Theology

What Is a Spiritual Director?

What is spiritual director?

1. A person who has a continuing hunger for intimacy with God.

2. A person who has an ability to forgive others at great personal loss.

3. A person who has a lively sense that God alone can satisfy the longings of the human heart.

4. A person who has a deep satisfaction in prayer.

5. A person who has a realistic assessment of personal abilities and limitations.

6. A person who has a fundamental freedom from boasting about spiritual accomplishments.

7. A person who has a demonstrated ability to live out the demands of life patiently and wisely.

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Related Elsewhere:

This article accompanies an article by Richard Foster on “Spiritual Formation Agenda.”

Richard Foster previously wrote on leadership, which accompanied an interview with Christianity Today. CT also interviewed Richard Foster and Dallas Willard on the difference between discipleship and spiritual formation.

Other articles on spiritual formation include:

The Blind Spot of the Spiritual Formation Movement | Let’s not forget the spiritual discipline of choice for the masses. (September 24, 2008)

Back to Sunday School | The author of Spiritual Formation as if the Church Mattered says the church must reclaim its disciple-making infrastructure. (June 26, 2008)

Three Temptations of Spiritual Formation | “When seeking to be shaped by Christ, It is all too easy to veer from a fully Christian approach” (December 9, 2002)

Christianity Today also has more articles on prayer and spirituality.

Also in this issue

The CT archives are a rich treasure of biblical wisdom and insight from our past. Some things we would say differently today, and some stances we've changed. But overall, we're amazed at how relevant so much of this content is. We trust that you'll find it a helpful resource.

Cover Story

Jesus Is Not a Brand

Tyler Wigg-Stevenson

Review

'The Blue Parakeet' Faces Inconvenient Verses

Philip Tallon

PhotographyWatch

Gary Gnidovic

News

Memphis's Other Graceland

Tim Stafford

Pivoting Toward the Faraway Neighbor

Lord, Teach Us to Pray

Compiled by Richard A. Kauffman

What Is Spiritual Direction?

Richard Foster

Spiritual Formation Agenda

Richard Foster

News

Managing Your Money

Rusty Leonard, CEO of Stewardship Partners Investment Counsel

News

A Surefire Investment

Groans Too Deep for Words

Joel Hartse

Faith-based Super Bowl Parties

The Evolution of Darwin

There Goes the Neighborhood

News

Books Uncommon and Offbeat

John Wilson, editor of 'Books and Culture'

News

The Greatest Social Need

A Christianity Today Editorial

Review

Jacaranda

Andy Whitman

News

Evolve or Die

Annie Frisbie

News

Popcorn in the Pews

Ruth Moon

Bush's Envoy's Advice: 'Raise Cain'

Interview by Timothy C. Morgan

News

Building a Peace Beyond Understanding

Isaac Phiri with additional reporting from Jonathan Fitzgerald

Review

Everyday Lord

Mary M. Veeneman

News

Better Than a Bailout

Tony Carnes

News

Battle Fatigue

Sarah Pulliam

Editorial

Don't Let Them Die Alone

A Christianity Today Editorial

How to Help Orphans

Roger Olson

Our Priorities for 2009

News

Go Figure

News

Black Flight

Sarah Eekhoff Zylstra

News

Second Thoughts

Compass Direct News

News

Emergent's Divergence

Brandon O'Brien

News

Microfinance, Now More Micro

Ken Walker

News

News Briefs: January 01, 2009

News

Quotation Marks

News

Passages

News

Up for Debate

Glenn T. Stanton

View issue

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The Meaning of Your Life Can’t Rest on You

Arthur Brooks’s new book is enjoyable, smart, and often wise, but a search for true meaning must bring us to Christ.

The Russell Moore Show

Is Country Music Selling Out?

Russell answers a listener question about whether commercialization has ruined country music.

News

1,000 Kenyans Fought for Russia in Ukraine. Many Were Duped.

Pius Sawa

False advertising lured Africans to Eastern Europe for jobs, then recruiters pressured them into the army.

Analysis

Supreme Court Says Schools Can’t Hide Kids’ Gender Transition

The Bulletin

Q&A with attorney Adele Keim on the landmark ruling for parental rights.

What’s the Point of Education in an Age of AI? 

American teenagers are getting a crash course in nihilism, and we need answers more compelling than the hope of universal basic income.

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Pro-Life Ministries Find New Ways to Connect Clients and Donors

Social media and giving apps expedite the process of helping women with unplanned pregnancies.

Review

When ‘Nothing’ Happens

Justin Ariel Bailey

Three books to read on church life and ministry this month.

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