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What exactly is spiritual direction?

aphekah — 2006-10-26T21:47:17Z

What exactly is spiritual direction? I have heard about it a bit, and I know some people who are going through it right now, but I am not sure they even know exactly what it is! Could someone explain to me what it entails, and how it is different than counseling?

dark night of the soul

Tillman — 2009-02-17T19:09:37Z

I am wondering about other people's experiences with dark night of the soul. For years, my place in the body of Christ has been an intercessor. This fall, suddenly my experiences in prayer changed and felt disconnected. Fortunely, I know that God does not leave me nor forsake me, but it my spirit, I feel alone. It is not like a dry space, but deeper somehow. I have been reading "The Dark Night of the Soul"- St. John of the Cross, and various others who mention it in their writings. I wondered if this is a thing to depend on God's grace being sufficient and ride it out, do deep soul searching and look for cleansing, look for evil influences and rebuke them, or all the above?

Community Growth

kcstrobel — 2006-10-26T17:52:55Z

This is more of a question for continuing dialogue more than anything else, but I just wanted to throw out the question of community growth. What could it look like to have a community of people growing spiritually without giving up any of the classic Christian marks of a church? I'm not totally against giving those up, but it seems like the first question should include those things, things like biblical preaching, understanding of creeds, etc. Is there something fundamentally wrong with our model of church, or are we just missing an essential element to it?, may be the best way to ask this question. Any thoughts?

The Call - Lou Engel

pgfpdwife — 2007-09-10T23:53:24Z

My sister recently got herself involved in this movement called THE CALL...it was started by a guy named Lou Engel. Has anyone had any experience with this movement and or Lou Engel? The more I read the more I am having some cognitive dissonance about the entire situation. Prayer is obviously a great discipline to have, but I think that this guy is of the boat a little. Any thoughts? Side note...cults....how and when is it appropriate to step in when you see a loved one being sucked in to a spiritual crisis in the form of a cult?

prayer exercises

Tillman — 2009-03-15T03:39:02Z

Thank you for the prayer exercises. I am new to Metamorpha, so just recently found them in the guidance section. I have been blessed by opening myself to the Holy Spirit through them.

Sexuality and spiritually

In His Grip — 2006-11-27T19:35:26Z

I am interested in a dialog regarding the tie between spirituality and sexuality. I remember reading research indicating that the same part of the brain triggers both and this makes sense as both are of the most intimate nature. Both are sacred territory that must be handled with reverence and discernment. I find when I am moving in my spiritual journey- my sexuality travels with me. I am sometimes confused by the direction it takes. Any thoughts.In His Grip,

Meditation and Consciousness Post Deleleted

kcstrobel — 2009-10-17T08:21:15Z

I was made aware of a post on meditation and "altered states of consciousness" and made the decision to delete the post. I wanted to explain why here. We came to believe that it was best for the Metamorpha community and because we did not want to come across as backing this kind of practice. We do not want to de-emphasize meditation as a central Christian practice, but want to highlight that it must be conceived of as a distinctively Christian practice, and therefore has nothing to learn from other religions. As a Christian practice, meditation fundamentally concerns God's work of self-revelation in Christ. Christ was, is and is to come the object of our meditation because in Christ we have God unveiling Himself to us. Therefore, we know the Father as we know Christ, and Jesus was so concerned to explain in the Gospel of John. While our prayer lives may lead to certain kinds of experience, the Protestant traditions have focused on those being integrated. In other words, our understanding is not bypassed in the process - but is engaged fully. Jonathan Edwards, for instance, as arguably the foremost thinker of Evangelical Spirituality focused on the Spirit's enlightening and revealing work on the heart - which for him was an integration of the understanding and the will of a person. If we lose this component, we open ourselves up to a variety of other things, some of which may be merely biological, but also, very possibly, Satanic. We have to be cautious concerning our ability to discern these things well - and we know that Satan will dress himself as an angel of light. I was worried about this post particularly because of the "altered states of consciousness" description which seems to borrow from other meditative traditions and thereby undermine the distinctively Christian aspect of Christian meditation. Likewise, the Christian Spiritual tradition (as far as I can tell) focused on experiences only insofar as they turned you back to God's love for you in Christ. One of the reasons for this is that experience of any kind of incredibly hard to discern, and could very well become the focus of your search, thereby becoming idolatrous. Think of the transfiguration - they were led, literally, to a mountaintop to only then be brought to the reality of their lack of faith. Calvin, helpfully, notes that we have only really seen God when we immediately turn back to ourselves and our entire need for that God - knowledge of God leads to knowledge of our desperate need for Him, in Christ. Thank you for your time. I hope this helps explain my concerns a bit, and I hope that you will continue to turn your minds and hearts to God in Christ, praying that the Spirit will open you to God's love in Christ. Blessings, kyle

Looking for a name of ministry

Eric — 2009-08-30T02:13:49Z

Was trying to remember the name of a protestant ministry about prayer and contemplation prayer. He focused on the scripture "the hope and glory Christ in you". If that makes any since at all.

Lucid Visuals

Eric — 2009-08-04T03:02:24Z

I know that sounds like a wierd thread name but hey I don't know what to call it. I was wondering what do you guys do to go past those times when you start to get visuals in your meditation. I just try to focus past them but they still come. They can be distracting to me I want to follow them to full fledge dreaming which serves no purpose at all for spiritual growth far as I am conern. I think the only way to get rid of them is to keep my eyes slightly open to so they won't appear at all. I know this isn't such a spiritual question but It is something that is happening for me all long time. Also how has this affected your sleep. Do any of you do forms of meditation in the morning or evening before bed. How does it effect your sleep? Thanks for listening. God BLess you ALL as you seek HIs face.

Metamorpha Blog

jdgoggin — 2009-07-26T21:07:21Z

Hello all. Many of you have been a part of the Metamorpha community since the beginning and we are so blessed to have journeyed with you for the past couple of years. We look forward to continuing on the way with you. We wanted to encourage you to join our latest venture and continue to dialogue with others about the spiritual life as you have in the forums at 'http://www.metamorphablog.com/'>http://www.metamorphablog.com/. Peace be with you, Jamin Goggin

Psalm 62

RichJ — 2009-07-16T16:01:42Z

I have found meditation on Psalm 62 to be a huge benefit to my own sense of God's peace and finding a place of rest in Him. The psalm begins with a truth statement about where our souls find rest (v.1). But then later in v.5 there is a subtle shift as the psalmist meditates with self-talk. The truth that was "out there" becomes the truth that is internalised within through self-talk and meditation. I think that as we surrender to the Holy Spirit in this process God is able to make the truth part of our inner world and we can therefore begin to experience more of God's peace and rest from our inner core. This place of rest and peace within creates a wide and open place within in which the Spirit of God can access our inner-world and we can experience the indwelling presence of God in greater measure. This has been my experience. Anybody got some thoughts on psalm 62 or how you understand the process of Christian meditation in Scripture?

Is Spiritual Formation Intrinsic to Nurturing Your Spirit?

Secret Agent WD40 — 2009-05-23T07:46:53Z

Hello everyone. I'm new to the forum but I'm excited about the opportunity to connect with others who are like minded. Does our new, born again spirits need nurturing, food, cultivating, support, comfort, exercise, etc? Do they have a position, authority, inclinations or tendencies? What is their base or make-up? Do they grow? Is growth measurable? What is our spirit's capacity? Do they hear, see, smell, think, feel, taste, touch? What impact is worship intended to have on our spirits? What impact is prayer intended to have upon our spirits? What impact is the Word intended to have on our spirits? What impact is fellowship intended to have on our spirits? What is our spirits impact on life? What is their impact on the soul? What is their impact on other spirits? What is their impact on the body? What are they like when they are 'infants'? What does it mean to be blessed with 'every spiritual blessing'? What are our spirits like when they are growing? What are they like when they are reaching maturity? What is their natural capacity for perception? What happens when they are impacted by Life Himself? By Grace Himself? By Holiness Himself? By Love Himself? By HIs Presence? What is their impact on Spiritual Formation? I've been a Christian since the early 80s and I am only recently putting these questions to God... The walk for my spirit presently seems like an incubator or a womb full of life giving elements yet simultaneously I am experiencing continuous heathing crying because of the pain within me yet it is from a prayerful posture... Over the years I have focused so much on my mind, soul, and body (even in church) to the point that I've practically starved my spirit. I am now refocusing my efforts on my spirit as God is Spirit and I believe He has a proper order of things and wants me to be spiritually formed (with soul & body to be in agreement) vs. being soul formed or body formed. Given that my mind, soul and body have already been significantly formed in the likeness of my old spirit or "the old man" the experience of transformation or 'metamorpha' has been nothing short of a grueling Olympic Team style wrestling match. I feel like a butterfly stuggling to come out of the cocoon... I would greatly appreciate any dialogue, thoughts, experiences, and prayers. God bless you in your walk!

Books on Spiritual Formation

matthewjmichael — 2009-07-24T19:37:22Z

Greetings, I've just heard about Metamorpha, linked from InterVarsity Press' Formatio series of books. Lately I've been reading a bit on Spiritual Formation and would love to hear some suggestions on books to read. Recently I've read the following: Soul Feast (Thompson), Invitation to a Journey (Mulholland), Revolution of Character (Willard), and I read some time ago Foster's Celebration. I also plan on reading Peterson's Eat This Book. Any other suggestions? Looking forward to reading through the forum! Take care! Matthew Michael http://kneltdown.wordpress.com/

Protestant Spiritual Theology

kcstrobel — 2006-10-26T17:57:27Z

Since Spiritual Theology is generally considered to be a 'Catholic' practice, that is now being approached by Protestant thinkers, I was wondering what are the key differences (if any) to the general approaches? I am curious because I wonder if in trying to subsume this kind of theology in the various theological traditions if we could possibly lose the essential elements of what Catholic theologians have deemed 'spiritual theology.' I guess the follow up question would be, 'What are those essential elements?', and possibly 'What makes spiritual theology different from, say, a study of sanctification?

spiritual autobiography

davebayne — 2008-08-06T12:50:53Z

I am looking to guide our community in a process of writing a spiritual autobiography. I wonder if anyone out there has any resources to suggest? Thanks!

How does one get a spiritual director or mentor?

APilgrim — 2006-11-13T19:15:16Z

Could someone please offer some instruction on how to get a spiritual director or mentor? What qualifications should that person have? Should one request references? How does one find such a person if, say, one's church is not actively involved in spiritual formation activities?

The legitimacy/illegitimacy of spiritual phenomena

anyoldname — 2009-06-15T10:59:20Z

I have a curious question that I would be interested in getting feedback on. I became a Christian after having spent some time pursuing eastern spiritual paths. Through such pursuits, I experienced certain spiritual phenomena that is not discussed in the Bible, but is discussed in various eastern paths. For example, I have had experiences of chakras, which is a Hindu concept. I question that I consider is whether as a Christian I should reject the belief in such phenomena, like chakras, or not? Since it is not explicated in the Bible, some times I think that I should reject such experiences and pray for God to take them away. On the other hand, I recognize that logically speaking, the belief in certain spiritual phenomena can easily be a neutral thing, in the sense that it does not imply acceptance of the over-arching philosophy. One could, for example, believe in the existence of chakras and still be a very committed, Biblically-centric Christian. Any thoughts?

"I've composed and quieted my soul..."

Secret Agent WD40 — 2009-05-24T00:45:05Z

This is from Psalm 131. Has any one had experience with this chapter? Any thoughts on it?

Reading through "Metamorpha: Jesus as a Way of Life"

Alison — 2007-04-19T22:12:52Z

Welcome to the Metamorpha book thread! We're reading one chapter a week in Kyle's book, doing the curriculum on our own, and coming here to discuss our questions, insights, and lessons learned. Some of us are blogging about the experience, too, using the blogmap ideas in the curriculum. To see a list of all participating blogs, go to 'http://alisonstrobel.blogspot.com/' target=_blank>alisonstrobel.blogspot.com'http://alisonstrobel.blogspot.com '> and look for the Metamorpha link list.Chapter 1Our Need: A NewWay of SeeingI think the thing that struck me most in this chapter came right towards the beginning: the idea that conversion is not the END but the BEGINNING of spiritual formation. Entering into a relationship with God is just the first step on the journey. I know--duh, huh? :) Well, what can I say, I'm dense sometimes. Anyway--what about you? What struck you most in this chapter? In terms of the curriculum, the question about thinking of 5 beliefs that are rooted in your worldview was the most revealing exercise for me. I think I've always held to the idea that 'God helps those who help themselves,' even though there's not necessarily any Scriptural support for that concept. (I don't think there is, that is--anyone know for sure?) I was raised with a strong work ethic, and I think maybe that's where it comes from--the idea that you need to work, you need to do your part so that God doesn't think you're sitting back and letting him do all the heavy lifting. And I've always said that I'm not legalistic, but when I really think about it, I think I am: when I don't do a quiet time, or a week goes by without me cracking open my Bible, or I skip church, I feel like God's counting demerits to my account and I'm going to have to work really hard to make up for it. What about you: what question in the curriculum really stood out to you?

Our Journeys

Jackie — 2007-05-20T04:36:27Z

Hi, I am new to Metamorpha. I was hoping that this might be a place to share our 'stories' on the journey to Christlikeness. I would love to hear from others about where they have been along the way. In the past year I have found myself in a difficult place where God has felt very far away. I have questioned the reality of everything I have believed, been told to be careful I don't lose my faith. Questioned who I know God to be and asked what is the difference between faith and delusion. The bottomline for me has been that there IS no where else to go but to God. Life without Him is ten times worse than life with Him. I am believing that He will lift the fog in His time and in the meantime I am holding on. Anyone read Nouwen's Return of the Prodigal Son? I'd love to interact with someone about it Jackie