A Transformative Guide to Spiritual Disciplines Through the Lens of Black Culture, History, and Faith

Soul Formation invites African American Christians into a deeper, culturally grounded spiritual life. Drawing on theology, history, and personal testimony, scholar-practitioner Aisha Davis explores how classic spiritual disciplines have shaped generations of Black believers and have sustained them through slavery, segregation, and the ongoing fight for justice.

Writing with the warmth of a trusted mentor across the kitchen table, Davis guides you through the classic spiritual disciplines through the lens of the African American experience, including prayer, hospitality, sabbath, lament, community, lectio divina, silence and solitude, the examen, and testimony.

What you'll find in Soul Formation:

• Historical and theological grounding that connects spiritual practices to the lived history of Black Christians
• Practical application with simple, doable ways to begin living these disciplines in your everyday life
• A communal vision of soul formation rooted in the understanding that spiritual growth does not happen in isolation

Davis offers a holistic vision of soul formation that deepens faith, nurtures resilience, and calls readers into a more embodied, enduring spiritual life. Whether you are new to the language of spiritual formation or have been practicing for years, this book meets you where you are and shows how the Black church has been living these disciplines all along.

This book is for pastors, seminary students, lay leaders, and everyday Christians who love their African American heritage and want a spiritual life that reflects that identity. This book names what you already carry, connects it to your history, and hands it back to you as the sacred inheritance it has always been.