by the Rev. Dr. Brenda Buckwell, West Ohio Conference
Spiritual direction is not just for the Roman Catholic tradition. The Roman tradition has been the rich holders of the legacy of holy companioning, and we are deeply thankful. Spiritual direction is not just for those prone to silence and a contemplative stance toward relationship and life. There are many whose vocation is to silence and contemplative prayer and we are thankful for their intercession and grounding of the faith traditions. Spiritual direction is not just for those trained in holy listening. Story telling and listening are vital to building community, deepening awareness of God in the midst of human life and empowering individuals’ authentic living. We are deeply thankful to all who take the time and attention to engage another with heartfelt interest.
Not all are called to be Spiritual Directors, however, for everyone participating in spiritual direction. Spiritual direction is action for formation of leaders and mission within and beyond the church. Peter Koestenbaum in his book: Leadership, the Inner Side of Greatness, sets before the business community a model for leadership training which recognizes the need for holistic formation of individuals personally and professionally for leadership.[1]
Click here to view the Diamond Leadership Model diagram. The Leadership Diamond is a registered trademark and Philosophy-in-Business TM and PiB TM are trademarks of Peter Koestenbaum. Copyright 2002.
By gaining skill — in vision, ethics, reality (perception of life, self and situations) and courage — individuals are formed “more nearly into the image of Christ.”[2] This Diamond Leadership Model encourages formation of leadership, for personal life and professional work. This is the gift of spiritual direction applied to the formation of leaders within Christ ‘s Church.
If we want the church to move forward in the authentic presence of Christ, then leaders must be challenged and engaged with spiritual direction. In my twenty-three years of experience as a local church leade,r I have found folks within the church, including many of the leaders, are often afraid of change, afraid to pray out loud, afraid to encounter the other that is different then self. I have heard comments like: “I don’t know how to pray.” “I have been in the church for 70 years, and why are you the first pastor that has encouraged me to pray out loud and form community in this new way?”
We live in a society that has privatized faith and faith formation. I wonder if spiritual direction, training from a holistic stance as suggested by Mr. Koetenbaum, is a way of bringing the light of Christ into that which is has been hidden?
This kind of transforming and courageous leadership doesn’t come without cost. In my experience, resistance to spiritual direction and spiritual formationa is felt on every level of the church: laity, clergy, districts, and conferences. I wonder, how we as spiritual directors and retreat leaders can infuse an ethos of trust and faith formation in the midst of the fear-filled pressurized culture of the twenty-first century. When security of employment, retirement funding, and safe havens of shelter for home and family are threatened by recession, what difference will you and your ministry make through formation of new leadership?