Spiritual Direction
Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership
The trusted guide for leaders running on empty — moving from doing for God to being with Him. Where soul care meets leadership.
Faith-Based Coaching
When you've lost your bearings, you need a true north — and a path back to it.
For the leader running on empty, the marriage that's drifted, the parent watching a child pull away, the one asking “what am I here for?” — there is a way through. I'll help you find your bearing and set a 90-day next step you can actually walk. One honest step at a time, toward a life that leads outward.
The Method
The True North Framework™
A four-movement path — not a formula, but a compass. Each step builds on the last, moving you from honest assessment to a life that leads outward.
01
Listen
Face the drift honestly. Name where you actually are — not where you wish you were. Transformation starts with truth.
02
Locate
Find true north. We anchor to the best book on the topic, paired with a study guide that gets you to the heart of it fast.
03
Lean
Set a 90-day bearing. Critical-thinking coaching turns insight into a direction you can actually walk this quarter.
04
Lead
Live it outward. What you've received becomes strength for the people around you — at home, at work, in your faith.
Where I Can Help
Four doors. One compass.
Whatever brought you here, you don't have to carry it alone. These are the areas where I've spent two decades walking with people through real life.
Spiritual Direction
Slow down to listen. Move from doing for God to being with Him. Soul care for leaders who've been running on empty.
Leadership & Ministry
Lead from a full cup. Reframe identity around calling, not performance — for pastors, executives, and founders.
Marriage & Family
Rebuild after the drift. Covenant, not contract. Address root patterns, not just symptoms — including the hard work of reconciliation.
Life & Purpose
Distinguish calling from career and ambition. For young adults setting direction and anyone asking, "What am I here for?"
The Best Book on It
For every door, one book worth your time.
Coaching here is book-based. I pair you with the single best book on your topic and build a study guide around it — so instead of drowning in options, you absorb the best thinking efficiently. These are where I start.
Leadership & Ministry
Spiritual Leadership
The classic on leading from character, not position. Reframes identity around calling and stewardship rather than performance.
Marriage & Family
Sacred Marriage
What if marriage is designed to make us holy, not just happy? Goes to root patterns, not surface symptoms.
Life & Purpose
The Call
The definitive book on distinguishing calling from career and ambition. For anyone asking, “What am I here for?”
These are starting points, not a prescription. On the clarity call, we’ll match the right book to your actual situation.
About the Coach
Michael Hatcher — two decades in the trenches of real life.
I spent twenty years in pastoral ministry — everything except the senior pastor's chair — in churches of more than 2,000. Along the way I've walked with parents in crisis, young adults finding their direction, leaders running on empty, and marriages trying to find their way back.
The hardest chapters of my own life — betrayal, loss, estrangement, the long work of rebuilding — are the ones I now draw from most. Not because I have it figured out, but because I've learned where the path back actually is, and I won't pretend the road is shorter than it is.
My coaching is book-based: I pair you with the single best book on your topic, then build a study guide so your time is spent on what matters most. I've taught reading comprehension and critical thinking to over 1,600 students — because growth, whether spiritual or professional, runs on the ability to think well.
20 yrs
Pastoral ministry
Master of Divinity
Talbot / Biola
1,600+
Students taught
2,000+
Ministry context
Free Self-Assessment
Find your bearing.
Eight honest questions. About three minutes. No account, no cost, no commitment — just a clearer picture of where you are and your next true-north step.
1 of 8
The Backbone
True North — the book behind the work.
Every coaching engagement draws from a twelve-chapter backbone rooted in chapters I've actually lived. Each chapter becomes a white paper, a social series, and a lead magnet — with the True North Framework as the thread that ties it together.
Start with a Clarity CallPart I — Listen
1When You Lose Your Bearings
2The Weight You Carry
3Toxic Ties & Trapped Hearts
Part II — Locate
4The Compass of True Love
5When Your Kids Pull Away
6Legacy & the Little Ones
Part III — Lean
7Calling vs. Ambition
8The Sabbath Strategy
9You Were Never Meant to Lead Alone
Part IV — Lead
10People Are the Assignment
11From Success to Significance
12True North
Coaching is a partnership. You bring the willingness to be honest; I bring the framework, the questions, and two decades of walking with people through real life — so you leave with a bearing, not just a list of things to do.
How It Works
A clear path, not a mystery.
You don't have to wonder what you're signing up for. Here's the shape of the work, from first conversation to lasting change.
01
Free Clarity Call
We name where you are honestly and whether coaching is the right fit. You leave with clarity, even if we're not a match.
02
Set Your Bearing
We locate true north for your situation, pair you with the best book on it, and set a 90-day direction you can actually walk.
03
The Deep Dive
For the area that needs real rebuilding — marriage, calling, leadership. Critical-thinking coaching turns insight into a life that leads outward.
Pricing and fit are discussed on the clarity call — because the right engagement depends on your situation, not a menu.
Take the first step.
The clarity call is free, 30 minutes, and there's no pressure. We'll name where you are and whether this path is right for you.