Q&A with Lee Jarrell, Presenter for Dec. 1-2 Spiritual Direction Workshop at Perkins
Twelve-step programs such as Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous have helped millions of people achieve healthier, happier lives through sobriety. The 12 Step concept can also help people as they undergo spiritual direction, according to Lee Jarrell, a spiritual director and supervisor. He’s leading a workshop on “Using the 12 Steps of Recovery in Spiritual Direction,” December 1-2 on the campus of Perkins.
Lee Jarrell lives in Katy, Texas. He has served as a pastor in nondenominational and Protestant churches in the Dallas area and in College Station, Texas. Perkins Perspective spoke with Jarrell for a preview of his program. Here are excerpts.
Perspective: Can you talk a little about the spiritual aspect of 12 Step programs?
Jarrell: I’ll use alcoholism as an example because alcoholism is my addiction of choice which drove me into the world of 12 Step recovery programs. After only three weeks in Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.), I was told that alcoholism was not my real problem. Alcoholism was just a symptom of my real problem. The Big Book, the basic text of A.A., explains that our real problem is a kind of heart-centered problem, an inherent self-centeredness, that only has a spiritual solution.
In recent decades, we’ve learned about how substances can affect brain chemistry, and the paradigm has shifted toward labeling substance addiction as a medical condition. How does spirituality factor into that?
Yes, in the previous few decades the medical community has explained and shown us how our brain chemistry is affected by alcoholism and many other addictions, as well. And thankfully in our world today, the right doctors and medications can help address those chemical imbalances. But, in my experience, addressing brain chemistry alone usually does not fix the problem. The problem is heart-centered and requires a spiritual solution.
People associate the 12 Steps with substance abuse, but you’re casting a wider net. Can you talk about the types of situations or concerns that directees might bring to spiritual directors, in addition to substance abuse?
The net I’m hoping to cast concerns the subject of addictions, which include different substances as well as behaviors. In the workshop, I’ll be referencing Dr. Gerald May’s excellent book: Addiction and Grace: Love and Spirituality in the Healing of Addictions. May defines an addiction as “any compulsive, obsessive, or habitual behavior that enslaves the freedom of a person’s will and desire.” Or, to put it another way, on a spiritual level, addiction fills in the space where God’s love and grace could be flowing. As May writes, “Addiction is the most powerful psychic enemy of humanity’s desire for God.”
We tend to think of 12 Step programs as group activities, whereas spiritual direction is a one-on-one endeavor. How do you translate that group approach to this setting?
That’s a great point. A.A., for example, offers alcoholics a community of love, acceptance and tolerance. Spiritual direction tries to provide the same things but on a one-on-one level. In this seminar, I’ll show how I have utilized the principles and healing experiences from my own 12-Step recovery program, and converted them into useful tools that I can use with my spiritual directees, when I believe it’s in their best interest
You say you’ve had remarkably reliable results using the 12 Steps as a spiritual director. Could you share an example?
I will try to offer as many examples as I can in the seminar. One example is how I incorporate the 12 Step program’s Step One, which says: “We admitted we were powerless over alcohol — that our lives had become unmanageable.”
It’s very common to have spiritual directees tell me they are feeling stuck or plateaued in their walk with God. They’re trying to somehow get themselves out of that stuck place. I’ll introduce the directee into the concept of being powerless themselves in their own spiritual growth and development. I share that they, too, as spiritual directees, must trust in a power greater than they are, if there is to be any progress at all. As Step Two says, “We came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.” That trust is the first step toward healing.
Details: “Using the 12 Steps of Recovery in Spiritual Direction” takes place Thursday, Dec. 1 from 6 to 9 p.m. and Friday, Dec. 2 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Prothro Great Hall, Perkins School of Theology, SMU. This workshop will be available in-person and virtually.
Regular registration is open through October 31 at a cost of $129. Late registration is November 1 – 18 for $149. Registration fee includes lunch on Friday. Students may also opt for Continuing Education Units ($15) and a parking pass ($20.) For more information and to register, click here.