In the Spring 1983 issue of LEADERSHIP, Eugene Peterson wrote "On Finding a Spiritual Director."

He described his personal pilgrimage toward the idea of asking one godly individual to guide his development as a Christian and a pastor.

In this follow-up article, Peterson explores what he has learned trying to do the same for others.

I have been talking with friends and colleagues for several years now about spiritual direction. Many are familiar with the term and uneasy with the implications. Most don't think they are qualified.

But when we talk of what they are actually doing, a surprising amount of it is spiritual direction. However, what I call spiritual direction is almost always what they are doing when they don't think they are doing anything important. It is what takes place in the corners, in the unscheduled parts of their day. It is offhand. And they do less of it than they otherwise might because they are so tightly scheduled, or so intently involved in completing a task or project. ...