SPIRITUAL PRACTICE

THE FOUR STREAMS: VISION FOR SPIRITUALITY AND RULE OF LIFE

Corporate & Individual Commitments to Help us Engage our Common Spirituality

In order to work together, we embrace with grace and love a range of theological perspectives, biblical interpretations and spiritual practices. In the tradition of many Christian communities throughout history, we walk out our faith together using a Rule of Life to guide our practices. What follows is an introduction to our Rule of Life. We hope that it will not only show you something about our rhythms of being, but also speak to your own spiritual journey.

The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has

anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He

has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and

recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed

free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.

-Luke 4:18-19, NIV

We believe our work is God’s call to us and a way God chooses to meet with us. As we seek the shalom of the city, we find our own shalom. (Jeremiah 29:7) We need times and seasons of rest to focus solely upon Jesus, but we also remain attentive to His presence and work in us as we go about our daily lives, as we pray and work to see His kingdom come.

Because of this, we commit to this Rule of Life which encourages us towards a common spirituality as a movement, a common posture of listening and responding to God in the midst of our collective call. Our Rule of Life has both corporate and individual commitments, to help us engage our common spirituality with discernment and intentionality. We do not want to create a legalistic, perfectionistic “to do list”, but rather we choose to live into this spiritual vision with the freedom and flexibility of the Holy Spirit.

WALKING

BY THE

SPIRIT

Emphasizing our relationship with Jesus

BREAKING THE

CHAINS OF

OPPRESSION

Emphasizing seeking

justice

PROCLAIMING

THE GOSPEL TO

THE POOR

Emphasizing communicating the Gospel

LIVING THE

JUBILEE

SABBATH

Emphasizing God's kingdom rest and restoration

Following these four streams of spirituality and by God’s grace and power, we Walk by the Spirit, we Proclaim the Gospel to the Poor, we Break the Chains of Oppression, and we Live the Jubilee Sabbath.

The corporate Rule of Life commitments we have chosen are spiritual rhythms that enable us to create space in our lives to make Jesus the center, which enables God’s transforming work in every dimension. They are:

Time each day for connecting with Jesus through personal worship, prayer and scripture
Weekly days of Sabbath rest
One day a month for retreats of prayer to deepen our relationship with Jesus
A Sabbatical year every seven years

In addition to these rhythms, we have chosen spiritual practices that prioritize relationships with people and our communal relationship with God: We will each invest deeply in a focused, intentional way in relationships by mentoring two people; and we will study the word individually, as teams, and as a movement regularly when we gather together.

To read more about the streams, as well as the commitments made by Servant Partners staff, view the full Rule of Life booklet. View the Retreat Guide, developed to help Servant Partners staff reflect on their Rule of Life commitments.

STATEMENT OF FAITH

We desire to be a broad ecumenical Christian community including people from Evangelical, Episcopal, Charismatic, Orthodox, Catholic and Mennonite backgrounds, in addition to others.

Servant Partners affirms the following Statement of Faith and the Lausanne Covenant and is committed to the belief and practices outlined.

We believe in:

The sovereignty and grace of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in creation, providence, revelation, redemption, and final judgement.
The divine inspiration of the Holy Scripture and its consequent entire trustworthiness and supreme authority in all matters of faith and conduct.
The universal sinfulness and guilt of human nature since the Fall, bringing everyone under God’s wrath and condemnation.
The self-giving sacrifice of the incarnate Son of God as the sole ground of redemption from the guilt, penalty, and power of sin.
The justification of the sinner by the grace of God through faith alone in Christ crucified and risen from the dead.
The illuminating, regenerating, indwelling, and sanctifying work of God the Holy Spirit in the believer.
The unity and common priesthood of all true believers, who together form the one universal Church, the Body of which Christ is the Head.
The expectation of the personal, visible return of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The statement below is the Lausanne Covenant copied with permission from the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelism.