A spiritual director joins personal experience with intentional fellowship and reflective study of the life and thought of Jesus. It is an ancient expectation of ministry, and at the same time a very modern term. It is contemporary because most Christians now worship outside a designated church building and have no denominational affiliation. Their allegiance is to spiritual qualities such as love, acceptance, and forgiveness.
 
These qualities blend affections that we experience as “new life” (John 3: 6-8). Joyous and abundant life, but still flawed, is nurtured through a community with the sacrificial love of Christ (John 14-17), the attitudes of citizens in his Kingdom (Matthew 5: 3-12), and the spontaneous sharing of a delivered and empowered people (Acts 2:40-3:47).
 
How does a spiritual director help us access these resources?
 
(1) The formation of small groups which may have a variety of concerns: spiritual skills, personal crises, training for caregiving, and service as an expression of gratitude. The spiritual strength is in the opportunity to offer the kind of friendship with which Jesus embraced his faithful followers (John 15: 15).
 
(2) Leadership in Bible studies, and discussions of the great themes of faith. The spiritual strength is in feeling in ourselves what was experienced by those who were directly in the presence of God, and then identifying where we need transformation in our own lives by being honestly connected to one another.
 
(3) Attending to prayer requests through community and individual intercession, and through follow-up information and caring. The spiritual strength is in our belief that prayers can be answered, and we want to be part of the answer.
 
(4) Offering of individual care and counsel that is psychologically informed and spiritually motivated. The spiritual strength is in a discernment of the way that God is working in the life of the concerned person.
 
(5) Identification and connection with personal longings of different people who gather for Sunday worship. The spiritual strength is in the “third ear,” which signals the heights and depths of personal needs that are hidden by a “decent sense of reticence” in polite society. When members connect with each other on this deeper level, the assembly has become a healthy body of Christ.
 
Sam Southard, PhD
Spiritual Director
Naples Community Church