| Working primarily with individuals, relationships, and communities, spiritual formators must seek to know how to engage with their constituents in ways that are truly transformative and "led by the Spirit." Questions can therefore be raised as to the practical methods by which such professionals can develop programs and sets of interventions in order to move towards these ends. This dissertation therefore seeks to explore both the theoretical and methodological foundations of spiritual formation program development.;As a result of its "theistic" location, spiritual discernment is a central practice for this discipline as it intentionally strives to help its practitioners to "perceive the movements of the Spirit." Being a generalized practice, however, such discernment is not sufficiently detailed enough to fully guide one's program development efforts. As a result, this dissertation turns to the "praxis-oriented" fields of Action Research and Practical Theology for additional guidance. Reviewing the practical methodologies of these two disciplines reveals three essential movements to their praxis-based projects: Exploration and Analysis; Design and Implementation; and Assessment and Modification. Taken along with the art of spiritual discernment, these three movements comprise the basis for the program development methodologies that are presented in this dissertation.;Exploration and Analysis entails deeply exploring a situation in order to better understand the dominant dynamics that are present in one's local context. Design and Implementation then relies on these core understandings to discern the kinds of interventions that the practitioner will use for their program. Finally, the Assessment and Modification Methodologies empower the formator to continually evaluate the program's progress as well to update not only their understandings of the local community but also the interventions that they are using. Each of these three movements is therefore explored not only in terms of their theoretical foundations but also in terms of the practical steps that practitioners can follow in order to enact them in spiritually discerning ways. Termed, "Living Spiritual Praxis," spiritual formation program development is therefore conceived of as being a praxis-oriented discipline of a cyclical nature that theistically looks to the Spirit to guide its unfoldings. |
