Spiritual Sabbatical Formation

The goal of the Spiritual Sabbatical Formation (SSF) Program is to organize and establish ministries within the local Church and the City of Murfreesboro, Tennessee that will witness to the redeeming, transformative power of the Holy Spirit by engaging the lost, broken, poor, and marginalized in open dialogue that stimulates, and empowers their spiritual consciousness to believe in, to strive for deeper understanding of, and adherence to the divine will of God for living. Spiritual Sabbatical Formation will establish a cross functional Ecumenical, Business, and Political board of directors that will counsel, sponsor, inform, review progress and support a totally separate Community Development Center. This entity will incorporate under its

The Spiritual Sabbath Formation initiative resolve establish leadership training programs to develop visionary leaders and disciples that have a 360 degree view of their spiritual strengths and weaknesses, that are competent and passionate in creating vision for ministry, and are comfortable with the notion of continuous learning and improvement in their ministry and the ministry of others. It is well noted in Proverbs 29:18 (KJV) that where there is no vision, the people perish. The body of believers appears to have lost its capacity to participate in the power of vision. This is happening because the communities of faith rely more on analysis and managerial methodologies to differentiate meaning and God’s will for their lives and rely less on encounters of God to guide them. In other words, they are relying on head knowledge and not on divine revelation and knowledge. This is evident in the way Pastors are evaluated in our communities of faith today. Today, the Pastors are measured on the number of converts and new members and not on the quality and spiritual impact of their ministry. It is evident in the way Pastors preach and teach. Preaching today has become more about preaching a list of what to do and what not to do. There appears to be little preaching on the spiritual formation of parishioners. Ultimately, it is evident in the inability of the

Additionally, the stream of Christianity that mostly fits the associates will be learned using books like Richard Foster’s Streams of Living Water to name a few.

Second, a successful Spiritual Formation requires intentional engagement of a cross functional coalition of Church, Business and Governmental Political agencies to mutually address policies that are in opposition to the works of the Holy Spirit within the local community. In the past, for African American Christians, the Church was the economic engine that fueled the livelihood of the community. The Church, then, housed the hospital, the grocery store, entertainment, education and professional training for careers. Back then, the Church was a home to the homeless and help to the helpless. The Church in the days of our ancestors was a storehouse for rainy days. In those days, the community depended on the Church. Now the Church appears to depend heavily on the community. If the Church is to become a relevant catalyst for Spiritual Sabbath Formation in the twenty-first century, it must reform itself into being the economic engine of the past. As Spiritual reformer, I would engage and organize the Church in the elimination of incurring debt. Instead, I argue