Spiritual direction has its origins in the early Christian church. According to the gospels, Jesus acted as a mentor to his disciples. In addition, Ananias is described in Acts of the Apostles Chapter 9 as assisting Paul of Tarsus in growing in his newfound faith. Similarly, Paul is described as mentoring Timothy and Titus, among others, in various Pauline epistles. Polycarp, the 2nd-century bishop of Smyrna, is said to have been instructed by John the Evangelist.
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John Cassian, a fourth-century theologian, wrote some of the first known principles on the Christian practice of spiritual direction.
In the monasteries, he established mentoring. Each novice was assigned to an elder monk for supervision. Cassian's precepts were incorporated into what is now known as the Rule of Saint Benedict by Benedict of Nursia.
Spiritual direction is common in the Catholic tradition: a wise and spiritually discerned person, generally but not always a priest or a consecrated person in general, counsels a person who aspires to embark on a journey of faith and discover God's will in his life. The spiritual guide's goal is to identify and grasp what the Holy Spirit is telling the person accompanied via life events, spiritual insights gained through prayer, reading, and meditation on the Bible. The spiritual father or spiritual director may give advise, give life and prayer hints, and resolve doubts in areas of faith and morals without taking the place of the accompanying person's choices and judgments.
What is the role of spiritual director?
Spiritual directors assist people examine issues of the soul, faith, and God by leading them on their spiritual journeys. Spiritual guidance is a practice that can be found in a variety of religious systems.
Do spiritual directors get paid?
While annual salaries for Spiritual Directors range from $36,500 (25th percentile) to $104,000 (75th percentile) on ZipRecruiter, the majority of Spiritual Director salaries currently range from $36,500 (25th percentile) to $104,000 (75th percentile), with top earners (90th percentile) making $149,500 annually across the United States.
What questions does a spiritual director ask?
People frequently find it easy to answer the first few questions. They do not make people nervous or perplexed. These questions provide a foundation for the spiritual director to learn about the person and his or her spirituality. Leading questions aren't the same as starting questions. When someone wants a certain answer, they ask leading questions. On the other hand, there are no correct solutions to these questions. A person can reply in any way they want without fear of being judged.
What is the difference between a life coach and a spiritual director?
Authors William Barry and William Connelly explain spiritual direction in their book The Practice of Spiritual Direction as follows:
We define Christian spiritual direction as assistance provided by one Christian to another that enables that person to pay attention to God's personal communication to him or her, respond to that personally communicating God, grow in intimacy with that God, and live out the consequences of that relationship.
This style of spiritual direction focuses on religious experience, not concepts, and specifically on any experience of the mysterious Other whom we call God.”
The importance of spiritual directors in the direction process is explained by David Benner in his book Sacred Companions:
What are the responsibilities of spiritual directors? They assist people in attending to God's presence and revelation and preparing to react to him, to put it simply and directly. In other words, they assist people in tuning in to God.
Spiritual directors are usually mature Christians who have spent years, if not decades, deepening their relationship with Jesus Christ. Others seek them out because of their spiritual awareness and understanding.
Spiritual directors will occasionally advise or introduce spiritual exercises such as lectio divina into a session with a directee, despite their non-directive style. They may also give ancient spiritual exercises to directees as a means of opening themselves to God, such as The Prayer of Examen or Ignatian Prayer.
Spiritual directors are “established” in their grasp of the ways and seeking the face of God, whereas coaches may or may not be experts in the client's field of interest. Although spiritual direction can be directive at times, coaching is always non-directive. Coaching is about doing and developing actions, whereas spiritual guidance is about being with God. Other distinctions exist, but these are the most noticeable.
So, how about you? What are the differences between coaching and spiritual guidance, in your opinion?
Do you need a degree to be a spiritual director?
For the Education portion of the certification process, the CCPC has established the following requirements.
Formal classroom education in the field of spiritual direction is described as the required education. The foundation of information and skills connected with the basic functions must be addressed through education. Every aspect of your schooling must be documented.
A master's degree from a recognized accredited university with an emphasis in biblical, theological studies and a minimum of six courses in spirituality is required for accreditation. Individuals holding a baccalaureate degree in spirituality may be eligible in exceptional situations if they meet all other qualifications.
Can spiritual directors help?
For those who cannot afford to pay, some directors provide pro gratis services. The relationship between companion and seeker is personal, and spiritual directors must establish proper limits, just as they would in any other type of counseling.
Can you make a living as a spiritual director?
Teresa Blythe is one of the presenters in the Making a Living as a Spiritual Director webinar series, which is now available in online recordings. The Making a Living as a Spiritual Companion 2 webinar series from this year is also available online. Take a peek at these new additions as well: Spiritual directors and spiritual companions will benefit from the books Follow Your Calling Without Quitting Your Job and Consciously Change Your Money Relationship.
“Can you make a living as a spiritual director?” I'm frequently asked. The answer is complicated since it relies on the individual, the market, and the philosophy. Spiritual Directors International has two webinars on the subject (one of which I participated to), and if you watch both of them, which I hope you do, you will receive the long answer to your question.
Can it be done?
Yes. However, developing a spiritual direction practice to the point where you can earn a middle-class wage may take years. You may receive a few inquiries after you start promoting, but your practice will really take off once people who have come to you for advice start referring their friends. Your most effective marketing weapon will always be word of mouth, and it will take time.
But I heard about this one person who is making good money at it!
Contact him or her immediately to learn how they achieved it and how long it took them to reach to the point where they could support themselves only through spiritual direction.
The majority of spiritual directors I know who make a living at it do one of three things:
- Working a second or third job to supplement your income. (And, full transparency, I have a working spouse and we are a two-income family with no children.) As a result, I'm not going into this without a safety net.) In addition to seeing roughly 25 people in one-on-one spiritual direction, I also manage the Hesychia School, a spiritual direction training program, and I take on contract work from churches that ask me to assist them with discernment. A full-time spiritual director friend of mine formerly rented a big multi-room space and sublet it to other spiritual directors and healing arts practitioners for sessions, retreats, and workshops. (Her name is Amanda Petersen, and she appears in part 2 of SDI's webinar series on the topic.) You'll like hearing about her adventures!)
- Session fees are being charged at a higher rate than usual. There will be no condemnation here! However, if you want to make a living seeing individuals once a month (the standard frequency), you'll need a large number of directees or charge them upwards of $150 per session. Spiritual direction sessions in Phoenix, where I live, cost $60-80 per session. I've decided to charge the market rate. Even with a sliding scale, I believe that if I went for the upper end, I would price myself out of the medium and lower middle-class market.
- Individuals are being seen more frequently than once a month. To put it another way, we spiritual directors build a practice in the same manner that a therapist or life coach does. They see folks on a more regular basis than once a month. As a result, if you start meeting them every two weeks, you'll be able to earn more money. Unless the directee insists on visiting more frequently, I've decided to keep appointments at around once a month (which is not usual in my case). Most directees need around 30 days of living and completing their spiritual practices before they are ready to spend one hour in direction, according to my experience. This is not the case for all filmmakers. You might try to reach out to some spiritual directors who visit individuals more frequently than once a month and ask them why they do it and how it's going for them.
It's a matter of discernment
Spend a lot of time in prayer, thought, and discernment before quitting your day job and starting a spiritual direction practice.
Spend time with the Divine, asking questions and listening for responses from the depths of your being.
- How many clients do I need at my target price point to pay my bills and live a life that is sustainable?
- What is the pricing range that I am looking for? What are the advantages and disadvantages of pricing my product lower or higher than the market rate?
- What kind of employment will afford me the independence and provide me with enough energy to see customers if I take on a job to anchor and support this practice?
Pay attention to your gut instincts. “Why am I seeking spiritual direction in this manner?” you might wonder.
Make a test run. Let's see what happens if you start marketing yourself. It's a good indication if you're inundated with people seeking spiritual guidance. It's not only fine if it takes a while; it's the standard. The majority of spiritual directors I know had to wait for the practice to mature.
Is it possible to make a living as a spiritual advisor? I hope you are able to do so. One of the reasons I do what I do is to show people that spiritual direction can be a significant component of what you do professionally. It doesn't have to be a second job any more!
How much should I pay my spiritual director?
What is the expense of spiritual direction? An hour of spiritual direction costs roughly 50-70 dollars on average. If the expense is onerous, many spiritual directors may make exceptions.
How often should you meet with your spiritual director?
How frequently should we gather for spiritual guidance? The standard meeting schedule is once a month, although there may be periods or seasons when meeting twice a month or every other month is more appropriate and beneficial.
