[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][fusion_title size=”2″]Spirituality & Statement of Faith[/fusion_title]

Spirituality is not some special form of Christianity to be enjoyed by the more serious and contemplative Christians while the run of the mill just settle for the mundane. Rather spirituality is really about the Christian life. It is about following Jesus and living a life that recognizes him in the totality of life. On one level spirituality is about intimacy with God but there is more to it than that. It is an intimacy very different from any kind of intimacy we have in this life. It is really about the very basic fabric of life. With close people (a marriage partner or a good friend) intimacy is not always tangible and visible. It is not even a feeling that is present. Intimacy is not primarily a mystical emotion – rather it is a way of life, a way of openness, honesty and a certain transparency and vulnerability.

For SA this spirituality, this living, breathing openness, integrity, transparency and vulnerability is at the core of what SA is all about. It is from this base that servanthood can be lived with one another and the people to be served. It is out of this core that all illusions of being haves who are helping have nots are put to rest. True spirituality is lived in community and not in individuality. SA’’s spirituality is a recovery based approach that has a biblical and theological core. It is this biblical and theological grounding that keeps SA spirituality from being individualistic self help and development. That grounding keeps it firmly rooted in God and his plans and methods.

A recovery-based approach

“Preparing the way and providing tools for Christian people who have made the decision to be transformed into Jesus’’ likeness”. This sentence captures the purpose of the SA model of transformation, called the Formation of Servants. SA places its core emphasis on the importance of recovery and spiritual growth in the process of training Christian people for servant leadership, thus SA’’s motto: “to become or not to become”. SA seeks to facilitate growth in God’’s people by teaching a model of discipleship and repentance that enables them to deal with heart issues and truly see transformation from the inside out in their daily lives. As they are transformed by the power of the Spirit they can truly serve out of a position of restored wholeness rather than imagined superiority. True servants live lives of radical repentance that keeps them ever dependent upon the Gospel of Jesus to bring about lasting growth in them. As the Gospel transforms and changes people they are enabled by the Spirit to carry the message of hope to those who are still trapped in the bondage of self delusion and addictions, to means and ways that do not provide freedom.

The tool used to facilitate spiritual development and growth is the SA Formation of Servants (FOS). The FOS is the SA program curriculum that is used to equip Christian people who:

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[fusion_li_item icon=”fa-star” iconcolor=”#51c8e8″ circle=”no” circlecolor=””]Seek to serve their Lord – “To love their God with all their hearts and with all their souls and with all their minds, and with all their strength, and to love their neighbour as themselves.” (Mark 12:30-31) (NIV)[/fusion_li_item]

[fusion_li_item icon=”fa-star” iconcolor=”#51c8e8″ circle=”no” circlecolor=””]Seek personal recovery – To become sanctified (John 17:17) as they seek to be set apart for sacred use, cleansed and made holy. Such sanctification is made possible through believing, obeying and allowing the Word of God to shape their lives. (Hebrews 4:12).[/fusion_li_item]
[fusion_li_item icon=”fa-star” iconcolor=”#51c8e8″ circle=”no” circlecolor=””]Seek community as they seek spiritual unity – Such spiritual unity begins with loving one another. By putting aside their own selfish desires, treating others with respect and considering others’ interests as more important than their own, they become one in spirit and purpose. (Philippians 2:1-5)[/fusion_li_item]
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that has a Biblical basis

The integration of key Biblical studies is symbolic of SA’s commitment to the Bible. The Bible is the inspired, inerrant Word of the Living God, given to his people for their instruction and growth in relationship to him and to each other. The Bible in the hands of the Spirit of God is the only tool that will bring about true recovery and restoration in the lives of broken men and women in this world. As God’’s people apply the scriptures to their lives in the process of working through the SA Scriptural Twelve Steps the Spirit works transformation in them. The Word of God stands behind and in the midst of all the discipleship that is practiced in the SA community.

and a theological basis.

SA Spirituality and its Formation of Servants curriculum for spiritual growth and renewal conforms to the historic statement of faith declared in the Nicene Creed. The Creed clearly defines the nature and person of the Christian God and his disciples’’ relationship to him and to each other.

We believe in one God,
The Father almighty,
Maker of heaven and earth,
Of all things visible and invisible.

And in one Lord Jesus Christ,
The only Son of God,
Begotten from the Father before all ages,
God from God,
Light from Light,
True God from true God,
Begotten, not made;
Of the same essence of the Father.

Through Him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation,
He came down from heaven;
He became incarnate by the Holy Spirit and the virgin Mary,
And was made human.

He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate;
He suffered and was buried.
The third day He rose again, according to the Scriptures.
He ascended to Heaven,
And is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again with glory,
To judge the living and the dead.
His kingdom will never end.

And we believe in the Holy Spirit,
The Lord, the giver of life.
He proceeds from the Father and the Son,
And with the Father and the Son is worshipped and glorified.
He spoke through the prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic* and apostolic church.
We affirm one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look forward to the resurrection of the dead,
And to life in the world to come. Amen.

*Catholic with a small “c” means universal, of the whole Christian church.
With the capital “C” it means the Christian church that recognizes the Pope as its supreme temporal leader.[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]