Belong
Group Spiritual Direction for Christian Friendship and Communal Discernment
Published October 2025
Discover a path to true belonging and spiritual growth within your congregation with this groundbreaking book. Lead others through group spiritual direction for friendship and group spiritual direction for communal discernment. Help them experience the power of authentic connections with others and God, leading to fruitful ministry and transformation into faithful followers of Christ.
By embracing the rich tradition of early Methodist class meetings, early monasticism, and Ignatian and Quaker traditions, this book offers practical guidance on spiritual direction for your community. Learn how to navigate conflicts with grace and create a space for genuine community and spiritual wholeness. An appendix with guidelines, schedules, and more provides the help you need for implementation.
In a world filled with loneliness and division, sow seeds of belonging with group spiritual practices that foster unity and consensus. Journey towards God’s preferred future, where connection brings us together as one in faith and love.
About the Author
Melanie Dobson
The Rev. Dr. Melanie Dobson is an assistant professor and the Lefler and Wohltmann Chair in Methodist Studies at Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary (LTSS) of Lenoir-Rhyne University. She directs the two-year Spiritual Direction Certification Program at the seminary, a non-degree program open to anyone interested in deepening their spiritual life and learning the practice of spiritual direction. Dobson also directs the Methodist Studies program and supports connections between students, the South Carolina Annual Conference, and the seminary. She teaches courses in Methodism, Christian Ethics, Spiritual Practices, Leadership and Mission, and Theology. Her scholarly interests include intersections of theology, health and healing, spiritual direction/practices, and racial justice.
Dobson became an ordained elder in the United Methodist Church in 2005 and is a Western North Carolina Annual Conference member. She has served as a pastor in rural, suburban, and urban contexts and in churches of all sizes, from small to medium to mega. She trained at the Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation and is a certified spiritual director. Dobson also is a registered yoga teacher and incorporates yoga into her ministry and community service.
She has written a chapter called “To Heal What Ails Us: Belonging Through Group Spiritual Direction” in Soul Food: Nourishing Essays on Contemplative Living and Leadership. She published a chapter, “A Labor of Love: How We Can Belong to Each Other Again,” in What’s Next: Twenty-Two United Methodist Leaders Discuss the Future of the Church. She has also published a book, Health as a Virtue: Thomas Aquinas and the Practice of Habits of Health, and has had articles published in the Wesley Theological Journal, the Journal of Religion and Health, and Presence: an International Journal of Spiritual Direction, among other publications.