SPIRITUAL DIRECTOR
Lori Tate
Spiritual Director and Founder of Soul Dig
ABOUT ME
Hi my name is Lori Tate.
“I help people live the rich and meaningful life they desire by teaching them to listen and trust their inner voice. I am a spiritual director.”
I am in love with my Father, His Son and Spirit.
I am a life-long learner.
I am continually awed by God and His creation.
I love to play in the dirt!
I am a mother, gardener, cook, wife and an emerging artist.
“I am thoroughly committed to living your way,” (Psalm 119.66 MSG)
For years I tried to get closer to God. I read my Bible, prayed, gave to others, served at church. Despite all my efforts to show God my love for him, I often felt angry and/or empty. Whatever I did was not enough. When I struggled with an eating disorder, I “just knew” that if I could love God more, everything would be OK and I would no longer feel the way I did. I feared that this was all the Christian life offered, a cycle of striving, failure, guilt, anger and then trying again, but harder.
By the grace of God I connected with a group of people who began to teach me about the Holy Spirit and the “unforced rhythms of grace” (Matt. 11.28 MSG). I learned that I could not transform myself, or anyone else for that matter. What I could do is create the conditions in which spiritual transformation takes place, by developing and maintaining a rhythm of spiritual practices that keep me open and available to God. (Ruth Haley Barton)
I have a bachelor’s degree in Art & Design from Grand Valley State University, as well as a Masters of Art in Christian Education from Asbury Theological Seminary. I earned a Doctorate of Ministry in Spiritual Direction & Formation through the Graduate Theological Foundation via Dominican Center of Marywood, Grand Rapids, Michigan. Over the last 20 years I have served in various kids’ ministries at Ginghamsburg United Methodist Church in Tipp City, Ohio; Westwinds Church in Jackson, Michigan and The Gathering Place –a faith-based early childhood education center – in Toledo, Ohio.
I am a member of Spiritual Directors International, as well as the Jackson Area Spiritual Directors Association.
As a tool of personal transformation I have studied Enneagram: The Discernment of Spirits by Richard Rohr, as well as attended lectures given by Enneagram gurus, Dr. Jerry Wagner, Dr. Beatrice Chestnut, Russ Hudson, Tom Condon and Mario Sikora. I earned my certification with IEA Professional Accredited practitioner, Rev. Clare Loughrige, in Motions of the Soul, which integrates the Enneagram with St. Ignatius’ discernment process (2017). I also received my certification with Dr. Jerry Wagner for The Enneagram Spectrum of Personality Styles in July 2018.
For community, personal growth and accountability, I meet monthly with my personal spiritual director and a group of spiritual directors for peer supervision. I expanded my spiritual direction experience with a 2-week practicum in retreat direction training with Dominican Sister Nancy Brousseau (2013).
Lori Tate, DMin
Spiritual Director and Accredited Enneagram Teacher
Soul Dig
What is Soul Dig?
WHAT IS SOUL DIG?
The benefits of meeting with a spiritual life coach or a spiritual director are it . . .
– leads you to a deeper love and acceptance of God and yourself
– cultivates inner peace, and a gentleness with yourself and others
– strengthens your confidence in God and yourself
– brings greater clarity and perspective, meaning and purpose in your life
We grow in our relationship with Jesus through many different practices such as…
– Attend church service
– Study the Bible, alone or in community
– Serve other people
– Participate in a small group
– Listen to Christian music
– Journal, etc.
All of these practices are valuable to your spiritual growth. Sometimes we participate more in one area than another, or maybe an activity has fizzled out and lost its appeal.
No matter where you may be in this season of spiritual growth if you a desire to deepen your relationship with the Holy, to move beyond where you are and fully seek Him with all your heart, mind and soul, spiritual direction may be beneficial to you. The fact that you have felt a longing for Jesus is an indication that He is calling out to you. Your desire for God is His desire for you.
Jesus said in Matthew 11.28 (The Message) “Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest . . . work, walk and watch how I do it. . . . learn the unforced rhythms of grace.”
Perhaps at this season in your life you are ready to explore meeting with a spiritual life coach or spiritual director. This is your invitation. Ask the Spirit how you should respond.
Resources
My favorite resources for Spiritual Practice
Lectio 365
APP
Lectio 365 guides users through guided prayers and reflections with poems, scripture, and prose. They use meditative music and times of silence for you to just be still with the Lord. The app has a function for you to set a time in the morning and in the evening to remind you to be still with the Lord and follow their guided meditation which takes 10-13 minutes.
Pray As You Go
WEBSITE & APP
Pray As You Go is a daily prayer session website and app, designed to go with you wherever you go, to help you pray whenever you find time, but particularly whilst travelling to and from work, study, etc. A new prayer session is produced every day of the working week and one session for the weekend. It is not a “Thought for the Day,” a sermon, or a bible study, but rather a framework for your own prayer. Lasting between ten and thirteen minutes, it combines music, scripture and some questions for reflection.
The Bible Project
WEBSITE & APP
BibleProject We believe the Bible as a unified story that leads to Jesus. The Bible Project has created overview videos for every book of the Bible, as well as podcasts, blogs, classes, and educational Bible resources to help make the biblical story accessible to everyone everywhere.
You can locate their videos on YouTube, as well as their website. Heaven and Earth is one of Lori’s favorite. Check it out.
The Bible Project is a nonprofit, crowdfunded organization and everything they produce is 100% free.
Jackson's First Presbyterian Church
Director of Spiritual Formation
Lori coordinates spiritual formation opportunities at the church. Spiritual growth takes place over time in the context of community and we need each other for encouragement and “reality checks.” Serving others is also an integral part of our spiritual growth and journey.
Lori has helped people live the meaningful, rich life they desire by teaching them to listen and trust the Spirit’s voice. She also provides spiritual formation teachings, retreats and Enneagram training. Lori is a spiritual director and an Accredited Professional Enneagram teacher.
She also has a strong heart and experience with children’s ministry and spiritual practice with children.
Crossroads School of Spiritual Direction
Faculty
ABOUT CROSSROADS SCHOOL OF SPIRITUAL DIRECTION
Current Cohort Began In January 2024
A Hybrid (online and in-person) School of Spiritual Direction, that begins with an intensive Enneagram training and certification.
CSR: SCHOOL OF SPIRITUAL DIRECTION IS DESIGNED TO:
- Ground you in traditions and practices: Good News of Christ, Ancient and Contemporary Texts and Spiritual practices, Enneagram Harmony Triads
- Provide ways for you to individualize your learning experience based on your Enneagram Harmony triad style (Intellectual (IQ), Emotional (EQ), and Instinctual/Gut (GQ) intelligence): to fulfill our mandate to love God with our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love our neighbors as ourselves.
- Equip and empower you as leaders and spiritual directors to bring healing and wholeness to individuals and communities, to fulfill the Mission of Christ in the world. We prepare leaders and spiritual directors trained in professional listening skills for adults and children at every psychological and spiritual age and stage. Core Faculty consist of Christian Spiritual Directors, able to sit with others around a variety of issues including vocational calling, faith crisis, poverty, racism, church division, sexual/domestic violence, and other societal ills. Adjunct Faculty brings a diverse expertise from psychology, business and faith.
Lori not only serves on faculty with CSR, but was also a founding member in 2022.
