Phil Cole

As someone who was a pastor for 20 years, I know that there are times when pastors need to talk to someone about their own spiritual wrestling or about how to give leadership in the church or home. Where does the pastor turn to? If they go to someone in the church, they leave themselves vulnerable in a way that could jeopardize their job. As your spiritual director I will provide you with the opportunity to talk to someone who understands the life of a pastor and the dynamics of church leadership.

What are my credentials?

• To begin with I have 20 years’ experience as a pastor in an evangelical Baptist church.
• I have also completed training in Transitional Leadership – which focuses on assisting churches who are between pastors. The primary goals are to help the church grieve their loss and then to discover who they are as a church as well as determine what strengths in a pastor would best serve them in the future. The flip side to this training is how to assist a pastor in finding a good fit in a church.
• I have a degree in counselling from Providence Seminary
• I am a certified Spiritual Director, trained to help someone who is struggling spiritually to become more connected in their relationship with God
• I have tried and proven methods for introducing Spiritual Formation exercises to an evangelical congregation, which I would be pleased to share with you.