Certificate in Spiritual Direction 

Dear friends,

​

My name is Dr. Jackie L Halstead and I am the founder and CEO of Selah Center for Spiritual Formation as well as the Director of the Certificate in Spiritual Direction. We are pleased to offer this program in conjunction with the Siburt Institute, for Church Leadership. And we are thrilled that you are sensing a call to the ministry of spiritual direction!

​

Margaret Guenther refers to the role of spiritual director as that of a midwife. We do not cause the birth but walk alongside the individual as they are in the process. Thus, it is with spiritual direction. Our role as directors is to facilitate an individual’s relationship with God. We consider our program a “non-guru” program—the true director is the Spirit. We, as directors, are there to assist in the process.

​

We seek participants whom God has given the charism of spiritual direction. In other words, people already come to you for assistance on their spiritual journey. This indicates that the gift is there--our role is to fine-tune your gift through the components of the program. As you fill out the essay questions as part of the application, the answers will assist both you and us in discerning a goodness of fit for our program.

 

The Selah Certificate in Spiritual Direction is founded on the contemplative Christian traditions. It is comprised of two primary components. First, it is crucial that we attend to our own relationship with God in preparation to work with those whom God will send us. In addition, we will spend time with the logistics of spiritual direction—how you attend to another, how to set up the space, ethical and gender issues, and supervised practice with each other. These are just a few of the seminars that are included in the residencies.

​

Look over the reading lists to understand the “flavor” of the program. The reading, along with the content of the material, is a primary component of your instruction in becoming a spiritual director.

​

Feel free to contact me if you have questions or would like to discuss the program. I look forward to discerning together with you on this important next step.

​

Grace and peace to you,

Jackie