One giant realisation as I think of the words “spiritual direction”, and usually when I’m about to meet a person as a “spiritual director” and they as a “directee”, is an acute awareness of my own inadequacy. That thought sometimes capsizes me, or causes me to think, I must say something intellectually or spiritually impressive. That powerful thought isn’t false humility, that’s my flesh as the Bible calls it and not the Spirit’s direction. The flesh-Spirit battle is in me, that same flesh-Spirit battle is in the directee, it’s in every Christian until we get to heaven. Spiritual direction enters that flesh-Spirit battle in the human heart. Within that battle - the battle that’s already been won by Jesus - the Spirit draws and forms us to be more like Christ.
Spiritual direction addresses our relationship with God in the middle of the noise and complexities of life in this world. Spiritual direction asks “Where is this person right now on their spiritual journey?”, “What are the particular battles taking place?” and “How is the Spirit forming this person?”
Listen to Dr. Larry Crabb* as he describes spiritual formation.
“We all believe in Christian spiritual formation, the miraculous movement of Jesus Christ by his Spirit in the deepest recesses of the human heart, actually changing our hearts so we want to be like Jesus more than we want anything else. And the change the Spirit accomplishes empowers us, little by little, to satisfy that desire substantially (though in this life never completely)”.
Crabb continues.
“God does the work. We cooperate. And we do so for the pleasure of the Father, not to accommodate our flesh-driven demand for fulfilment of our world-shaped understanding of what is best for us. I think we all agree: whatever change in us best pleases the Father is best for us”.
- Dr. Larry Crabb, Conversations Journal, Spring 2007.
The Spirit directing, exposing the flesh-Spirit battle and making real in our hearts what Christ has already accomplished. The Spirit deeply attracting us to God the Trinity. Listen to Darrell Johnson’s extraordinary words as follows.
“At the center of the universe is a relationship, that is the most fundamental truth I know. At the center of the universe is a community. It is out and for that relationship you and I were created and redeemed.”
- Darrell Johnson, Experiencing the Trinity, 2002.
That’s my experience and understanding of Christian spiritual direction. My principle formation and training was in 2002/3/6 with Dr. Larry Crabb (spiritual director, Christian counsellor, psychologist, author, speaker, teacher), School of Spiritual Direction, Colorado, US.
I offer 1-to-1 spiritual direction online. I’m a member of the London Centre for Spiritual Direction (LCSD) in the UK where you can book a conversation with me here (opens a new window to LCSD's website and my contact details):
*Lawrence J. Crabb, Jr. (July 13, 1944 – February 28, 2021) was an American Christian counsellor, author, Bible teacher, spiritual director, and seminar speaker. Crabb wrote several best-selling books and was the founder and director of New Way Ministries and co-founder of his legacy ministry, Larger Story. He served as a Spiritual Director for the American Association of Christian Counselors and taught at several different Christian colleges, including Colorado Christian University.