Spirit in spirital direction transcend the skills and insights of psychology. Discover and discern with others your spiritual gift mix with spiritual fruit in terms of point of service and impact discerned (See I Corinthians 12:4-6)
2) Soul Care Toolkit for Your Vocational Career/Ministry: Psychology, psychotherapy, and psychiatry all have schools of thought or models, the same is true of spiritual direction which Moon & Benner pointout in their text. Design and develop your soul care toolkit with all the skills, training, and insights that will provide clarity for your career.
3) Explore Your Stream/Tradition: Put on your Colombo raincoat and become extremely curious about why people are healed, nurtured, and blessed in your ministry. The points of connection to Lydia's tradition/stream+anointing+toolkit will be intrguing to find in your research.
Design a grid to triangulate with your gifts/anointing+toolkit+stream= spiritual direction
Thank you Dr. Nisley, I do need to do a grid, because as I share with people I am not always sure where I get certains thoughts or insights, from reading proverbs, from my experience, from wisdom from above or from training, via psychology, pastorial care, counseling or just people skills that is woven in my tradition and in my family of ministry and service. So I still need to work on this as I already integrate and am not sure when I am doing it. Thanks for outlining for me what I need to do and helping outline the tool kit that is already or soon will be there. Maybe the next chapter will help clarify some of this. Thanks again for your responce.
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