Short-Term Spiritual Guidance
Overview
This book represents a significant departure from most contemporary writing about spiritual direction. While most writers focus on long-term relationships of guidance, specifically envisioning long listening sessions, Bidwell changes focus. Spiritual direction, he insists, typically requires intervention in a specific crisis or situation or question, is not formal, lasts fewer than five sessions, and must be actively and intentionally focused on the person's growth. Bidwell's work shows what spiritual directors can learn from the short-term therapy model, especially about enabling people briefly but effectively to ''learn to listen on their own and with others for God's presence.'' Focusing on how God is already active in the directee's life allows the participants to identify God's action and respond in ways that collaborate with that identified movement of the Spirit.
Top Highlights
“Five areas of concern frequently lead people to seek spiritual direction: union with God, imitation of Christ, methods of prayer and forgiveness, making sense of foundational experiences, and searching for meaning in life.” (Page 6)
“Emphasize people’s existing strengths and resources” (Page 29)
“Typically, two goals predominate in spiritual direction: (1) identifying God’s activity in a person’s life and (2) discerning an appropriate response. Spiritual theology includes a third, broader goal, which has various names in the tradition: union with Christ, participation in the life of God, the beatific vision, theosis or transformation into the likeness of God. Classical spiritual direction understood direction as an aid to sanctification, the gradual and active transformation of a broken, sinful person into someone holy.” (Page 31)
“the primary purpose of providing care is to deepen a person’s relationship with God.” (Page 6)
“it carries a sense of being ‘poured out’ for others” (Page 21)
In Short-Term Spiritual Guidance, Duane Bidwell. . . offers several specific interventions that the reader can use when caring for the spiritual life. He not only makes the point that, historically, most spirit care is brief but also goes on to suggest how brief spiritual direction can be done. He provides a way that ministers and concerned laypersons can offer spiritual direction that honors the person, recognizes the context of how the care is offered 'on the run,' and stays true to the historical ways spiritual direction has been offered. I think you will find his specific suggestions for how to go about care, and the specific interventions involved, very beneficial.
—Howard W. Stone
- Title: Short-Term Spiritual Guidance
- Author: Duane R. Bidwell
- Publisher: Fortress Press
- Publication Date: 2004
- Pages: 128