Uniquely Vineyard: Avoiding Theological Ditches
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...
Thoughts on #SVS2018 from the cheap seats…
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...
“Quadrilateraling” in the Vineyard: Creating & Maintaining the Wesleyan Quadrilateral as a Valuable Aspect of Discipleship within the Space of the Local Church.
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’...
3 Ways to Get More Invitations in Your Church
Let’s be clear, inviting someone to church isn’t necessarily the same thing as sharing the gospel with them. And attending a church does not equate to having a transformative relationship with Jesus. There are plenty of people who attend churches all over the world...
Reading Scripture: Informational Versus Transformational?
I'm reading a fascinating book recommended to me by my good friend Thomas Lyons titled Wesley, Wesleyans, and Reading Bible as Scripture, edited by Joel B. Green and David F. Watson. It's of interest due to some of the similar challenges that we are facing in the...
Happy Women’s Day: 6 Books You Need to Read
Continuing my tradition of writing something in honor of International Women's Day, I'd like to suggest six important books written by women addressing issues related to women within the Church: Paul and Gender: Reclaiming the Apostle's Vision for Men and Women in...
The Rhetoric of Love in a Tone Deaf World
Communication in today’s world can be pretty challenging. We are overloaded with so many communication channels, whether it's print media, social media, or face to face conversation. The art of "discussion" has increasingly become frustrating because often people...
The Sacramental Nature of the Church
If a sacrament is a means of grace, or to improve upon an Augustinian idea, a visible sign of both invisible and visible grace, how might the church be sacramental? This is a question I have long been wrestling with and the suggestion I made in my dissertation was...
Nitpicking the #NashvilleStatement (while not being “liberal” or “progressive”)
The hot button discussion in American Evangelicalism this week is the recently released "Nashville Statement". This is an attempt by some Reformed Evangelicals to clarify their views on sexuality; the statement has raised a fair amount of agreement and a fair amount...
“Traditioning” in the Vineyard: A Pastoral Value for Sacramentality.
Below is a copy of the paper I presented at the 2017 Society of Vineyard Scholars' annual gathering (PDF can be found here). I essentially argue that sacramentality is essential for Vineyard theology and praxis, especially the regular celebration of Communion....
Jesus Didn’t Seem to Preach Many Expository Sermons!
I have a huge interest in homiletics, the art of preparing and delivering sermons. I've read dozens of books on the subject, written a lot on it, and trained a lot of preachers in the past decade, not to mention having taken a number of courses in my undergrad and...
Discipleship: The Process of Becoming like Jesus.
I've long been intrigued by the elusive subject of Christian discipleship. As a "child of the church," having spent the entirety of my life in and around churchianity, I'm well versed in numerous definitions of what it means to be a disciple and yet, as I've read...
Kingdom Ministry: Life, Questions, and Beer & Cigarettes
Over the years I've been approached by a few people who wanted to either use the gifts they believed they had or be trained and equipped to minister through speaking (e.g., preaching, teaching, training, etc.). In simple terms, they wanted opportunities to speak from...
Happy Women’s Day: Giving Women the Same Interpretive “Freedom” As Slaves
As I have continued studying issues related to women in ministry, gender, and hermeneutics (biblical interpretation), I have come to the conclusion that the Bible requires that Church does all that she can to both encourage and empower women to actively pursue...
Preaching 101: Provoking Hearts & Minds Toward Jesus & the Kingdom
Preaching is the art of provoking hearts and minds toward Jesus and his kingdom. I believe it's an art because I'm convinced it's similar to painting or composing music. You can take a class on painting and learn the basic mechanics of brush strokes, but that's way...
Does Our Order of the “Now” and “Not Yet” Prioritize?
One of my favorite worship albums is Jeremy Riddle's "The Now and Not Yet." This "now and not yet" theology was made somewhat "famous" amongst Evangelicals by the scholarly work of George Eldon Ladd, especially in his The Presence of the Future and The Gospel of the...
Hiding Behind the “Ministry Guise”: Avoiding the tough questions
Reading through the Gospels and taking Jesus' words seriously, not to mention reading through both the Old and New Testaments, leads me to the conclusion that it's perfectly "normal" for followers of Jesus to face persecution and to suffer. I mean, Jesus said that...
Backing Up, Building Slow, & Shaping Culture
I am going to be celebrating my six month anniversary as a pastor at the Red Bluff Vineyard in about a week. Wow, time has flown by and I am still absolutely loving the city, the church, and the trout fishing all that surrounds us. That being said, the last six months...
Politics in the Kingdom: On November 9th, Jesus will still be Lord!
According to Captain Snark, our very own Kenny Burchard, the following facts need to be accounted for: "Hi Facebook. Just a gentle reminder that there is only one way for a true Christian to vote. And that way, as expressed and clarified daily right here on Facebook...
Sustainable Revival? Must we kill ourselves in our quest for God’s presence?
What is revival? How do you define this religious experience? The esteemed J. I. Packer suggested that revival is "God's quickening visitation of his people, touching their hearts and deepening his work of grace in their lives." Robert Baird described revival as an...
The “Signs & Wonders” Point to Jesus: “More, Lord!”
This morning I was flipping through one of John Wimber's books and I read the following: I have a prayer, and a vision: The Vineyard — and the Church at large, whatever Christian stream, tribe or family you happen to belong to — breaking through the walls of the...
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