Spiritual Direction – Your Introductory Session

Practical Concerns

You should receive confirmation of your appointment after I’ve reviewed and approved your booking. The email has

• Links that make it easy to add the appointment to the online calendar you use
• Links to reschedule if needed
• The location where we’ll meet

You’ll also receive reminders by email 3 days before the appointment and 6 hours before the appointment.

If you need to reschedule your appointment, please do so within 2 days of your appointment online. If you need to reschedule later than that, please call or text me at 407-302-8081 no later than 24 hours before your appointment.

Preparing For Your Introductory Session

While every spiritual director has their own way in meeting for the first time, this is my general process.

Telling Your Faith Journey

In the first session we often begin with the story of your spiritual journey. How did it start? What spiritual experiences have shaped your life? How have you discerned God’s presence in your life? When did you feel near to God? When did you feel far from God?

Everyone’s story is unique and in process. Direction provides a safe space to explore yours.

Your Spiritual Disciplines

Prayer, service, fasting, reading and studying scripture, and worship are some of what are called spiritual disciplines. What spiritual activities do you regularly engage in? What have they been like for you?

Your Personality

Each of us are unique creations of an infinitely creative, loving God. However, over the years many wise and learned people have devised ways of seeing patterns of personality. Knowing your personality type can be useful in discerning what spiritual practices suit your type, how you relate and react to stress, and what motivates you.

I am a Myers-Briggs INXP (I test as INTP or INFP) and on the Enneagram I’m a 4. The Strengths Finder discovered that my top 3 strengths are Strategic, Ideation and Activator. If you’re familiar with those personality systems, you now have some baseline insight into how I’m wired.

Have you explored your unique personality through tests or assessments? If not, no problem. If you’re interested in how your personality and spiritual direction intersect, we can explore that together.

What’s Your Experience Of Direction?

While you may be discovering spiritual direction for the first time, you also may have experienced direction before. If you have, how was it for you? Does your prior experience bring with it questions or concerns for me?

What Are You Hoping For?

What will spiritual direction mean for you? What do you want for God to do through it? What areas of your life are opening? In what areas may you feel stuck? Are there hurts or hungers to explore?

Sometimes answering these questions can be hard, and that’s okay. We can explore that together. Sometimes getting the answers “out there” with yourself is the first step.

What Questions Do You Have?

It’s very appropriate to ask me questions, too! When seeking a direction relationship, these questions are some that are worth asking:

• What is your background in spiritual direction? Have you received formal training in direction specifically?
• What type of spiritual direction do you practice?
• Where do you attend church?
• Do you meet regularly with a director yourself?
• Do you participate in supervision? (Supervision is how spiritual directors hone the art and skill of direction)
• What are your ethical standards and position on confidentiality?

If you want to be sure you share a common understanding on certain theological issues, you can also ask about those. It’s also important to be clear about where you’ll meet and how often, and how scheduling will work.

Discerning A “Fit”

After the session, we’ll both commit to prayer and discernment about continuing to meet together in direction.