The Spirit empowered Church for the sake of God's Mission
My relationship with the Vineyard has, at times, been somewhat complex. I’ve found that this is common for other people in the Vineyard
I came into the Vineyard as a kid when my parents started attending one in Denver, CO. I’ve been basically hanging around ever since then and yet while I love the Vineyard, there have been times where I’ve wondered how I fit in the movement because I’ve felt a bit awkward over the years. Why? For a couple of reasons:
On Sunday, I shared a message addressing the question, “Is Christianity oppressive to women?” Take a listen by clicking “play” above or go here and download it. My conclusion is that, yes, sometimes Christianity has been oppressive to women and has marginalized their place and voice, but that’s not God’s intention for the decedents of Eve or how we should interpret the Bible.
Below are some resources to help you as you continue to study the subject, including some Youtube videos, books, articles, etc. [Read more…]
Locating the Vineyard’s history is much easier than predicting our future, depending on who you speak to. The influence of the Quakers, Evangelicalism, and Pentecostalism is well known amongst students of Vineyard history but how other traditions will shape our future is less known, though quite important.
Bill Jackson famously noted that the Vineyard was the radical middle between Evangelicalism and Pentecostalism, an example of the alleged “Third Wave.”[1] As I consider our past and the present theological landscape of the Vineyard, I believe that part of being “Vineyard” is working hard to avoid what becomes for us theological ditches. [Read more…]
This year’s Society of Vineyard Scholars annual meeting was at Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky. Featuring a number of well-known scholars (e.g., Howard Snyder, Craig Keener, Eleanor Mumford), Vineyard thinkers and friends of the Vineyard gathered together to share and hear and pray and reflect and hang out together. [Read more…]
Below is a copy of the paper I presented at the 2018 Society of Vineyard Scholars’ annual meeting at Asbury Theological Seminary. In what follows, I attempt to explore the relationship of the Wesleyan Quadrilateral with our Vineyard DNA, building on Thomas Lyons’ previous SVS 2013 paper. After establishing this interface, I suggest a number of ways in which this valuable method of theological reflection can be cultivated and maintained within the context of of the lived-out and practical ministry of the local church, especially related to community discipleship (or you can download a PDF). [Read more…]