Forming the Leader's Soul: An Invitation to Spiritual Direction
encourages Christian leaders to recover the much-needed ancient discipline of spiritual direction as a pathway to nurture spiritual and emotional health amid the challenges of leading a ministry. Many Christian leaders are finding the nature of ministry to be unsustainable in today's culture, and are searching for help. They realize their initial enthusiasm and ministry training are simply not enough to reach the finish line. Leaders are discovering spiritual direction as a proven pathway to recover spiritual life and the sustainable ministry that follows. Several years ago spiritual direction was almost unheard of in the Protestant world. Today, this ministry is referred to in articles and books as well as highlighted at conferences. This book seeks to give the reader a starting point from which to explore the ministry of spiritual direction. It offers an inside look at the history, theological foundation, and the praxis of this spiritual discipline creating a desire for further exploration and participation. The author seeks to strengthen the reader's appreciation of spiritual direction by drawing upon the his own experience as a pastor for over three decades. He uses his personal journey into spiritual direction (both as a directee and director) as a window and an invitation to discover more. Each chapter ends with a short, real-life story from a leader who participates in spiritual direction.