Forming The Leader's Soul: An Invitation to Spiritual Direction

Forming the Leader’s Soul: An Invitation to Spiritual Direction encourages Christian leaders to recover the much-needed ancient discipline of spiritual direction as a pathway to nurture spiritual and emotional health amid the challenges of leading a ministry. Many Christian leaders are finding the nature of ministry to be unsustainable in today’s culture, and are searching for help. They realize their initial enthusiasm and ministry training are simply not enough to reach the finish line. Leaders are discovering spiritual direction as a proven pathway to recover spiritual life and the sustainable ministry that follows. Several years ago spiritual direction was almost unheard of in the Protestant world. Today, this ministry is referred to in articles and books as well as highlighted at conferences. This book seeks to give the reader a starting point from which to explore the ministry of spiritual direction. It offers an inside look at the history, theological foundation, and the praxis of this spiritual discipline creating a desire for further exploration and participation. The author seeks to strengthen the reader’s appreciation of spiritual direction by drawing upon the his own experience as a pastor for over three decades. He uses his personal journey into spiritual direction (both as a directee and director) as a window and an invitation to discover more. Each chapter ends with a short, real-life story from a leader who participates in spiritual direction.

Morris Dirks spent 18 years as the lead pastor in two churches. Through it all he experienced the spiritual and emotional challenges that are connected to leadership. During a particularly difficult season he sought out a spiritual director and entered his journey into a deeper understanding of the value of this discipline in the life of the leader. In 2006 Dirks founded SoulFormation, a nonprofit organization committed to the spiritual and emotional health of leaders in Christian ministry. It was birthed out of an ever-increasing awareness of the intense challenges faced by pastors and other Christian leaders. SoulFormation seeks to provide support and resources needed to assist leaders by offering one-to-one spiritual direction, spiritual formation retreats, and conferences. Three full-time staff with extensive leadership backgrounds and influence serve on the SoulFormation team. Morris now works across denominational and organizational lines. He has spoken at key events from coast to coast including keynoting at conventions. Additionally he has spoken at missionary leadership events in various countries around the world. Morris holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Regina (1976), a Master of Divinity from The Canadian Theological Seminary (1983), and a Doctorate in Leadership and Spiritual Formation from George Fox University (2007). Morris is married to Ruth manages a private counseling practice. They live in Portland, Oregon.