A quiet hour, once a month, to notice where God is at work in your life.
Spiritual direction in Marietta, GA and the north Atlanta suburbs. In person, or anywhere by Zoom.
The first meeting is free. After that, sessions are $40 an hour, and I have a sliding scale if that is a stretch.
Is this for you?
People come to spiritual direction for all kinds of reasons. Some are in a season where prayer feels dry and God feels far away. Some are in the middle of a transition, whether that is a new job, an empty nest, a loss, retirement, or a church that no longer fits. Some are pastors, ministry staff, or nonprofit workers who spend all week caring for other people and need to pay attention to their own spiritual life. Others have a sense that God is up to something in their life and want some help paying attention to it.
Spiritual direction is for everyone. You do not need to have your faith figured out, and you do not need to be particularly “spiritually mature.” You mostly need to be willing to show up and be honest.
What spiritual direction is
Spiritual direction is an old Christian practice. At its simplest, two people sit down together and one of them helps the other pay attention to what God is doing in their life.
The name is a little misleading. I am not going to direct you, at least not in the sense of telling you what to do. My job is to ask questions, listen well, and help notice things you might otherwise pass over, whether that is a place where you feel stuck, or something that keeps coming back to you, or a moment where you felt unusually alive. I think of God as the actual director. I am there as an extra set of ears helping to listen.
I am also careful about this. I am not going to tell you what God is saying to you. If I think I notice something, I will say so as a question, and you are free to disagree.
I was trained in the Ignatian tradition, which puts a lot of emphasis on discernment. Discernment often gets taught as a set of tools for making decisions, and it does include that, but I think that is the smaller part of it. Mostly it is about paying attention to what God is doing and saying, and to what we ourselves think and feel, so that over time we become the kind of people who can see clearly. The decisions tend to follow from that. The Ignatian tradition also assumes that God wants to speak to us.
Spiritual direction is not counseling, coaching, or pastoral care, although it overlaps a little with each of them. It is not really about fixing a problem or reaching a goal. It is about paying attention.
More about what spiritual direction is →
What to expect
We meet for about an hour, usually once a month. I think the monthly rhythm matters. Someone once told Trevor Hudson that we do not learn from experience, we learn when we reflect on experience, and a month gives you enough time to actually live and then to sit down and reflect on it with someone else.
The first meeting is mostly getting to know each other’s stories. You can ask questions about me and the process. And I will ask questions about where you grew up in faith (or didn’t), what prayer has looked like for you, how you tend to picture God, and what brought you here now. After that, each session starts wherever you are. Sometimes there is one obvious thing to talk about. Sometimes there is not, and we sit with that for a while, which is also fine.
Most people, even people who are local, end up meeting by Zoom or FaceTime because it is convenient. Meeting in person can be helpful, especially at the start. If we do meet in person, we will pick somewhere that works for both of us; a church or a library meeting room is common. I have daytime and evening hours on weekdays. If you do not see a time on the scheduler that works, email me and we will find one.
Everything you share stays between us.
About Adam
I’m Adam Shields. I have spent more than thirty years in non-profit work, most of it leading a small organization focused on prayer and community ministry. In the middle of that I spent about 10 years, first as a full-time nanny for my nieces, and then a stay-at-home dad, which does inform my ministry work. I am an ordained minister with seminary (MDiv) and graduate training (Masters in Social Service Administration), and I graduated from a graduate training program in spiritual direction through Spring Hill College in 2021.
I live in Marietta with my wife. We have been married since 1997. I have kept my old Chicago phone number, which is why it does not look local.
I read a lot, and I write about most of it at Bookwi.se, including a long-running series on discernment.
More about me → · LinkedIn · Facebook · Twitter/X
A few words from directees
Adam does a great job of setting an atmosphere of listening to God, in which the seeds of spiritual discernment can really take hold. He is very attentive and a wise counsel. I appreciate those sessions.
As a spiritual director, Adam excels in the most important part of accompanying a directee: listening. He listens deeply, and in doing so, knows how to respond with wisdom to the ebbs and flows of a person’s spiritual experience. He manages to be a knowledgeable resource on living the discerning life—fluent in both modern and ancient practice—while neither pushing a single agenda nor condescending to those of us who struggle. Because of Adam, my spiritual awareness has grown, and he has been a steadfast companion in my maturation into God’s love.
Adam is a gracious and wise spiritual director that provides thoughtful and sensitive care. I’ve found our meetings to be refreshing, grounding, and appropriately challenging. He is trustworthy and a helpful companion and guide on the spiritual journey.
Common questions
What does it cost? The first meeting is free. After that, $40 an hour, and there is a sliding scale if that is a problem.
Do I have to be a Christian? No. You do not have to have your faith figured out, and doubt is not a reason to stay away.
Is this the same as counseling? No. Counseling works on emotional and psychological difficulties. Direction is about noticing God in your life. Many people do both.
How do I start? Schedule a first conversation. There is nothing else you need to do first.
You do not have to know exactly what you are looking for. Most people don’t when they start. You just have to be willing to show up for an hour and see what happens.
Or call or text (773) 368-3793 · adam@pactconsulting.org
