1) Contrast and compare the role of a spiritual director in the Anglican, Reformed, and Wesleyan traditions, consider their goals, procedure, and resources.
In the Anglican Tradition the role of the Spiritual Director is more like a teacher and companion who is in a one-on-one relationship with the directee where the directee gets the full attention of the Spiritual Director at all times with strong instruction as one of the founding principles of the spiritual direction relationship. The Spiritual Director as teacher supervises the directee’s reading in the area of prayer, coaches, or models prayer with the directee. In the companion portion or aspect of the relationship, the directee gets less than full attention, which requires more maturity between both people. There is a definite focus that the Spiritual Director must have an understanding of the dynamics of a complex relationship at depths deeper than just the depravity of sin or the human nature. In this Tradition, spiritual direction is an incisive fellowship and intense and is not for the faint or weak of heart. The goal is to assist the directee employ Christian principles and the Christian faith to live in Jesus’ company. Spiritual literature, retreat facilities and spiritual communities provide the spiritual resources to allow the directee to focus on prayer, instruction, vocal counsel, directed reading and other spiritual projects. I really liked this quote: “God’s direct call on all of us is to discipleship.
In the Reformed Tradition, the perspective is that all transformation comes from God; therefore, the hope for conformity to Christ is a goal and not a destination, with no claim to have ever reached the goal, and maturity comes through the process of spiritual direction. The Spiritual Director is not an authoritative priest who interprets the will of God to the directee and tells them the decision to make (differing from the Anglican Tradition), but is more similar to a Spiritual Friend or Soul Friend who befriends another on the spiritual journey, and is willing to walk into the deep places of human life, listen to persistent yearnings, explore darkest fears, and identify the dominant images of self or God. It was based upon this reading that I changed the terms used in the Gethsemane Spiritual Direction Group at Calvary. I originally used the terms Spiritual Director and Directee but changed to Spiritual Companion and Spiritual Friend because I am joining everyone in the spiritual journey and wanted to experience spiritual direction without the formality of formal titles. Through prayer, I also did away with the titles that everyone uses in Church (i.e. Brother, Sister, Deacon, Deaconess, Pastor), and everyone refers to each other by first name. This also engenders more of the friend perspective and not the formality of church titles that may hinder full disclosure or place one in an authoritative position with others feeling that they can’t say what they need to say because others are in “authority” based upon position or title. The Spiritual Director discerns spirits, prays and keeps his life open and growing, and participates in personal spiritual direction himself. A quote that I love is “When the soul looks at itself, it is immediately driven to God through a vision of its brokenness and need, and when the soul looks upon God it is driven to more fully see itself as a broken reflection of the holiness and majesty of God.” “Growing souls fearlessly open themselves to deeper insights into the self as made in the image of God.” The goal is to find God’s Will and conformity to Christ through prayer, listening, Scripture reading and internalization, and directive responses by using the resources of prayer, the Holy Spirit, journaling, the spiritual guide’s experience, and spiritual discernment. Semper Reformanda is at the heart of the Reformed Tradition spiritual direction process because we are reformed and are always reforming.
In the Wesleyan Tradition, the Spiritual Director’s goal is to bring the converted believer into the experience of sanctifying grace whereby inner sin is cleansed, the image of God restored, and the heart so filled with divine love that the believer can live out the 2 Greatest Commandments of loving God with all of your heart, mind, soul and strength, and your neighbor as yourself. The Spiritual Director functions more like a Spiritual Guide in the relationship uses a process of faith mentoring in spending time with fewer people to teach the faith by example, counsel, coaching and modeling. As Guide, the faith mentor acts as God’s usher, escorting the mentee into the Lord’s presence. As Model, the faith mentor provides a living example of spirituality, lifestyle, values and intimacy with the spiritual friend. As Coach, the faith mentor provides instruction and provides encouragement through the process. As Advocate, the faith mentor offers honest support and affirmation without judgment that provides security and trustee for the spiritual friend. As Sponsor, the faith mentor is a friend and co-learner to a youth providing for full participation in church. As Guarantor, the faith mentor incarnates Christian adulthood for others to encourage young people to grow. This is being done through my Spiritual Ministry class “Young Warrior Christian Leadership Training” where I am working with 4 teens (3 young women and 1 young man) where we get together once a week for 90 minutes and talk about Christian Leadership through study of Scripture and establishment of leadership principles to help them with their career goals and school requirements. As Mediator, the faith mentor acts as priest to the spiritual friend. The spiritual discipline of journaling and worshipping in community are also extremely important. The goal within the Wesleyan Tradition is transformation by the grace of God in Christ, wholeness, holiness and Christ-likeness through guidance toward transforming moments and for the lifelong journey of spiritual formation, while sharing one’s journey with a covenant group, twin soul or faith mentor. The resources that are used are prayer, Bible study, community worship, sacraments, fellowship, service, dependence upon the Holy Spirit and viewing and being the imago Dei through spiritual formation and direction.
2) Reflect on the intriguing statement from page 128, "One of the problems with evangelical spirituality is that Christians have no one to talk to." Envision how a team of lay spiritual directors, supervised by the pastor, would impact the life of your congregation.
A team of lay spiritual directors supervised by the pastor would change the entire life of Calvary in a dramatic way according to God’s Will and plan. Many of the individuals participating in the Gethsemane Spiritual Direction Group were spiritually looking for an avenue and outlet to speak with other Christians regarding spiritual issues, goals, growth and other concerns that you are not able to discuss or address on Sunday or during the week without structure. The group is made up of different individuals within the church who may not normally come together but a bond is being formed where we can “really talk” with one another without judgment or fear of being looked down upon because of our brokenness. Calvary has AA and NA meetings every Monday and Wednesday with outstanding attendance and dedication by its members, and I always wondered how this organization was so faithful and helpful to each other, and it was not until the Gethsemane Spiritual Direction Group was formed that I understood that it was not just those within AA and NA that need a group to talk with about their issues and problems, but that every church must have a Spiritual Direction Group to help facilitate healing and supporting through the Holy Spirit to overcome and move beyond issues of brokenness, failure, pain, and other issues that we bring into church and that many times occur within church that may damage our relationship with God and others. We go to church many days during the week attending Sunday worship service, Bible Study, Sunday School, and many meetings and other auxiliary and ministry issues, but never “talk” about God, the Holy Spirit’s move in our lives individually and collectively, or meet each other in love at the point of our issues or pain and merely exist rather than grow. How many people come to a hospital for care and leave with the same broken bone or lack of diagnosis and follow-up care? If that occurred we would call it medical malpractice and want to sue the hospital for not doing its job. Why is it acceptable in the church? Why do the spiritually sick, broken, cursed, afflicted and confused come to the “spiritual hospital” and leave many times more broken than when they came in, without any diagnosis by the Holy Spirit of the problem or issue and a plan of growth (prayer, Bible Study, spiritual disciplines) that is carried out on an individual and corporate level? Lay spiritual directors supervised by the pastor would provide Calvary with the Spiritual Emergency Room and Out Patient Care that is needed to help everyone learn that being Christians and Disciples is not seeking perfection but being in relationship with God who is perfect, that we all have problems and issues that we need others to help us with, and that since God is in community (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) that we need others to truly live as the imagio Dei and grow in relationship with others and God according to spiritual direction and formation on an individual and group basis.
Calhoun, Part 6, Humility
Quote from page 191, "Humility stems from having someone besides yourself as the center of your attention." Being addicted to self is part of the human condition.
1) Practice humility during the next week of Lent by not beginning sentences with "I", but with "you". For example, "I really enjoyed your sermon. I was so blessed!" could be reframed as, "You presented a very meaningful message on the humility and passion of Christ, God was glorified and the congregation was blessed!"
I was able to practice this discipline of humility by making a conscious effort to focus on the person that I was addressing and not thinking about myself first. I was blessed to preach at St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church on Sunday, March 16 (Palm Sunday) and after the service concluded I remarked to everyone that provided me with encouragement regarding the Word that God gave me to give “your support and the grace of God provided me with the blessing of being able to provide God’s Word according to God’s Will.” I also was able to have a one-on-one spiritual direction session with one of Calvary members and I responded “your companionship and spiritual ear are a blessing to me through this process of self-revelation in God and healing that I am in, and I thank God for you.” I was also able to preach at a Good Friday Service at Beulah Baptist Church with 4 dynamic men of God and 2 dynamic women of God on the 7 last words of Christ. At the conclusion of the Service, I was able to go up to each preacher and pastor and thank them for the message that blessed the congregation and myself, along the lines of “Your message was awesome in how God used you to bless his people. Thank you for blessing us with how God is using you according to His will.” This process of humility has made me more conscious of others and reduces self so that God may increase.
2) List the acts of service and kindness that you provided during the past week that no one noticed or affirmed.
A. Let various cars in line in front of me in going to Pistons’ Basketball Game without acknowledgement by many drivers.
B. Shoveled snow of neighbor who has grandchildren living with him.
C. Opened door for various women going into and out of stores that I was entering or leaving during the week.
D. Handled finalization of severance package for former Church employee.
In many instances, the other acts of service or kindness that I was able to do were acknowledged by the person so the list I have is smaller than I would have liked, but it did feel good every time that the person acknowledged the act by a simple “Thank You” but it depleted the list that I could provide. I think that through this activity, I tried to be of more service and kindness and it really didn’t matter whether or not the person observed my act because I just felt good doing it regardless of whether or not I received a response.
In the Anglican Tradition the role of the Spiritual Director is more like a teacher and companion who is in a one-on-one relationship with the directee where the directee gets the full attention of the Spiritual Director at all times with strong instruction as one of the founding principles of the spiritual direction relationship. The Spiritual Director as teacher supervises the directee’s reading in the area of prayer, coaches, or models prayer with the directee. In the companion portion or aspect of the relationship, the directee gets less than full attention, which requires more maturity between both people. There is a definite focus that the Spiritual Director must have an understanding of the dynamics of a complex relationship at depths deeper than just the depravity of sin or the human nature. In this Tradition, spiritual direction is an incisive fellowship and intense and is not for the faint or weak of heart. The goal is to assist the directee employ Christian principles and the Christian faith to live in Jesus’ company. Spiritual literature, retreat facilities and spiritual communities provide the spiritual resources to allow the directee to focus on prayer, instruction, vocal counsel, directed reading and other spiritual projects. I really liked this quote: “God’s direct call on all of us is to discipleship.
In the Reformed Tradition, the perspective is that all transformation comes from God; therefore, the hope for conformity to Christ is a goal and not a destination, with no claim to have ever reached the goal, and maturity comes through the process of spiritual direction. The Spiritual Director is not an authoritative priest who interprets the will of God to the directee and tells them the decision to make (differing from the Anglican Tradition), but is more similar to a Spiritual Friend or Soul Friend who befriends another on the spiritual journey, and is willing to walk into the deep places of human life, listen to persistent yearnings, explore darkest fears, and identify the dominant images of self or God. It was based upon this reading that I changed the terms used in the Gethsemane Spiritual Direction Group at Calvary. I originally used the terms Spiritual Director and Directee but changed to Spiritual Companion and Spiritual Friend because I am joining everyone in the spiritual journey and wanted to experience spiritual direction without the formality of formal titles. Through prayer, I also did away with the titles that everyone uses in Church (i.e. Brother, Sister, Deacon, Deaconess, Pastor), and everyone refers to each other by first name. This also engenders more of the friend perspective and not the formality of church titles that may hinder full disclosure or place one in an authoritative position with others feeling that they can’t say what they need to say because others are in “authority” based upon position or title. The Spiritual Director discerns spirits, prays and keeps his life open and growing, and participates in personal spiritual direction himself. A quote that I love is “When the soul looks at itself, it is immediately driven to God through a vision of its brokenness and need, and when the soul looks upon God it is driven to more fully see itself as a broken reflection of the holiness and majesty of God.” “Growing souls fearlessly open themselves to deeper insights into the self as made in the image of God.” The goal is to find God’s Will and conformity to Christ through prayer, listening, Scripture reading and internalization, and directive responses by using the resources of prayer, the Holy Spirit, journaling, the spiritual guide’s experience, and spiritual discernment. Semper Reformanda is at the heart of the Reformed Tradition spiritual direction process because we are reformed and are always reforming.
In the Wesleyan Tradition, the Spiritual Director’s goal is to bring the converted believer into the experience of sanctifying grace whereby inner sin is cleansed, the image of God restored, and the heart so filled with divine love that the believer can live out the 2 Greatest Commandments of loving God with all of your heart, mind, soul and strength, and your neighbor as yourself. The Spiritual Director functions more like a Spiritual Guide in the relationship uses a process of faith mentoring in spending time with fewer people to teach the faith by example, counsel, coaching and modeling. As Guide, the faith mentor acts as God’s usher, escorting the mentee into the Lord’s presence. As Model, the faith mentor provides a living example of spirituality, lifestyle, values and intimacy with the spiritual friend. As Coach, the faith mentor provides instruction and provides encouragement through the process. As Advocate, the faith mentor offers honest support and affirmation without judgment that provides security and trustee for the spiritual friend. As Sponsor, the faith mentor is a friend and co-learner to a youth providing for full participation in church. As Guarantor, the faith mentor incarnates Christian adulthood for others to encourage young people to grow. This is being done through my Spiritual Ministry class “Young Warrior Christian Leadership Training” where I am working with 4 teens (3 young women and 1 young man) where we get together once a week for 90 minutes and talk about Christian Leadership through study of Scripture and establishment of leadership principles to help them with their career goals and school requirements. As Mediator, the faith mentor acts as priest to the spiritual friend. The spiritual discipline of journaling and worshipping in community are also extremely important. The goal within the Wesleyan Tradition is transformation by the grace of God in Christ, wholeness, holiness and Christ-likeness through guidance toward transforming moments and for the lifelong journey of spiritual formation, while sharing one’s journey with a covenant group, twin soul or faith mentor. The resources that are used are prayer, Bible study, community worship, sacraments, fellowship, service, dependence upon the Holy Spirit and viewing and being the imago Dei through spiritual formation and direction.
2) Reflect on the intriguing statement from page 128, "One of the problems with evangelical spirituality is that Christians have no one to talk to." Envision how a team of lay spiritual directors, supervised by the pastor, would impact the life of your congregation.
A team of lay spiritual directors supervised by the pastor would change the entire life of Calvary in a dramatic way according to God’s Will and plan. Many of the individuals participating in the Gethsemane Spiritual Direction Group were spiritually looking for an avenue and outlet to speak with other Christians regarding spiritual issues, goals, growth and other concerns that you are not able to discuss or address on Sunday or during the week without structure. The group is made up of different individuals within the church who may not normally come together but a bond is being formed where we can “really talk” with one another without judgment or fear of being looked down upon because of our brokenness. Calvary has AA and NA meetings every Monday and Wednesday with outstanding attendance and dedication by its members, and I always wondered how this organization was so faithful and helpful to each other, and it was not until the Gethsemane Spiritual Direction Group was formed that I understood that it was not just those within AA and NA that need a group to talk with about their issues and problems, but that every church must have a Spiritual Direction Group to help facilitate healing and supporting through the Holy Spirit to overcome and move beyond issues of brokenness, failure, pain, and other issues that we bring into church and that many times occur within church that may damage our relationship with God and others. We go to church many days during the week attending Sunday worship service, Bible Study, Sunday School, and many meetings and other auxiliary and ministry issues, but never “talk” about God, the Holy Spirit’s move in our lives individually and collectively, or meet each other in love at the point of our issues or pain and merely exist rather than grow. How many people come to a hospital for care and leave with the same broken bone or lack of diagnosis and follow-up care? If that occurred we would call it medical malpractice and want to sue the hospital for not doing its job. Why is it acceptable in the church? Why do the spiritually sick, broken, cursed, afflicted and confused come to the “spiritual hospital” and leave many times more broken than when they came in, without any diagnosis by the Holy Spirit of the problem or issue and a plan of growth (prayer, Bible Study, spiritual disciplines) that is carried out on an individual and corporate level? Lay spiritual directors supervised by the pastor would provide Calvary with the Spiritual Emergency Room and Out Patient Care that is needed to help everyone learn that being Christians and Disciples is not seeking perfection but being in relationship with God who is perfect, that we all have problems and issues that we need others to help us with, and that since God is in community (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) that we need others to truly live as the imagio Dei and grow in relationship with others and God according to spiritual direction and formation on an individual and group basis.
Calhoun, Part 6, Humility
Quote from page 191, "Humility stems from having someone besides yourself as the center of your attention." Being addicted to self is part of the human condition.
1) Practice humility during the next week of Lent by not beginning sentences with "I", but with "you". For example, "I really enjoyed your sermon. I was so blessed!" could be reframed as, "You presented a very meaningful message on the humility and passion of Christ, God was glorified and the congregation was blessed!"
I was able to practice this discipline of humility by making a conscious effort to focus on the person that I was addressing and not thinking about myself first. I was blessed to preach at St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church on Sunday, March 16 (Palm Sunday) and after the service concluded I remarked to everyone that provided me with encouragement regarding the Word that God gave me to give “your support and the grace of God provided me with the blessing of being able to provide God’s Word according to God’s Will.” I also was able to have a one-on-one spiritual direction session with one of Calvary members and I responded “your companionship and spiritual ear are a blessing to me through this process of self-revelation in God and healing that I am in, and I thank God for you.” I was also able to preach at a Good Friday Service at Beulah Baptist Church with 4 dynamic men of God and 2 dynamic women of God on the 7 last words of Christ. At the conclusion of the Service, I was able to go up to each preacher and pastor and thank them for the message that blessed the congregation and myself, along the lines of “Your message was awesome in how God used you to bless his people. Thank you for blessing us with how God is using you according to His will.” This process of humility has made me more conscious of others and reduces self so that God may increase.
2) List the acts of service and kindness that you provided during the past week that no one noticed or affirmed.
A. Let various cars in line in front of me in going to Pistons’ Basketball Game without acknowledgement by many drivers.
B. Shoveled snow of neighbor who has grandchildren living with him.
C. Opened door for various women going into and out of stores that I was entering or leaving during the week.
D. Handled finalization of severance package for former Church employee.
In many instances, the other acts of service or kindness that I was able to do were acknowledged by the person so the list I have is smaller than I would have liked, but it did feel good every time that the person acknowledged the act by a simple “Thank You” but it depleted the list that I could provide. I think that through this activity, I tried to be of more service and kindness and it really didn’t matter whether or not the person observed my act because I just felt good doing it regardless of whether or not I received a response.
1 comment:
Thanks Art for your insightful and powerful posts which demonstrate your servant heart for Kingdom leadership. Giving away titles is a big deal, we address one another by name not by role or function, such as, "Hi Wife Lois." or "Greetings Pastor Bill." Culture and tradition are part of this transition, in monastic communities and in the "Old Mennonite Church" in which I was nurtured and discipled, brother and sister were terms of endearment, respect, and affirmation. You also demonstrated servanthood in the various acts of subversive, secret Kingdom love. The rewards are intrinsic, like when you hold your first grandchild and begin to feel the depths of fulfillment and destiny that God wants for us. Jesus demonstrated this in John 13 by washing His disciples feet-->the position of lowest service, and on the cross. When we can wash one another's feet in the Kingdom, then we will begin to feel the oneness and depth of God's love. Foot washing is a Mennonite and Church of God ordinance, there are some other "Free Church Evangelicals" (Brethren groups) who also continue the practice that Jesus demonstrated 2,000 years ago. Servanthood is a door to growth.
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