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Holy Invitations: Exploring Spiritual Direction
Learn how to nurture your awareness of and response to God's love and guidance through the historical practice of spiritual direction.
288 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2000
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114 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
February 21, 2025
A comprehensive primer for those who are learning about Spiritual Direction. It is a really helpful resource for those who are at the beginning of their journey as Spiritual Directors, but may not be a resource that is referred back to very frequently.
May 13, 2022
A comprehensive resource on spiritual direction.
September 12, 2019
Using the reflection questions at the close of each chapter helped me thoughtfully apply the themes of faith stages to my own spiritual journey. In the various timelines I sketched out from my individual experience, I was able to bring some painful patterns into the light. Some are fairly current experiences with loss and disillusion, some from childhood, but the most significant as I enter spiritual direction seem to be surrounding some difficult pastoral relationships from about ten years ago. Reflecting on the lifeline of friendships I drew in response to chapter 1 in Holy Invitations, one plain observation is that relationship - specifically those formed in family and church - mark out the ebb and flow of my journey. The stalls, sputters, and carefree cruising through my faith journey are most impacted, for good or ill, by my relationships at every point throughout my life.
The other theme in my reflections is the question of trust. In chapter 4 of Holy Invitations, I answer the question, “Do you see yourself as a predominantly trusting or untrusting person?”. My answer: “There’s definitely a paradox here!” In the overview of my lifetime, trust swings like an overwound pendulum. In one season, the trust pendulum swung full-force one direction toward a wholehearted trust and belief in the best of people. In another season, the trust pendulum swung in the opposite direction toward a cautious, slow discernment before investing trust into others. When the pendulum gets stuck on the trust-at-all-costs side, I’ve lived out of an idealistic, romanticized, and boundaryless view of others. On the other extreme, I’ve operated out of a fearful, critical, hyper-vigilant suspicion of people and their motives. Neither extreme is actually a place of wholeness and openness. In the healing light of openness to the Holy Spirit’s guidance, both extremes are actually acts of relational sloth and self-protection, fueled by a kind of relational “cruise control”.
I drew this paradox into my journal as an actual line with the extremes labelled at each end, and then marked over the middle the words “Freedom to trust people appropriately”. This sort of balance of the trust pendulum is weighted by the belief that the Holy Spirit instructs and nurtures my ability to give and receive trust. He is the source of true wholeness, and will lead and protect through, and, sometimes, in spite of, my relationships with others.
In some ways this observation is the pivotal point for my entry into spiritual direction training. While my non-denominational church upbringing included many blessed opportunities to give and receive formal and informal spiritual counsel, my understanding of the classic definition of spiritual direction came through the back door of my conversion within the last ten years to the Anglican communion. This is no small order of events, as the call to Anglican worship was, in part, my response to a truncated appreciation for the historic and universal Church which permeated everything from corporate worship to individual spiritual counsel and discipleship from pastors in the non-denominational congregations I’d worshipped in for the first forty years of my life.
While the Holy Spirit’s ability to guide and heal us is not limited by our theological depth, the way we practice listening to the Spirit within our church communities impacts our Christian journey profoundly. In my experience in a church environment that preached the Gospel with clarity, but practiced it as a separate identity from the worldwide communion of saints, I found myself deeply wounded by an overemphasis on the authority and counsel of individual leaders. Even the pastors with gifts of discernment and an appreciation for the active presence of the Holy Spirit were limited in their ability to bless because there was a lack of accountability to a community of believers throughout the world and across time. I see this deeper dive into a classical understanding of spiritual direction as an important companion to my learning of the liturgy and theology of the ancient church. In the course of learning, I hope to grow deeper in a trusting communion with God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. May it be so.
The other theme in my reflections is the question of trust. In chapter 4 of Holy Invitations, I answer the question, “Do you see yourself as a predominantly trusting or untrusting person?”. My answer: “There’s definitely a paradox here!” In the overview of my lifetime, trust swings like an overwound pendulum. In one season, the trust pendulum swung full-force one direction toward a wholehearted trust and belief in the best of people. In another season, the trust pendulum swung in the opposite direction toward a cautious, slow discernment before investing trust into others. When the pendulum gets stuck on the trust-at-all-costs side, I’ve lived out of an idealistic, romanticized, and boundaryless view of others. On the other extreme, I’ve operated out of a fearful, critical, hyper-vigilant suspicion of people and their motives. Neither extreme is actually a place of wholeness and openness. In the healing light of openness to the Holy Spirit’s guidance, both extremes are actually acts of relational sloth and self-protection, fueled by a kind of relational “cruise control”.
I drew this paradox into my journal as an actual line with the extremes labelled at each end, and then marked over the middle the words “Freedom to trust people appropriately”. This sort of balance of the trust pendulum is weighted by the belief that the Holy Spirit instructs and nurtures my ability to give and receive trust. He is the source of true wholeness, and will lead and protect through, and, sometimes, in spite of, my relationships with others.
In some ways this observation is the pivotal point for my entry into spiritual direction training. While my non-denominational church upbringing included many blessed opportunities to give and receive formal and informal spiritual counsel, my understanding of the classic definition of spiritual direction came through the back door of my conversion within the last ten years to the Anglican communion. This is no small order of events, as the call to Anglican worship was, in part, my response to a truncated appreciation for the historic and universal Church which permeated everything from corporate worship to individual spiritual counsel and discipleship from pastors in the non-denominational congregations I’d worshipped in for the first forty years of my life.
While the Holy Spirit’s ability to guide and heal us is not limited by our theological depth, the way we practice listening to the Spirit within our church communities impacts our Christian journey profoundly. In my experience in a church environment that preached the Gospel with clarity, but practiced it as a separate identity from the worldwide communion of saints, I found myself deeply wounded by an overemphasis on the authority and counsel of individual leaders. Even the pastors with gifts of discernment and an appreciation for the active presence of the Holy Spirit were limited in their ability to bless because there was a lack of accountability to a community of believers throughout the world and across time. I see this deeper dive into a classical understanding of spiritual direction as an important companion to my learning of the liturgy and theology of the ancient church. In the course of learning, I hope to grow deeper in a trusting communion with God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. May it be so.
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February 26, 2013awesome resource for anybody interested either in doing soul care or wondering what it's about. I know I'll be referring to this often!
September 15, 2020
Stuff I want to remember:
Metaphors for the spiritual direction relationship:
spiritual father/mother to son/daughter
shepherd to follower
pastor to parishioner
guide to seeker
midwife to child
soul fiend to soul friend
prayer companion to prayer companion
spiritual friend to spiritual friend
"Each person is unique. People consider spiritual direction when they are
feeling restless of challenged, in transition, dealing with losses, looking for someone to share their journey who knows the new way they are feeling drawn, feeling guilty about not living up to someone's expectations, wondering if this is all there is in a satisfactory life, having new spiritual experiences, opening to God's love, exploring questions about discernment, responding to information about spiritual direction, and/or yearning for God."
"It is truly a wonderful thing to know by experience the friendship and the tenderness with which (God) treats those who go by this road and to see how he defrays, as it were, all the expenses of he journey.... That is the wonderful thing about this journey: one is given more than one ever asks or even dreams of desiring." - Teresa of Avila
"You asked for a loving God: you have one: The great spirit you so lightly invoked the 'lord of terrible aspect,' is present: not a senile benevolence that drowsily wishes you to be happy in your own way... but the consuming fire Himself, the Love that made the worlds." - C.S. Lewis
Metaphors for the spiritual direction relationship:
spiritual father/mother to son/daughter
shepherd to follower
pastor to parishioner
guide to seeker
midwife to child
soul fiend to soul friend
prayer companion to prayer companion
spiritual friend to spiritual friend
"Each person is unique. People consider spiritual direction when they are
feeling restless of challenged, in transition, dealing with losses, looking for someone to share their journey who knows the new way they are feeling drawn, feeling guilty about not living up to someone's expectations, wondering if this is all there is in a satisfactory life, having new spiritual experiences, opening to God's love, exploring questions about discernment, responding to information about spiritual direction, and/or yearning for God."
"It is truly a wonderful thing to know by experience the friendship and the tenderness with which (God) treats those who go by this road and to see how he defrays, as it were, all the expenses of he journey.... That is the wonderful thing about this journey: one is given more than one ever asks or even dreams of desiring." - Teresa of Avila
"You asked for a loving God: you have one: The great spirit you so lightly invoked the 'lord of terrible aspect,' is present: not a senile benevolence that drowsily wishes you to be happy in your own way... but the consuming fire Himself, the Love that made the worlds." - C.S. Lewis
February 13, 2021
If this hadn’t been required reading, I probably would not have read/finished it. It is a well written, exhaustive look at spiritual direction. Exhaustive... and exhausting. It was overall informative, insightful, and helpful, but overall a rather tedious read.
August 9, 2021
A very thorough exploration / study of the various aspects of spiritual direction. The book has a lot of content and is very densely typeset so takes a bit of getting through, but it does put you right in the midst of the mechanics of spiritual direction. Informative and educational.
October 1, 2019
Good introduction to spiritual direction. The latter half gets a little redundant.
March 3, 2022
Bakke gives a detailed account if what Spiritual direction is and isn't. it's a great primer if someone is considering if Spiritual direction is a good path for them.
July 24, 2022
Very interesting
April 29, 2024
Not too bad, but seems too repetitive. I think the author could make her points in half the text.
November 22, 2024
A comprehensive and rich overview of the practice of spiritual direction.
May 24, 2025
Great book if you are interested in learning more about spiritual direction.
August 30, 2025
A readable and encouraging primer on spiritual direction.
September 18, 2025
A staple “textbook” with basic definitions and ethics for spiritual directors. Quite detailed (almost annoyingly so), and perhaps most helpful for those who don’t really know what spiritual direction is as opposed to mentoring or counseling, and need a framework for the kinds of issues and structure that come along with a this unique companionship.
July 5, 2011
This is a very comprehensive, well written and wisdom filled book on Christian spiritual direction; a good reference for spiritual directors. It's also a very good introduction for those seeking spiritual direction though I would recommend Benner's Sacred Companions: The Gift of Spiritual Friendship & Direction for them over this book. Holy Invitations covers a wide variety of relevant topics and offers a valuable bibliography for exploring them in more depth. It does lack an index, which detracts somewhat from the book's usefulness as a reference, but each chapter is well outlined in the headings and subheadings making it not too difficult to find material of interest.
May 6, 2013
Book for study in my Spiritual Direction.Peer Supervision Group 2012-2013 Year. We completed our study on Thursday, May 2nd. The book is very basic for experienced Spiritual Directors, but our group decided to stick with it and try to approach it through the lens of our directees. This approach proved to be helpful. Each month we would focus on one or two of the questions at the end of each chapter and I gained much insight from the group discussions we had although I did not care for the book.
October 24, 2013
A must-read for anyone considering spiritual direction or pursuing spiritual development. The chapters on prayer and discernment are particularly good and can stand alone if that's all you have time to read.
April 3, 2014
Great place to begin. A thoughtful introduction to spiritual direction.
December 12, 2014
This is one of the best and most thorough books on spiritual direction that i've read. Extremely helpful for understanding both the dynamics and benefits of spiritual direction.
January 26, 2016
Thoughtful. Grounded. Balanced. Informative.
September 23, 2012
Required reading for my spiritual direction training
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews