Daughter of the Winds: How Scripture and the Holy Spirit Shape Perception in Spiritual Formation

Abstract

This research portfolio examines the role of the ministry of Scripture and the Holy Spirit in shaping the perception of believers. We interpret life according to our perception and this plays an important role in our spiritual formation in Christ. My research integrates the two kinds of wind (Scripture and the Holy Spirit), and perception in the process of spiritual formation in the life of the church and its leaders. I present this integration through three specific projects. The first project is my personal spiritual autobiography, which displays the role perception played in my own spiritual formation. The second project is a spiritual formation model that suggests how to influence perception so that spiritual formation in Christ may be enhanced, taking the believer from a blurred perspective to a clear perception of reality. The third project is the implementation of that model within the leadership team of my church in Hyderabad, India, demonstrating how participating in Scripture and the Holy Spirit can clarify perception of the visible and invisible realms. In sum, the role perception and the winds of God play in the holistic process of spiritual formation is developed through the project. I engage with perception from a theological perspective through the work of Phillip Blond, the ministry of Scripture and Holy Spirit, as well as Joseph Hellerman’s writing on church as a spiritual family. My research integrates three elements—perception, the winds of God, and the church— together into a model for spiritual formation and demonstrates its effectiveness through the research project in City Harvest Assemblies of God church in Hyderabad, India.