Society of Vineyard Theologians

So check out this cool development. A pet peeve of mine has always been that there is not enough scholarship that expresses a vineyard view of theology (my view). Just try to find a commentary that expresses a kingdom theology, or a view of the Holy Spirit is actually ngaged in the world. Here is an opportunity to expand that....

Vineyard USA is launching a new initiative, the Society of Vineyard Scholars (SVS).

THIS IS WHAT IT IS ABOUT...
We are gathering the thinkers and scholars of our movement to “think theologically” in community—both in order to address the critical questions of the moment and to put down theological and intellectual roots for the long haul. Our expectation is that doing this well involves building a diverse, interconnected community of scholars, pastors, and scholar-pastors within our movement.

Ultimately, our desire is both to deepen our theological reflection and to broaden our engagement with our culture. Towards these ends, we anticipate holding conferences and other events to provide forums for collaborating and sharing intellectual work as well as pursuing other ways of facilitating connections among current Vineyard seminarians, graduate students, and scholars.
If you are interested in receiving communication about SVS please click on the "Interested in SVS" button to the right, and fill out the information so we can get to know more about you.

A CALL FOR PAPERS
“The Theology and Practice of the Kingdom of God: Justice, Power and the Cross”
All in the Vineyard who hold or who are working on a graduate degree and enjoy thinking theologically about your discipline are invited and encouraged to submit a paper for the first annual Society of Vineyard Scholars (SVS) Conference. The theme of the conference is “The Theology and Practice of the Kingdom of God: Justice, Power, and the Cross.” It will be held Thursday evening through Saturday morning, October 22-24, in Columbus, OH. Our keynote speaker will be Dr. Ron Sider, Professor at Palmer Theological Seminary and President of Evangelicals for Social Action. The opening address Thursday evening will be delivered by Dr. Don Williams on “The Past, Present, and Future of the Kingdom of God in the Vineyard Movement.”

Three panel sessions on Friday will feature presentations of and responses to papers written by SVS participants, focusing on some aspect of the conference’s larger theme. Papers should be in one of the following areas, broadly defined: Bible, Theology, Ethics, and History, as they relate to the theme of the conference. For these sessions, we will select a maximum of nine papers of no more than 12 pages in length. Completed papers, including titles and abstracts, will be due August 1, 2009. Submissions should be emailed to Carol.Shelton@vineyardcolumbus.org. Those who submit will be notified of the acceptance status of their papers by August 30, 2009.

Middle Age

People tell me that 30 is the new 2o and that middle age is 65. Let me push back and say, ' who wants to chase kids around the playground at 5o?'- DAD or GRANDPA?- neither. There is a time of life for everything, and not all things in life can be done anytime. I have always been one who both is amazed at how much I have done in life AND how much I have missed. I am too old for the olympics, for climbing everest, for travelling without kids.....(maybe someday lord).

I know people who struggle to have kids because they have found that 40 is too old. Seniors who feel as lively as when they were 20, but can't walk or run because of health problems......

WHAT IS THE MESSAGE? .......LIVE IT!

I have been observing lately that if you want to build something, a career, a house or a church. Do it while you are young. It is amazing to see that even those ol' guys with lots of life left hit 50 and something changes. The drive to do it in your 50's is not there. In your 50's you want to enjoy the fruit of your labour, tell someone else how to do it, or better yet....consult. Building is for your 30's maybe 40's so get a move on.... OLD MAN.

Church Planting Thought #1

Now I have had a hard time distinguishing it is my pride, or my desire for progress that thinks things, especially churches should grow. I really like it when things grow. By growth I mean: numerically, in spiritual health-meaning broken people becoming healed, and in churches that plant churches. That seems healthy.

There are those that believe that what a church is-it is. If it is a church of 40 then that is it. I tend to think that there are reasons for it being a church of 40. Now let me be clear, a small church does not mean an unhealthy church. I am of the opinion the world needs more churches and different churches. BUT, the argument you often hear from small churches is.....well every church doesn't have to be a mega church. I tend to agree. Regardless, my observations would say, a church of 40 is unlikely to survive past 1 generation.

That means once the founding pastor resigns, that church will likely fold for a number of reasons. The leadership of a small church requires a greater burden on the pastor to be bivocational. A small church is not able to support a pastor. Secondly, a small church really gets built around the pastor and transitioning to a new leader is extremely difficult. Now a church closing, I have come to realize, is not the end of the world, but....

If a church wants to be around for successive generations needs to have a size of at least 100. Many say 150 is a 'critical mass'. Small churches if they are concerned about their community, about the people that depend on them, should be planning either grow, or be prepared to transition the community into a place where the long term care of the community can be provided aka. help them go elsewhere.

feel free to comment, this is about refining thoughts.