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ASHLAND THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY DISCOVERY OF SPIRITUAL FORMATION PRACTICES OF SELECT WOMEN OF THE NATIONAL BAPTIST CONVENTION, USA, INC. A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF ASHLAND THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY IN CANDIDACY FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF MINISTRY BY ANN-MARIE JUWAH ASHLAND, OHIO OCTOBER 14, 2019 Copyright © 2019, by Ann-Marie Juwah All rights reserved To my sisters on the mission field in the service of Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ Christ has no body now, but yours. No hands, no feet on earth, but yours. Yours are the eyes through which Christ looks compassion into the world. Yours are the feet with which Christ walks to do good. Yours are the hands with which Christ blesses the world. Teresa of Avila APPROVAL PAGE Accepted by the faculty and the final demonstration examining committee of Ashland Theological Seminary, Ashland, Ohio, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctor of Ministry degree. _________________________________ __________________ Academic Advisor Date _________________________________ __________________ Director of the Doctor of Ministry Program Date ABSTRACT The purpose of this project was to discover the extent of spiritual disciplines a select group of women of the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc. (NBC) practice in preparation for their work on the mission field. The project design incorporated an online survey of forty questions to measure their responses. The assessment findings indicated that service to others, Scripture and prayer were the main spiritual disciplines in which the participants engaged, in order of precedence. An unusual discovery was the priority placed on the external discipline of service over the internal disciplines of Scripture and prayer for their spiritual transformation. CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES . viii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS . ix Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION AND PROJECT OVERVIEW . 10 2. BIBLICAL, THEOLOGICAL, AND HISTORICAL 31 FOUNDATIONS . 3. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE . 70 4. DESIGN, PROCEDURE, AND ASSESSMENT . 110 5. REPORTING THE RESULTS . 121 6. SUMMARY AND REFLECTIONS . 142 Appendix 1. PROPOSAL . 168 2. ASSESSMENT . 186 REFERENCES . 193 vii LIST OF TABLES Table Page Table 1. Goal #8: Spiritual Disciplines and Love for God . 122 Table 2. Goal #4: Spiritual Disciplines and Time with God . 123 Table 3. Goal #3: Baptist Influence and Spiritual Formation . 125 Table 4. Goal #7: Spiritual Disciplines and God’s Presence . 127 Table 5. Goal #6: Spiritual Disciplines and External Community Service . 128 Table 6. Goal #5: Spiritual Disciplines and Local Community Service . 130 Table 7. Goal #2: Spiritual Disciplines and Personal Commitment. 132 Table 8. Goal #1: 133 Spiritual Discipline Engagement . : . Table 9. Composite Score for All Goals . 135 viii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This project is the result of a labor of love from many of my friends, family and fellowship who encouraged me on this journey. I am extremely grateful to those whom I have the privilege to name below. To Dr. Cynthia Perkins-Smith, my Field Consultant who took the time out of her busy schedule to share her passion for the NBC Woman’s Auxiliary. To Rev. Robert Smith, Jr. who unknowingly provided words of encouragement and wisdom at strategic points throughout this journey. To Dr. Dawn Morton who patiently steered me through the project proposal that shaped this final paper. To Dr. Brenda Buckwell who, despite her busy schedule, maintained her commitment to advising me through the transformation of this project. To Dr. Nickol Calhoun whose editing experience assisted in the fulfillment of this paper. To Charles Hull, my brother who kept his door open for me during this journey. I truly appreciate your offer of hospitality. To Minister Brenda Daniel, my ministry partner who kept me focused and centered on the Lord particularly during the times of competing priorities. To my children Obidike and Ada-Nkem. This is truly the Lord’s doing! To my Lord and my God. Thank you, Jesus! You ordained it and You brought it to pass! I love You Lord! ix CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION AND PROJECT OVERVIEW The gymnast requires strength training to win at the Olympics. The marathoner must undergo distance training to complete the twenty-six-mile race. So too, the Christian must undertake spiritual training to progress on this spiritual journey. Without spiritual preparation, we remain stagnant in our walk with our triune God. Our spiritual formation becomes the process by which we are instructed not merely to know of Him. It is a process of knowing Him intimately as we are being spiritually formed through practices such as prayer. The more we learn of Him, the deeper is our desire to have an encounter with Him, to communicate with Him. Today, Jesus is calling us to be His hands and feet on the mission field. Hearing His call begins with our relationship with Him. How can we have a relationship without being spiritually formed into His image? And how can we even answer His call without communicating with Him? Purpose Statement and Research Question It was the purpose of this project to discover the spiritual formation practices of select women of the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc. (NBC). The research question was: What were the spiritual formation practices of select women of the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc? The results of this research provided the opportunity for leadership to evaluate and set the course for the next phase of their mission outreach under new governance. 10 Overview The focus of this project was to discover the range of the spiritual formation practices of select women of the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc. (NBC). The focus also included an inquiry into the impact of these practices for effective mission outreach. The participants were surveyed using online assessment tools to discover the specific types of spiritual formation practices in which they currently engaged. The survey results were assessed using an online compilation tool for more detailed analysis. In reviewing the origins of the women’s movement in the African American Baptist churches, I discovered the spiritual thread weaving through their attempts to address the social justice issues that were the catalysts for the formation of the NBC. Higginbotham reports that these women followed the footsteps of Harriet Tubman who deliberately and steadfastly led hundreds of African American slaves out of their physical bondage into the freedom that only God could have brokered. The commitment of the African American Baptist women “contributed greatly to the church’s tremendous influence in both the spiritual and secular life of black communities” (Higginbotham 1993, 18). Although hindered by race and gender distractions, the women modeled Christ-like virtues as teachers of good things in and outside the home thereby “becoming as potent a missionary agency among our people as is the theologian” (Higginbotham 1993, 19). This trend continues today as the women of the NBC gather to minister to the needs of the communities to which they are sent. This project was designed to discover the extent of the spiritual formation 11 practices that select women of NBC currently undertake. It was my intent that this discovery project would be a precursor to determining the formational support required to enhance mission outreach without compromising their spiritual condition. Foundations My spiritual journey began in late adulthood after decades of being in and of the world. It was a wilderness journey on which I was being taught by God to release my dependence on the world and depend on Him alone. During my journey, and even today, I feel the need to constantly remain as a newly weaned child, who stays close to the mother (Ps. 131). As a newcomer to an inner-city community where I was sent to minister, I was keenly aware of the need to effectively fulfill the Great Commission found in Matthew 28. It is a commitment to mission outreach for which I am extremely passionate. Yet, it is a commitment that sensitized me to the necessity of maintaining my spiritual connection with God while attending to the issues of the day. As I ministered at my local church, I observed the struggle to maintain their spiritual connection on the part of the mission workers already working within this community. I observed that, in communities such as these, the residents have lost hope in their community, nation and even in God. There is a mentality of being in bondage to the world without hope of release. Heuertz and Pohl remind us that the danger for those who work in the hardest places is that they might become calloused (Heuertz and Pohl 2010, 97). The challenge then, for those called to the mission field is to show the love of God in a tangible and meaningful way 12 while maintaining focus on Christ Jesus. Heuertz and Pohl further warn us that without the Holy Spirit indwelling us, we will become so accustomed to the issues of the day that “[a]fter a while the unthinkable becomes familiar and our souls wither” (Heuertz and Pohl 2010, 97). For the missionary, we must strive to do everything in our power to avoid being swept away by the cares of the community. Yet, we must convince the communities that there is a better way while we continue to maintain our focus on the solid Rock, Jesus Christ. The following foundation provides a brief summary of my personal background in spiritual formation to clarify the relevance and my passion for this project. The foundation also includes Biblical and Theological Foundations of the spiritual formation disciplines from the perspectives of understanding the Reign of God and our Sanctification. The Historical Foundation will address the origins of spiritual formation practices and the importance of these practices from the time of the Desert Fathers and Mothers. The Historical Foundation also addresses the importance of spiritual disciplines in returning to our Christian fundamentals during cycles of apostasy from early Christianity through the Reformation of the sixteenth century.

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