Posted on April 18th, 2011 by Dan Burke
Spiritual friendships are invaluable to the life of a Christian and share many characteristics with spiritual direction. They differ, however, in a few very important ways. One key difference is that the emphasis of spiritual direction is the spiritual life. Spiritual friendships and mentoring relationships frequently include the spiritual life, yet they usually also have elements, activities, and interests that are peripheral (though sometimes beneficial) to the spiritual life. Another key difference is with respect to the intensity of the relationship. Again, using the personal coach analogy, most athletes would never expect to have a friendly or passive level of accountability with a personal coach. Instead, they engage with a personal coach to be challenged, pushed, and encouraged toward concrete progress. Again, the directee is ultimately in control, but when he or she seeks out a director, they are typically looking for a much higher level of accountability and direction than friendships often provide—even healthy spiritual friendships.
What do you think?
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