Jeff Doeringer

Church Background: My growing up years were spent attending Catholic elementary and high schools where I came to understand that God exists and is transcendent. In the mid-90s, I came to know God as personal as He began to speak within my own heart. My journey then took me to the evangelical church where I grew in appreciation of Scripture and conversational prayer. Today, I enjoy a rich combination of liturgical and spontaneous forms of worship, both of which are part of my spiritual life.

Spiritual Journey: For years I went searching for God “out there”, as if He were external to me, and I found Him in genuine ways through serving and worship services in my church community.  Eventually those external places went quiet so I went searching for God inward exploring the landscape of my own soul. I found Him there also. Yet even that, over time faded and I reached a point where the seeking itself began to exhaust me.  It was in that place—without striving, without answers—that I encountered the invitation of Psalm 46:10: “Be still and know that I am God.” I stopped chasing and began simply being. And now, it seems, God meets me everywhere—in silence and sound, in joy and sorrow, in the sacred and the ordinary. The search has become a surrender, and in that surrender, I am continually found.

Why Open Space? Open Space for God is the culmination of my life’s work and the passion of my heart. In sitting with all kinds of people over the past 25 years of ministry, from clergy on one end to those who aren’t sure who God is to them on the other, I have found a common denominator, and ironically, it doesn’t matter what a person says they “believe.” The common denominator, deep within the heart, is that we just can’t imagine God personally making Himself known in our everyday life, especially if those places involve pain, suffering, brokenness or failure. These are the places we hide from God, others and most of all ourselves; and yet, they represent ripe places in our lives where we should expect God to show up and lead us into wide open space.  “Under pressure I cried to the Lord. The Lord answered me. He set me in a wide open space.” (Ps 118:5, EHV)

For much of my journey, I navigated those without the companionship of a spiritual director.  Now that I’ve tasted what it’s like to have an extra set of eyes and ears spotting the movements of God in and through my life, I wouldn’t go without it and it makes me want to accompany others as a spiritual director. There is nothing like having the honor of accompanying a person into open space where God shows up and makes Himself known and everyone leaves changed and in awe.

Hobbies: Running, weightlifting, pour-over coffee, grilling over charcoal, fireside conversations (especially with my sons), travel. I enjoy the regular rhythm of running and the challenge of weightlifting. Pour-over coffee is my ritual, and grilling over charcoal is my relaxation. Some of my favorite moments happen around a fire in honest conversations (especially with my sons). I also love to go on trips and get away.

Personality Profile: I'm an Enneagram 9 with an 8 wing—peace-loving yet grounded, with a strength when it matters most. On the Myers-Briggs, I’m an INFP: reflective, intuitive, and values-driven. According to the Strengths Deployment Inventory, I show up as Green-Blue, valuing meaningful relationships with thoughtful insight towards forward movement.

Family: Nicole and I have been journeying together for 27 years through all kinds of terrain—joys, challenges, and everything in between. Along the way, we’ve been blessed with four remarkable humans: two sons and two daughters who fill our lives with more color, humor, and energy than we sometimes know what to do with. As they step into adulthood, we’re savoring this new chapter. One of the most unique things about our family is that we all love good conversation—some of us just talk more than others (you know who you are!).