What is your experience and background?

I have a strong social theology formed mostly through the Reformed tradition, my degree from Fuller School of World Mission and many years working with African people.  Much of my theology has been adjusted throughout a 35-year relationship, living and working with African pastors as well as pastors in the Pacific Northwest.

What is your role in Spiritual Direction?

As a Spiritual Director, my goal is to facilitate you, the Directee in your relationship with the Holy Spirit as he makes himself known to you.  This work is done through a 6-9-month series of monthly encounters between the Director, the Directee, and the Holy Spirit in which you bring something that is on your heart and mind or I ask what God is doing in your life. It is an intimate conversation in Christ between trusting parties.

What is Spiritual Direction

In defining and describing Spiritual Direction, I like a metaphor used by David Benner (Surrender to Love: Discerning the Heart of Christian Spirituality) in which he is teaching adults how to swim, beginning with floating.  Floating first requires understanding a principle and process (our relationship with God) and submitting to the process (surrendering to God in the process).  The process is learned, it is counterintuitive, it is learned over the period of a lifetime, and there are guides along the way to help us trust and surrender to the process.

Are you trained in Spiritual Direction?

My formal training in Spiritual Direction began in 2015 with an 18-month cohort with Soul Formation (www.SoulFormation.org) followed by a year of direction in the St. Ignatius Spiritual Exercises (19th Annotation), a nine-month cohort with the School of Spiritual Direction (Soul Formation), and 3 years of personal Spiritual Direction under Rev. Bill Zuelke, S.J., Director of the SSD.  I bring 40 years of ministry experience to this ministry, as pastor of a local church, and later as shepherd to over 300 pastors of village churches in West Africa. I have been a mission teacher, coach, mentor, and advisor to churches in the Pacific Northwest over the last 2 decades.  I am now devoting all my time to Spiritual Direction.

What does Spiritual Direction look like?

Monthly one-on-one sessions of one hour to an hour-and-a-half take place in my home (Damascus, OR) or in any convenient common location where we can talk quietly and freely.  Conference calls (Zoom) are possible, as well, as long as we can do one or two meetings face-to-face to get to know one another.

How much does it cost?

I ask for $95 per monthly session (1-1.5 hours per session), but I provide a sliding scale for those who cannot afford that fee.  I believe anyone seeking Spiritual Direction should not be denied due to cost.

How are sessions conducted? 

I am always available between sessions by phone or email if that is necessary.

What are the expectations of the Directee?

My expectations of a Directee are that he or she have a daily prayer and study discipline with periodic fasting.  This is basic. I ask that you take up centering prayer as a contemplative prayer form, as it requires listening to the Holy Spirit in wordless prayer.

I expect a Directee to prepare for each session with prayer, or by bringing something of concern to them.  Directees should be opening their lives to Jesus on an increasing basis and willing and able to share their issues with trusted others in Christ.

Spiritual Direction is essentially companionship in the Spirit of Christ that is limited only by the personalities and temperaments of the participants.  The relationship between the two and with God will grow over time as openness and trust develops. Spiritual Direction is a deep, enriching experience in a deepening relationship with God.