Personal News: My new role

Director of the London Centre for Spiritual Direction

I am delighted to have started a new role as Director of the London Centre for Spiritual Direction (LCSD). Today, the LCSD website announced my appointment with some of my story. The LCSD has nurtured spiritual direction since 1999, offering training, access to spiritual directors and ongoing development for spiritual directors.

A few years ago, I could not have foreseen how my life and vocation would be where they are today. I have experienced an unexpected emergence around leadership and identity formation with spiritual direction. I was a church planter and pastor for 25 years, and my PhD was about identity formation at the intersection of social science and theology in consumer culture. That fuelled my continuing role as a professor of leadership and lead mentor of the Doctor of Leadership at Portland Seminary. The more I teach and train leaders, the more formation and identity issues continue to emerge.

Then, an experience of the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises led to my training as an Ignatian Spiritual Director and this site to map and share my ongoing reflections and resources for Christian identity formation.

I have become convinced of the benefits of Spiritual Direction for Christians, especially leaders, in response to the current leadership crisis. I recently wrote this article about the current leadership crisis, which sets out where I think we are and what future leaders must focus on.

So, I will continue examine the nature of leadership and how leaders can thrive and navigate the complexities of our current global crises. In my additional new role with LCSD, I will explore how more people might train as spiritual directors and how others might access spiritual direction. I am excited to explore how these two roles cross-pollinate each other and help Christians in their identity in Christ and as leaders in the body of Christ.