The Dallas Willard Annual Book Award Program was created in 2015 to recognize and encourage original written work that reflects the intellectual commitments that characterized Dallas Willard’s work throughout his career. One of these commitments is that real spiritual and moral transformation is possible, and that the most important path to transformation lies through the historic Christian spiritual practices. Barbara Peacock’s Soul Care in African American Practice was selected as the Book Award winner for 2021, because it is a rich and loving reflection on the spiritual practices that “have been woven into the fabric of the African American culture.” Dr. Peacock focuses on three practices in particular – prayer, spiritual direction, and soul care –as manifested in the life and thought of ten African American men and women, historic and contemporary:
Dr. Frederick Douglas,
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.,
Mrs. Rosa Parks,
Dr. Darrell Griffin,
Dr. Renita Weems,
Dr. Harold Carter,
Dr. Jessica Ingram,
Mrs. Coretta Scott King,
Dr. James Washington and
Dr. Howard Thurman.
She shows how these African American Christians forged their profound and distinctive approaches to these practices, often in bondage and oppression, to nourish a faith that can sustain the soul.
This week, we bring to you a Lightning Interview conducted with Dr. Barbara Peacock by Mark Nelson in January 2024. Dr. Peacock discusses her journey, inspirations, and the importance of spiritual practices. Included within the article is a link to a video lecture which Dr. Peacock delivered at Westmont College.