Spiritual Direction

Definition and Meaning

Spiritual direction is a form of spiritual companionship in which a director and a directee meet on a regular basis. The directee speaks about his or her experience of God in prayer and in daily life, and the director discerns that experience together with the directee. Discernment here means distinguishing what comes from God. The practice is also called "spiritual guidance" or "spiritual accompaniment."

Christian counseling focuses on solving problems and on psychological recovery. Spiritual direction differs from it in that its concern is the relationship with God itself. Many practitioners hold that the true director is the Holy Spirit, while the human director is a companion who listens attentively and asks questions.

Biblical and Historical Background

Commonly cited biblical examples include the following:

• Eli, who helped the young Samuel recognize God's call (1 Samuel 3:9)
• The relationship between Paul and Timothy

In church history, the monks of the Egyptian desert in the fourth century sought counsel from elders called abba ("father"), and this practice carried over into the monastic tradition. In the sixteenth century, the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola and the writings of Teresa of Ávila and John of the Cross became important foundations for spiritual direction in the Catholic Church.

In Protestantism, a similar role was filled by the Reformers, who offered spiritual counsel through letters, and by Puritan pastors such as Richard Baxter, who cared for the souls of their parishioners one by one. In the late twentieth century, the widely read books of authors such as the Catholic priest Henri Nouwen and the Protestant pastor Eugene Peterson broadened interest in the practice among Protestants as well.

Practice in the Korean Church

The Catholic Church in Korea has long practiced spiritual direction in the context of retreats (periods set apart from ordinary life for devoted prayer) and programs based on the Spiritual Exercises. Among Protestants, it was introduced relatively recently, together with growing interest in spiritual formation, contemplative prayer, and lectio divina. Some graduate schools of theology and spiritual-life organizations offer training programs for spiritual directors.

Few denominations have adopted an official position on the practice, and its acceptance varies from church to church and from seminary to seminary. Many churches have met the same need through forms of pastoral care such as pastoral visitation, discipleship training, and one-on-one discipleship.

Views on spiritual direction are divided as follows:

• Critics: Some in Reformed and evangelical circles are concerned that, as spiritual direction becomes combined with Catholic mystical traditions such as contemplative prayer, it may place subjective experience ahead of Scripture.
• Practitioners: Those who practice it respond that spiritual direction keeps Scripture meditation and prayer at its center and represents a recovery of the "care of souls" found in the Protestant pastoral tradition.