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    Sacred Companions: The Gift of Spiritual Friendship Direction
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    Sacred Companions: The Gift of Spiritual Friendship Direction
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    Sacred Companions: The Gift of Spiritual Friendship Direction
    Ebook340 pages6 hours

    Sacred Companions: The Gift of Spiritual Friendship Direction

    By David G. Benner and Larry Crabb

    4/5

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    About this ebook

    ECPA Gold Medallion Finalist

    We need companions on our spiritual journey.

    The modern world has taught us to value autonomy and individualism. Our churches often see spirituality as personal and private. But we cannot go long in our Christian pilgrimage before realizing that isolation leads to spiritual barrenness. We soon discover that our souls long for accompaniment, intimacy and spiritual friendship. As a result, many Christians today are rediscovering the ancient practice of spiritual direction.

    In this inviting guide, David G. Benner introduces readers to the riches of spiritual friendship and direction, explaining what they are and how they are practiced. Spiritual direction moves beyond mere moral lifestyle accountability and goes deeper than popular notions of mentoring or discipling. Through prayerful, guided attunement to God's activity, sacred companions provide care for the soul.

    If we are to experience significant spiritual formation and growth, our souls must be nurtured through spiritual companions. Benner, well-accustomed to God's work through relationships, models the kind of traveling companion who can move us toward deeper intimacy with God.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherIndependent Publishers Group
    Release dateAug 20, 2009
    ISBN9780830876808
    Author

    David G. Benner

    David G. Benner (PhD, York University) is an internationally known depth psychologist, transformational coach and author whose life passion has been helping people walk the human path in a deeply spiritual way and the spiritual path in a deeply human way. Some of his books include Presence and Encounter, Spirituality and the Awakening Self, Sacred Companions and Soulful Spirituality.

    Read more from David G. Benner

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    Reviews for Sacred Companions

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    • 4/5
      Sacred Companions
      by David G. Benner
      InterVarsity Press (2002)


      Description of the Book
      Sacred Companions describes spiritual friendship and spiritual direction for the contemporary Christian who wishes to be intentional about growing in their Christian life. Benner writes as a psychologist and a spiritual director, specifically aiming to describe these ancient practices to protestant Christians for whom the practices are new and unfamiliar.

      Interpretation of the Book
      The book is organized in three major sections. The first describes spiritual friendship, an intentional relationship in which spiritual growth is a stated goal. The second section focuses on spiritual direction, and the third section outlines specific scenarios combining friendship and direction, for small groups and in marriages.

      The author writes comfortably, providing an approachable environment for Christians of all backgrounds who wish to grow in fruitfulness and seek spiritual accompaniment as the means to help them. Benner lightly references his background as a psychologist, but focuses more on his (mostly self-trained) spiritual direction practice. He introduces classic practices such as centering prayer and the Ignatian Examen, usually by telling stories of his experience as a director or a directee.

      Application
      This may be the friendliest, most approachable book available on the art of spiritual direction.

      It strongly prefers the approach of spiritual direction to more general spiritual friendship, but makes only passing reference to the Celtic approach of anamchara, or soul friendship. The last section’s discussion of spiritual accompaniment in small groups is intriguing, and the author has great hopes for this blend of spiritual friendship and the small group movement. I found myself wanting more information on this subject. He also writes from his experience working with his wife in bi-directional spiritual direction.

      I must also note here that the book’s hidden gem is its 28-page annotated bibliography, organized by topics and referencing current and classic works in related fields. This section of the book would be worth the cover price, even if the book were disappointing.
    • 5/5
      A well-written thorough discussion on the topic of spiritual companionship and spiritual direction - a truly excellent place to start and better understand what it all is.
    • 5/5
      Recently, I’ve started getting interested in the Spiritual Direction, so I picked up this book. I expected it to be a practical book about how to give spiritual direction. And, I’m glad to say that I was not disappointed.Dr. Benner gives us two paths of “Spiritual Accompaniment”: spiritual friendship (which is informal) and spiritual direction (which is more formal). He also gives useful examples (even transcripts of actual sessions) and general principles which are quite informative for anyone considering pursuing spiritual direction, either as director or directee. My favorite chapters are probably the last two, though. Here, he considers placing spiritual accompaniment in two specific contexts. First, there is the small group. His chapter here outlines the use of the Lectio Divina (a form of devotional reading for those who are less familiar with it) in fostering deep spiritual sharing in a small group rather than simply using a small group for fellowship or Bible study. Second, there is marriage. Sadly, many marriages, even if successful, lack spiritual content, and Dr. Benner offers ideas of how actively pursuing spiritual friendship and direction with your spouse can be a relationship which draws you together spiritually.Sacred Companions is written for someone who is relatively new to spiritual accompaniment, and as such is written with relatively little jargon. Also, he includes an extensive topical list of suggestion for further reading on a number of topics, from prayer to Lectio to spiritual direction and theology.If you’re looking for a book that’s a good introduction to spiritual accompaniment, then this is a book I would certainly recommend.