Lacy Finn Borgo holds a Doctor of Ministry degree in Leadership and Spiritual Formation and teaches classes on spiritual direction at Portland Seminary and other institutions across the country. Lacy also provides spiritual direction for children at Haven House, a transitional housing facility for homeless families. Her latest book, Spiritual Conversations with Children: Listening to God Together, is available now. Lacy is married and has two teenage daughters.
Key Questions on Spiritual Direction for Lacy Finn Borgo
-Why are children more open and receptive to God’s presence than adults are?
-How can we approach ministry to children in light of their receptivity to God?
-What does a “listening companion” do for a child?
-Why is it important for adults to share their authority with children, and how can we help mitigate this power dynamic?
Key Quotes on Spiritual Direction from Lacy Finn Borgo
“Every human being is born, wired even, for connection.”
“God has longed every person into existence…We all live because God wants us to. And so that wanting, God’s wanting us, is really the reason why [children] are open and ready.”
“We have historically wanted children to ‘think’ themselves into a relationship with God.”
“What helps people stay in relationship over a long term? It’s experience. It’s having an encounter with someone. It’s not really having information about them.”
“Children have all of what they need to have an encounter with God. Everything they need.”
“Jesus makes a radical move in pulling a child in among them…He includes children in ministry!”
“Children wield an innocence that captivates adults.”
“In our world, children and young people are flooded with everyone else telling them what to do.”
“When we listen to them and we mirror back to them what we’re hearing them say, whether we like it or not, we help them hear themselves.”
“God cares deeply what their deepest desires are because those deepest desires are where his longing are for them.”
“When we listen and when we ask specific questions that help children reflect on their life with God, we help them to hear God.”
“Let God be the hero of their lives.”
“When we shift power to a child, that helps them to know it’s safe.”
“As we listen to children, can we have a sense of wonder?”
“There’s lots and lots of ways to help children to project their inner life outward so that we can catch a glimpse of it.”
“We have to remember that [our children’s] relationship to God is theirs. And it is an invitation to us as adults to begin to ask the question, ‘Lord, how much do I actually trust you?’”
