Even after leaving the church I had planted to begin an ordinary working life, I spent ten years trying to hold on to my standing as an ordained pastor, and my denomination's regional council watched over that journey with me. In the end, though, after a period without an assigned pulpit that exceeded what my denomination allows, I automatically lost my ordination in 2026, and I now live as a Christian without an official title. And yet, watching over and caring for one another's hearts and everyday lives, together with my neighbours, remains — unchanged — the largest theme of my life.
While my own Christian perspective and upbringing are deeply woven into who I am, I do not sense that God is confined within any single religious tradition or institution. I trust that God is the One who first approaches and walks alongside every person, within their own life and story. Therefore, spiritual direction is not about directing someone toward a specific Christian or evangelical path; rather, it is a companionship that helps each person experience a deeper relationship with God within their own lived experience.
I seek to avoid defining people by ideologies, identities, or social categories. Instead, I honour each person as a unique being created in the image of God. In this light, differences in gender, background, faith tradition, and life experience are never boundaries for exclusion or judgement; rather, I sense that they are the diverse places where God is already at work.
At present, however, I am focusing my practice of spiritual direction specifically on men. For a long time, I have observed that safe, conversational spaces where men can freely share their inner lives are remarkably rare. I sense that walking alongside them is the path I am called to dedicate myself to right now.
My hope is not to change or fix anyone, but simply to look together and listen to the work of God that has already begun and is flowing within them.