Back in the day, AT&T had a commercial that said, “The System is the Solution.” I remember my young, anti-authoritarian self scoffing at that. I’ve come to see that there is a lot of truth to that statement, and perhaps more truth for spiritual directors than the average group.
As I’ve worked with spiritual directors over the years, I’ve seen many struggle to gain traction with a steady group of clients, a struggle I know well. What I’ve learned from dissecting their struggles - and my own - is that it’s not enough to be a smart, caring person who listens well and loves deep conversations.
If you don’t have a system, you’re flying by the seat of your pants. Trying to run a spiritual direction practice without structures is like navigating a foreign city without a GPS or map. You may be comfortable in the small section your in, but you are missing out on other wonders and attractions.
Like me, I suspect you weren’t given much in your training related to how to create a system that anchors your practice and holds your clients. This video explores what happens when a system is and is not supporting your practice, and it introduces you to my Spiritual Direction 3 X 3 Blueprint:
Think about what you do have in place that helps structure your practice, and about what the next thing is that will help you strengthen your system.
My next post and video will explore how to bring the spiritual into spiritual direction, and how easy it is for us to lose that crucial ingredient from our practice and our client work.
In the meantime, I hope you spend some time with this video and share it with your colleagues. I’d also really appreciate your subscribing to our YouTube channel, and your trying out another of my Essential Practices for Spiritual Directors.
Essential Practices for Spiritual Directors
Everything that grows requires nutrients: people, plants, and spiritual direction practices. Our outputs get old without some new inputs - if you want your spiritual direction practice to grow, you have to feed it. To do that, you can take a class or webinar. Read a book. Start a supervision group or seek out individual supervision.
If you are looking for 1-1 support, I offer supervision, or coaching as I prefer to call it, and would love to explore working with you. Check out my Spiritual Direction Coaching offerings.
Do you know people who would enjoy exploring this Spiritual Direction Learning Lab? If so, please let them know about these resources, and encourage them to subscribe using this link: Spiritual Direction Learning Lab Sign-up
Thanks for being on the journey. The world and your future clients need you!
