Tag Archives: Johm Mumford

Vineyard Movement

Vineyard and the New Archbishop of Canterbury

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justin welbyEarlier I had mentioned in passing that Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby spoke at the Vineyard UK/Ireland National Leaders’ Conference last week. Sadly the conversation between him, his lovely wife, Caroline and the Vineyard national directors, John and Eleanor Mumford, has been taken off the internet… however, I did make some notes about his talk that I wanted to share with you all. 😀

First off, it was really cool to hear a little more about Justin’s background as he has a very influential position on the world stage (the Anglican Communion has around 85 million members worldwide). One cool item that stood out to me was the openness that  he and Caroline had towards the movement of the Spirit through signs and wonders. Having never been to an Anglican church, I’ve always assumed that they were more cessatist (I know, I know…it is wrong to assume…). However, Justin spoke of being greatly influenced by John Wimber and having just come back from a retreat center in Europe ran by a bunch of charismatic Catholic monks (I told you assuming was wrong! Besides, I should have remembered that Wimber spend years blessing the Anglican Church!).

Secondly, and I think most importantly, at one point in the conversation John Mumford asked Justin what he thought about the Vineyard. Justin responded with a wonderful encouragement to keep on keeping in the direction and calling that God gave us. Here is the question John asked as well as Justin’s response (transcribed by yours truly):

John: “What do you feel that the Vineyard can bring? What can we contribute as a family of churches that loves to be part of the broader body of Christ?”

Justin: “I think it is a really important question. I think – there is a lot of answer that can come. One of the one’s is around the holistic ministry – the idea that you deal with people as they are, not as you would like them to be – you deal with them where they are – you take them were they are – the ministry to the poor, integrated utterly with a passionate commitment to Jesus Christ and to worship. I think I want to say something else – for me part of the inspiration of the Vineyard is seeing the reminder that in the presence of Christ we can we transform the life of the church, which in the churches we have been at – it is sometimes taken a while – and it is this sense of transformation – of integrity, reality and hope and living in the power of the Spirit.  I suppose I want to encourage you all in more than anything else: Do not move away from the gift of the spirit to this place.” (underlines added)

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Vineyard Movement

Top 12 Resources From the Vineyard UK/Ireland in 2012

Each week the Vineyard UK/Ireland AVC uploads some new resources for the church – either ones they re-discovered in their vaults or new material recently released. In celebration of the year just finished, they posted a summary of the top 12 popular resources.

Here is a quick list of the resources in reserve order along with a few of my notes. Feel free to navigate over to the main article for more details as well links to specific resources.

12. Creative Evangelism // Alan Scott

11. Developing Fearlessness // Robby Dawkins

A short video by Robby on being willing to risk everything – including looking like an idiot – to tell people about Jesus. What are we willing to risk to share the message of Jesus?

10. Burned for the Bible // James Mumford

9.  Kids Can Too // Nigel & Jo Hemming

Children are not the church of tomorrow – they are the church of today!! The church in general needs to move past ‘babysitting’ kids on Sunday and allow them to participate in the mission of God as a fully functional member of Christ’s body.

8.  Why bother with theology in the Vineyard // Jason Clark

This is a written article based upon a talk Jason gave last year. It is a well thought out article about the importance of theology in our daily lives – give it a read!

7. Songs that reflect a season of the church // Kathryn Scott

6. Everybody gets to play // John Mumford

A great article by the National Director of the Vineyard UK/Ireland on the value of allowing everyone to participate in the mission of God.

5. Serving our Communities // Alan Scott

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Vineyard Movement

The Distinctives of the Vineyard

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There are many tribes or denominations within the greater Global Church, some of them old and some new… Every group is important as they reflect the multifaceted mystery of the Almighty. We, I, need the entire body of Christ (i.e. Church) to help guide me and direct me down the path of life.

Yet sometimes it is nice to find a smaller tribe of people in which you can walk… a group that shares common values and whose heart breaks with the same intensity over the same issues. It is, as Jason Clark recently wrote, to be apart of a denomination in which you can find accountability and support. And the group that I belong to – the group that shares the cries of my heart – is the Vineyard. It isn’t the ‘cats meow’ for everyone nor does it claim to be the best. But it is the group for me!

Recently I was browsing a church planting forum when I saw a post by Michael Gatlin, National Church Planting Director, about the distinctives of the Vineyard. As I read through the list that he got from John Mumford, Director of Vineyard UK, my heart just jumped! This was it! This is why I call the Vineyard home and why I love my tribe.

So, being a blogger, I would like to share with you all this list of distinctives on what makes the Vineyard Vineyard. (underlines emphasis are mine)

The main and the plain.

  • What do what the scriptures say. The Bible is our gold standard, plumb line
  • Confident and thoughtful in the teaching of the bible in small and large groups the whole counsel of God, the good & easy bits and the difficult bits. We are a people who are wrestling with what the bible says, and how does it apply to our situations.
  • Are our people reading and looking up stuff in the bible? Get into the book yourself and push your people to do the same!
  • We’ve only really had the book in this form for 400 years and we tend to take it for granted.
  • We minister who we are, people impacted by the kingdom in our real lives. Taking it in and giving it away.

The now and the not yet.

  • This is crucial and foundational to who we are.
  • Encouraging a lifestyle that expects the kingdom of God to be demonstrated time and again everywhere we are. We are first and foremost a kingdom of god movement. Our central theological motif. It is not nearly a proposition to believe, rather a way to live.
  • This is a theology that empower and at the same time sustained us through difficulties. It keeps us from the triumpfatalism of Pentecostalism on the one hand, and from the cecassionism of conservative evangelicalism on the other.
  • We are unashamed and unembarrassed that power and suffering go hand in hand. This teaching helps life make sense, it takes my breath away.

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