Interest in spiritual direction on

Interest in spiritual direction on the part of pastoral caregivers has also been emerging. Galindo, professor of Christian education at the Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond, Virginia, offered a landmark comparison of the ways pastoral care and spiritual direction address spiritual needs and issues. Shea, professor of the Practice of Pastoral Care and Counseling at the School of Theology and Ministry, Boston College Massachusetts, presented an important discussion of the way in which each contribute to faith development. Benner has recently addressed pastoral care from the perspective of spiritual direction and vice versa. 38 There is a question concerning the relationship between spiritual direction, spiritual exploration and pastoral care. Just how different are these from each other? If appropriate images of each were assembled, would there be three distinctively different scenarios? An image of spiritual direction might start with a long, tree-lined entrance to a monastery, walked only by the occasional monk lost in prayer. As the client enters the church, the silence and smell of candles reveals God's presence. Later, while sitting with a monk, his interest is focused on how the client experiences God. The meeting may end after ten minutes, sometimes times after more than an hour. The monk seems confident that God will finish what he has begun in the client’s life.