Spiritual Direction Training Videos
To listen to someone share their story and guide them in their walk with Jesus is a great joy and honor.
That’s how spiritual directors minister to God’s people.
The Art of Holy Listening
You and the people you care for want to experience more of God’s loving presence and guidance, but you may not know how the ministry of spiritual direction can help you do that.
Offering spiritual direction is unique compared to many expressions of discipleship and Bible teaching because it focuses on people’s relationship with God more than their beliefs and behaviors.
There is a way of listening and caring that’s prayerful and draws people into greater intimacy with Jesus, emotional health, and loving relationships. If you want to grow in these areas you’ve come to the right place!
Whether you use these tools for only yourself, your family and friends, or to benefit your vocational ministry, we hope you are blessed and encouraged to “join the class” through these training videos.
A Prayer for Guidance
Before you begin, let’s pause to ask for the Holy Spirit’s guidance and fullness:
Jesus, we thank you for guiding our friend to discover more about this impactful ministry of spiritual direction. We praise you for the technology you use to call and equip your children from far and wide. Our prayer is that you continue to lead, guide, and direct the steps of our friend through these videos and especially as they seek to share your love with others on their journey. Amen.
The following sampling of videos will give you a chance to feel you are “in the classroom” with Bill and Kristi Gaultiere, Doctors of Psychology and founders of Soul Shepherding, in their Spiritual Direction Training.
Let’s dive in…
1.) A Model for Spiritual Growth - The CHRIST Stages
The healthy Christian life that you and the people you care for long to experience involves continuing spiritual, emotional, and relational growth. But many of us get off track or stuck along the way. Our next step is often unclear.
In this first video, Kristi illuminates for you the CHRIST stages path of spiritual formation that every person travels on. This is a key resource in Soul Shepherding’s approach to spiritual direction and coaching.
Let’s journey into our first training video to explore this.
Do you want to learn more about the CHRIST stages model?
You can access a free CHRIST Stages Assessment by clicking here.
Also, you can read our book Journey of the Soul: A Practical Guide to Emotional and Spiritual Growth
2.) Emotional Honesty with God: Praying the Psalms
We can experience the empathy of Jesus when we pour out our emotions to him honestly. But knowing how to open the door to intimacy with Christ can be hard! The Psalms give us a model for emotional honesty with God.
Prayers of lament give us cries for deliverance and healing. They help us appeal to God’s compassionate heart.
Prayers of praise lead us to clothe life with the joy in the Lord. They articulate God’s goodness in a way that can revolutionize your perspective on life.
In this video class, Dr. Jeff McCrory, a Bible professor and pastor, gives you a practical teaching on how to pray the Psalms with Jesus.
Learning and teaching others to not just read the Psalms, but also to pray them, opens up a new world of intimacy with Christ that you will be blessed to explore.
3.) Soul Friendship: The Foundation of Spiritual Direction
Bill was surprised when his mentor, Dallas Willard, told him that one of the best spiritual direction questions was, “What is bothering you?” It seemed mundane and problem focused — not very spiritual!
But as he thought about it, he realized it was genius because empathy is the heart of effective spiritual direction and all expressions of Christian ministry and work. Everything that Jesus does is inspired by his empathetic love for people.
In this Spiritual Direction Class, Bill and Kristi show you the power of empathy in the context of soul friendship. Simply put, a soul friendship is a mutual relationship between two or more people who share their hearts and lives with vulnerability and prayerfulness.
We are excited for you to learn the fundamentals of soul friendship and discover how in your conversations and ministry you can be a holy listener who offers Jesus’ empathy, gentle wisdom, and strength to others.
Ways to Use Spiritual Direction
The ministry of spiritual direction is an ancient Christian practice. The spiritual director offers the gift of holy listening—reflecting Jesus’ love and empathy for others while providing guidance for their relationship with God.
In fact, the real director of the spiritual direction process is not the person hosting the conversation, it’s the Holy Spirit. The human director simply serves as an ambassador to the Spirit of Christ to minister God’s continual friendship (2 Cor. 5:20).
Talking and praying with a spiritual director can be helpful in many aspects of everyday life including:
- Experiencing God’s love
- Spiritually caring for children
- Engaging in soul talks with your spouse
- Praying for a hurting friend
- Becoming more effective in your ministry or work
Additionally, many choose to learn spiritual direction to develop a full-time vocation of caring for and guiding clients.
Soul Shepherding's Spiritual Direction Training Program
The trainings above come from our two year online and side-by-side spiritual direction program. We are genuinely excited to invite you into this transformational experience!
With a few hours per week of home study, an experiential rather than just academic approach, and the integration of Christ-centered psychology and spirituality, our training of Christian spiritual directors is unique.
Whether you are an at-home-parent, already have a full-time ministry, or work in the traditional workforce, learning spiritual direction is possible and will bless your life!
Our students receive training and personal experience in:
- Spiritual Formation
- Spiritual and Psychological Development
- Soul Care
- Relationally Healthy Leadership
- Ignatian Meditation
- Lectio Divina
- Breath Prayer
- Healing Prayer
- Enneagram
- And much more!
Many years of expertise in psychological development, spiritual direction, and counseling are built into these topics to help you grow in emotional-relational health, improve your skills in your current ministry, and, if desired, be equipped to start your own ministry business of providing spiritual direction for clients.
Besides training in spiritual direction and studying, we emphasize giving you experiences in an authentic Christian community for you to receive spiritual direction for yourself, experiment with soul care practices at retreats, and be mentored while you provide spiritual direction for friends or people in your ministry.
In this community, you experience:
- Semi-annual spiritual retreats
- Monthly mentoring and training webinars
- Study of selected classic and modern books
The retreats and lessons are informed by Christ-centered psychology and emphasize empathy, growing in the CHRIST stages of faith, while utilizing Soul Shepherding’s specialized tools for soul care.
Whether you are inspired to learn more for personal or professional use, we welcome you to reach out to us! Take this opportunity to join a community of Christ-centered soul shepherds like you.
The Soul Shepherding spiritual direction program currently accepts new students from March through June and you can learn more about this impactful program by clicking here or by emailing Sue@SoulShepherding.org
How is Spiritual Direction Different from Discipleship, Counseling, or Coaching?
You may be less familiar with the ministry of spiritual direction than you are with the ministries of Christian discipleship, counseling, and coaching.
While there can be areas of overlap, spiritual direction is unique.
Discipleship usually follows a program of lessons from the Bible on becoming more like Jesus.
Counseling focuses on resolving specific problems with mental health, compulsive behavior, and relational conflict.
Coaching helps leaders and other people to set and realize their goals for their life or work.
Spiritual direction, by contrast, is a conversational and prayerful relationship of seeking God together through the journeys of life. It can foster discipleship to Jesus, support emotional and relational health, and strengthen people to reach their God-inspired goals.
In the Spirit-led ministry of spiritual direction, you do not need to have all the answers — you get a front-row seat to see the Wonderful Counselor draw you and your friends closer to God’s loving presence and purposes!
