Great Lakes Regional Events & Developments: Spring 2006

February 2006

 

Dear Pastors and Leaders in the Great Lakes Region,

 

I wanted to update you on some important upcoming events and developments in theVineyard and our region.

 

Regional Conference May 9-11, 2006 in Cincinnati.   Each year Vineyard hosts either a national leader conference or regional conferences.  This year's regional conference theme is: A New Christianity: Rediscovering the Center. It's a time of ferment across the church landscape in North America as an ancient faith struggles to find fresh expression.  You know the buzzwords: emerging church, postmodernity, and the like.  It's time now to flesh it out.  Vineyard churches are positioned to do just that. 

 

We believe the New Christianity involves a rediscovery, a new convergence toward the center, drawing from the treasures of the whole church. Our conference will address these major themes: contemplative prayer, social justice, Spirit empowered and outward focused ministry. I believe this is core content for the emerging Christianity of the 21st Century. It is also central to Vineyard's contribution to the emergent church conversation that has had such a big impact in the publishing world of late.  This conference will be aimed at leaders at all levels in local vineyard churches, but it is wide open to anyone who wishes to attend.

 

A New Christianity: Redisovering the Center will be hosted by the Vineyard Community Church in Cincinnati, with worship, teaching, ministry, and workshops.  This year we're aiming to lighten the conference load just a bit: content rich but not exhausting. General sessions won't be quite as long or quite as crammed with presentations.  We'll have soaking prayer rooms available, and a time on Wednesday afternoon to just chill and catch up with old friends or spend time in a contemplative prayer room, or do an outreach project with the Cincinnati gang, or enjoy some extra intimate worship. Our conference workshops will cover the major themes: contemplative, social justice, spirit empowered, outward focused and a grab bag track called "Doing Church Pretty Good"

More details will be forthcoming, but anything you can do to get the word out in your local churches would be much appreciated.

 

Our new regional website has been launched: www.vineyardgreatlakes.com

This will become a primary communication tool and repository for pastoral resources. Also news about what God is doing in Vineyard churches in our region, worship resources including new songs from songwriters in the region, and a feature called Pastor Soul Care to help in tending the inner life of the Spirit. And much more! (Feel the excitement?) Check it out, give us your input, and please include a link to the site on your local church website.  I'm asking any pastors who have one really good sermon on mp.3 format along with well edited sermon notes, to send these in to the regional office so we can have a "best sermons" section on the website. For now, just send us your one best sermon.  We know you have many more!  Send the mp3 and notes to Marcia in the regional office.

 

Fresh Fire for Healing March 23-25 2006 at the Vineyard Church of Delaware County. This is the second of our Holy Spirit Summits, intended to stir and equip the work of the Spirit in the local church.  Our first Holy Spirit Summit was packed out and a big success. Spots are limited, so sign up soon.  How? Go to our regional website: www.vineyardgreatlakes.com.   See how it works?

National Vineyard News: Nancy and I just returned from the Vineyard National Board meetings in Savannah, Georgia.  A few highlights:

 

+ This year was the second best year for church planting in Vineyard's history and the Great Lakes region led the way in new church plants.  Kudos to all the local churches in the region who went through the birth pangs of church planting last year.   

 

+  Your response to hurricane relief effort was overwhelming. $1,300,000 came into the relief fund, not to mention a steady stream of supplies and work teams that have made the Vineyard churches in the area a real shining light.  Vineyards that otherwise would be out of business from the disaster are not only back in business but in full ministry and relief stride.  The Kenner Vineyard in New Orleans is hosting recovering efforts that boggle the mind, for example, including delivering 600 meals twice a week to people in FEMA trailers.  We are looking into forming a quick response relief team to be able to respond to the next disaster since Vineyard now has so much donated equipment (chain saws, generators, porta potties, etc.); we are also considering adopting other churches in the affected region who were not insured--churches with a history of outreach to their local communities that could, with help, be a big help in the rebuilding effort that will be going on for years. Plans are already afoot to plant new churches in neighborhoods that are being rebuilt.  Yes, teams are still welcome and needed and will be for the foreseeable future.  All the info is at www.mercyresponse.com--or if you forget that, go to our regional website for the link: www.vineyardgreatlakes.com.  See how it works? 

 

 + The board is also asking for your prayers as we consider further clarification of the approach of the vineyard nationally to the issue of women in ministry. Here's the request straight from the board: "In response to concerns that have been raised, the Vineyard board is committing itself to further study and prayer on the subject of women in all levels of leadership. We ask for your prayers as we seek God for wisdom and direction. As with all matters of diverse perspectives, we are committed to a process of discussion of the biblical, theological, missional and social dimensions of the issue within a commitment to mutual love and respect."  You may recall that in 2001 the national board confirmed that Vineyard churches are free to ordain women to any level of ministry in the local church (or not) depending on their own reading of Scripture on this issue. (This policy is not being reconsidered, by the way.)

On a personal note: Nancy and I have been so warmly welcomed at the Vineyard National Board.  The extra travel and responsibility has taken some getting used to, but the blessings of serving on the board and in our region more than makes up for it.  I'm especially impressed with the warmth, the openness, and the authenticity of board relationships.  I've continued to be energized by a new and unexpected experience of prayer through some of the contemplative disciplines like prayer through the day, silence and meditative use of Scripture over the past five years, but especially this past year. It's been a major interest and passion of mine to understand how this experience of intimacy works synergistically with all that we've learned about the work of the Spirit for healing, hearing God's voice, and so on.  Personally, I'm convinced that blending the work of the Spirit in the inner life through some of these disciplines (which hardly seem to require "discipline" once you find a rhythm) and the power of God for outward focused ministry is part of the Spirit's agenda for the Christianity of the 21st Century. 

One final word: it distresses me that our Area Pastoral Care Leaders--pastors who, like me, are volunteering their time to the Vineyard--have to spend so much attention and time to chase down this simple form from local churches.  Yet it's necessary to protect the Vineyard name (for example, there is a Wicca group that uses the Vineyard name in one town). It's a real pain in the keester to have to call pastors and nag them about this, and I'll be personally calling those who don’t respond to the latest round of reminders. You feel my pain, I know, being empathetic pastors! I'll be glad when that's finally behind us.

Anyone with questions about this can contact Marcia Thaxton in the regional office.

 

On a more positive note: Rich Nathan and I are looking into writing another book together and Springtime is coming to Michigan! It'll be here by June for sure! And we welcome Danny and Penny Meyer, Mark and Denise Pope and Dave and Anita Workman to the regional leadership team: they will be serving the Central Ohio, Northern Indiana and Southern Ohio areas respectively in caring for pastors.

 

 

Love,

 

Ken & Nancy Wilson

Vineyard Church of Ann Arbor

Great Lakes Regional Overseer