Presbyterian Spiritual Direction

The Reformed tradition has always taken the care of souls seriously. John Calvin wrote extensively about pastoral care. Richard Baxter urged pastors to "know your flock" and "deal personally with each soul." The Puritans saw discipleship and soul care as inseparable. Spiritual direction is not an import from another tradition — it is a recovery of what Reformed pastors were already doing centuries ago.

A Presbyterian spiritual director brings the intellectual rigor your tradition taught you, but aims it somewhere new: inward. Instead of another Bible study or theological debate, direction creates space to ask, "Where is God actually meeting me in my life right now?" It honors the Reformed conviction that God is sovereign and active, while acknowledging that we often need help paying attention to what God is doing.

Eugene Peterson — a Presbyterian pastor for nearly thirty years — wrote The Contemplative Pastor because he believed the pastoral calling had been hijacked by busyness and programs. Marjorie Thompson brought spiritual formation into Presbyterian vocabulary through her work at the Upper Room. These are Reformed voices making the case that contemplation and conviction belong together.