Our team members are classically trained spiritual directors who want people to experience the fullness of God.
FOUNDER & DIRECTOR
Brenda enjoys creating space for the soul to breathe and to connect to the triune God. She experiences God through walks in the woods with her husband, Jonathan, and their four dogs, as well as through sea glass hunting, stand-up paddleboarding, worship, and the Ignation Exercises.
Brenda Golden earned a master’s degree in Community Counseling from Georgia State University and a Diploma in Christian Counseling from Richmont. She is a certified addictions specialist and a trained spiritual director. Brenda is both a member of Spiritual Directors International (SDI) and Evangelical Spiritual Directors Association (ESDA).
Brenda and Jonathan, along with their two sons, founded St. Peter’s Place Anglican Church in Roswell, Georgia, where she leads worship and women’s groups. She is also the founding partner of Land of a Thousand Hills Coffee Company through which she and Jonathan work with coffee farmers and orphans in Rwanda.
Brenda is available for spiritual direction at The Agape Center for Spiritual Formation in Historic Roswell.
ASSOCIATES
Dick Baxter
dick.baxter@gmail.com
(678) 516-7806
Dick Baxter is a certified spiritual director practicing in Gainesville, GA and now also at the Agape Center in Roswell, GA. He received his M. Div. at the Candler School of Theology at Emory University. He also has earned a Certificate in Christian Spiritual Formation from the Renovare Institute for Christian Spiritual Formation where he was able to study under the late Dallas Willard. His Certificate in Spiritual Direction was earned at Richmont Graduate University in Atlanta, GA.
He feels called to walk with people who desire to know God more deeply. He believes that God desires to communicate with us and grow us into people who truly enjoy His presence. He is also a cancer survivor and is drawn to people who face that struggle.
He is married and has three grown children.
Marlayne Whitlock
mwhitlock.acsf@gmail.com
(678) 463-4009
Marlayne enjoys coming alongside others on their spiritual journey and desires to listen people to life through the spiritual direction relationship. Often our life stories are filled with pain or sorrow or questions. Spiritual direction is a companioning relationship of holy listening where two (or more) are led by the true Director. Marlayne believes the formation of one’s soul takes place in cooperation with the Holy One. As Christ followers, each moment holds an invitation to move toward Kingdom life.
Marlayne is a trained spiritual director through Richmont. She is presently pursuing coursework in spiritual formation with the Boston cohort of Renovaré Institute. Marlayne loves the image of soul formation through relationship in community. She has experienced this rich Kingdom life through these programs. She is a life long learner and sometimes leader in spiritual formation.
Marlayne is also a licensed professional counselor. She has also worked with individuals and families in both public and private education settings. She has volunteered in a variety of settings including hospice support for families experiencing loss as well as at women’s shelters and teaching English to refugees. She has lived in Atlanta for seventeen years and has three grown children.
Juli Able
juliable44@gmail.com
(678) 361-6238
Juli is a wife and a mother to teen and young adult sons. Her own journey into spiritual direction allowed her to encounter God in an intimate way that brought freedom and healing. While that personal journey continues, she is also passionate about sharing the gift of spiritual direction with others. In August 2017, Juli will receive a graduate certificate in Spiritual Direction through Richmont University.
Juli is a member of Mount Pisgah United Methodist Church and is active in prayer, Bible study, and small groups at church and in the community.
Pam finds joy in walking alongside people wherever they are on their spiritual journey. She's worked with people in a wide range of settings, from college students, to leaders of anti-trafficking ministries in Nepal to terminally ill patients in the hospital. Her passion for pouring out to others is refueled by her deep love of contemplative space with God.
She's a trained Spiritual Director and has her Master's in Counseling. While working in nonprofit world fighting human trafficking she found soul nourishment in a contemplative community called JourneyMates. She now co-leads Atlanta JourneyMates offering contemplative monthly retreats in her home. She completed a CPE (Clinical Pastoral Education) unit at Emory St. Joseph's Hospital.
After losing her first husband to cancer Pam remarried John and they are blessed with a large blended family including ten adorable grandchildren. Pam enjoys biking and hiking, reading, gardening, and pretty much anything outdoors. She offers Spiritual Direction out of her home in Grant Park, Atlanta and at The Agape Center in Roswell, GA.
Jeannie Cheuvront
youthbear@gmail.com
404-855-1981
Jeannie is a Spiritual Director who met Jesus personally in college and for a number of years served Him through wearing many hats in youth ministry, retreat ministry, youth conferences, church planting and crisis pregnancy ministry. She spent a lot of time “doing ministry” but eventually discovered the she was dry and thirsty and longing for an intimate reconnection with God. She needed to learn how to stop doing and be in God’s presence and hear His voice.
Spiritual Direction is the gift that allowed Jeannie to become refreshed and little did she know; it also provided the reconnection she needed to sustain her through some turbulent life changes. Seeking to share this amazing gift, Jeannie completed a two-year certification program in Spiritual Direction at the C. John Weborg Center for Spiritual Direction at North Park Seminary in Chicago. As a trained Spiritual Director, Jeannie is available to meet individuals for one-on-one direction.
With the life experience of being a wife, mother, and grandmother in conjunction with ministry, Jeannie is passionate about companioning others who desire to be refreshed by creating the space to hear God in their lives.
Jessica Teague
jessmarieteague@gmail.com
678-977-8517
Jessica is a trained spiritual director who finds deep joy in helping people experience God’s love. She feels privileged to walk alongside people as they become more aware of God’s presence in their everyday lives. Wherever they are on their faith journey, she loves helping people discern what God is inviting them to.
Jessica loves being in the mountains, traveling with friends, going on long walks with her dog, cooking good food, and creating hospitable spaces. Most of all, she loves spending time with her husband, daughter, and three sons.
Jess grew up in Louisiana and attended Rhodes College in Memphis, TN. She earned her MA in Counseling from Gordon-Conwell Seminary in Hamilton, MA and Certificate in Spiritual Direction from Richmont University in Atlanta. She has lived in the Atlanta area for 15 years and serves on the board of the Atlanta Mission and Lifegate Counseling Center. She is a member of Spiritual Directors International (SDI). She is has a heart for the marginalized and for helping provide spiritual support for pastors and leaders in the church and non-profits in Atlanta.
Jess is available for spiritual direction at the Agape Center.
Amy Consoli
amy@theagapecenter.org
404-309-3428
Following a 22-year corporate banking career, Amy felt led by God to pursue her passions in biblical discipleship, speaking and writing. She delights in walking alongside others in their desire to deeply know God. Her own transformational journey of healing and deeper intimacy with God led Amy to pursue Spiritual Direction. She received her training in Spiritual Direction from The School of Sustainable Faith, and is currently pursuing her Master of Arts in Spiritual Formation and Direction at Richmont Graduate University in Atlanta, GA.
Amy also serves as a speaker, group facilitator, and Silent Retreat Spiritual Director for Deepwater Women and Wellspring Group ministries. Amy lives in Roswell, GA with her husband, Rob, where they attend Fellowship Bible Church.
Karen McDaniel
karyn.mcdaniel@gmail.com
xxx-xxx-xxxx
Karyn McDaniel is a wife and mother of three young adult children. She grew up in North Georgia and moved to the city of Atlanta over 20 years ago to plant Trinity Anglican Church with her husband. Over the years, she has worked as an Occupational Therapist, Massage Therapist and has served at the church in various ways including children’s ministry, women’s ministry, mentoring, and spiritual formation. She currently works as a trained spiritual director and will soon be a certified Enneagram practitioner. Here is what she has to say about spiritual direction:
“The Bible is filled with accounts of God engaging people in the midst of their everyday lives through their desires, disappointments, failures and triumphs. He engaged these individuals in ways that were unique and personal to them as they went about their days. I believe those stories reveal a God who cares for us in ways that are particular to us and our situations. My intention in spiritual direction is to create an unhurried space where you can nurture the unique way He is present in your life and strengthen your connection with Him through the various phases and stages of your journey.”
INTERNS
The Agape Center provides a space for students, currently enrolled in spiritual direction training programs, to offer spiritual direction during their internship.