Jesus said, “When you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen.” Spiritual direction is a prayerful conversation where I join you in paying attention to the secret, hidden work of God in your life.
Our tendency is to look for God exclusively in the spectacular and transcendent moments of life, but in reality, God is always with us. God’s grace is always coming to us. And God’s Spirit speaks to us in a variety of ways through the experiences of our ordinary lives. Learning to listen to God in spiritual direction typically involves paying attention to the hopes and fears, desires and dreams, and the frustrations and failings of our everyday journeys. When we do this, we enter deeper into the experience of God at work in and through us. I feel privileged to be able to sit with people in this sacred space with God.
Here’s a little bit about my journey with God. I grew up in Minnesota. I studied engineering in Boston, and then worked as an engineer in Chicago. I spent a year as a missionary in Malawi. I met my wife and got married while in seminary at Gordon-Conwell where I earned an MDiv. Then, we returned to the Minneapolis area to start a church in 2009. It was this endeavor that awakened in me an awareness of my deep need to discover God in the ordinary mundane moments of everyday life. Spiritual direction was the primary place where I learned how to do this.
I began offering spiritual direction to others while I pastored at New City Covenant Church. I graduated from a Spiritual Direction training program called Selah offered by Leadership Transformations. In 2021, I transitioned into a full-time spiritual formation and spiritual direction work at Restoration Ministries. I write a monthly newsletter on Substack called, Begin With Prayer.
If you are looking for a spiritual director or someone who can journey with you as you seek God, please fill out the Contact John page. I’d love to explore with you how I might be able to help you seek God in your life.