Scott McRae

I’m a lifelong spiritual seeker—and that may be the most consistent thread running through my life. My professional journey has woven together pastoral and campus ministry, hospital chaplaincy, clinical pastoral education, healthcare leadership, spiritual direction, Enneagram teaching, and the entrepreneurial adventure of founding Sojourners Institute. I’ve been extraordinarily fortunate to find so many ways to bring my work and my deepest interests together.

I grew up in Northfield, Minnesota, where I still have deep roots and family, and I now make my home in St. Paul. I hold an M.Div. from Yale Divinity School and was ordained as a Lutheran pastor in the ELCA in 1988. I’ve been accompanying people as a spiritual director since 2002.

In 2014, my wife, Melanie, and I co-founded Sojourners Institute, where I especially enjoy leading my Spiritual Direction Apprentice Program. I’m a recently retired ACPE Clinical Pastoral Education educator and am active on the board of IEA Enneagram Minnesota.

For more than two decades, I’ve led retreats, workshops, and programs in spiritual development and the Enneagram in churches, hospitals, seminaries, and through Spiritual Directors International. What lights me up most is what happens when spiritual conversation and discovery unfold in the company of others.

Along with Melanie, I have a wonderful adult daughter, who is a private-practice therapist specializing in the autism space. Outside of work, I enjoy playing jazz piano, taking long walks in nature, and spending time with our beloved dogs.