Episodes
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In this episode of We Are Vineyard, Jay and Christina Lowery discuss last week’s episode with Mark Batterson, including what Christina loves about their ministry approach. They also talk about why leadership development and succession plans are vital for the Vineyard today, how and why they created Vineyard Leadership Essentials, and some other effective pathways for discipleship. Christina shares about some of the new stuff coming in the Fall for pastors who have just come in as successors, some of what’s happening with NextGen and how she’s working to resource what God’s doing, and what she’s encouraged by as she meets with Vineyards around the country.Christina Lowery is the Associate National Director for Church Health and Development.Early in her ministry career, Christina served as the Events Director for a large student internship at Teen Mania Ministries (Acquire the Fire) in Tyler, TX. In 2001, she and her husband Joel joined a local Vineyard Church there, and served on the pastoral team for several years until they were called to move back to Virginia and plant Crossroads Church. Christina and Joel have co-pastored Crossroads Church in Fredericksburg, VA since 2008. As a Lead Pastor, Christina has been a big-picture thinker and creative visionary, responsible for communicating and driving the vision and mission of the church forward. She finds great joy in preaching and teaching, leadership development, and building systems that foster church health and growth.In addition to her local leadership at Crossroads Church, she has served in other leadership roles with the Vineyard, such as an Area Leader in Northern and Central Virginia for ten years (2009-2019) and on the Vineyard Women in Leadership Team for the past three years (2018-2021). Joel and Christina have been married for 23 years and have 3 amazing kids – Hannah, Caleb, and Zoe. The Lowery family loves to travel and so far, their favorite destination is Maui, with its warm sun and beautiful island beaches. Show Notes: Register Now for Vineyard USA’s 2025 National ConferencesListen to Christina’s previous episode Listen to Mark Batterson’s episode Vineyard Leadership EssentialsProject Timothy
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In this episode of We Are Vineyard, Jay talks with John Kim about the ways in which generative AI are impacting our world, and the potential for impacting our future. John shares about a perspective shift in viewing AI in terms of Genesis instead of Revelation, how to get started using AI constructively, and some ideas about how you can use it to multiply your ministry efforts. John and Jay also chat about some of the limitations of AI, and the two questions it forces us to ask. John Kim is the founder of Karamaan Group, an investing firm that oversees his family interests through passive and active interests in public and private companies, mostly in the software, technology and blockchain industries. Prior to this, John was a partner at the DFO- the family investment of Michael Dell and his family. He received his PhD in economics from MIT in 1998 and his AB from Harvard in 1995. John and his family reside at Coram Deo: A House of Worship and Entrepreneurship located in midtown Manhattan. He serves on the board of Vineyard USA.He is a long-suffering NY Knicks fan as the Knicks last won a title when John was in his mother’s womb. He believes that will change this year.Show notes: Hear more of John’s story ChatGPT
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In this episode of We Are Vineyard, Jay talks with Nicole Dill about how she came to the role of Communications Director for Vineyard USA, and the ways in which the role is different than she expected. Nicole shares some of the complexities of resourcing such a diverse movement, the ways that advancements in technology and AI have changed the landscape of comms and social connection, and also how AI might be used by pastors to eliminate some busy work and open up time for personal connection and flourishing. They also discuss the ways in which our online conduct impacts our relationships and our witness to unbelievers, and the direction the Lord is leading our movement, which drives Nicole’s work. Finally, Nicole gives an overview of this year’s National Conferences, an explanation of the theme, and her hopes for our time together. Nicole Dill is the Communications Director for Vineyard USA. She grew up in Columbus, Ohio, where she came to faith as a teenager, and quickly found a church family at Vineyard Columbus in Joshua House, the young adult ministry. In 2002, she moved to Colorado to help plant the Arvada Vineyard (which became a part of the Mile High Vineyard). While helping lead at this growing church plant, Nicole finished her degree in Photography at the Art Institute of Colorado. In 2008, Nicole planted and pastored the first multisite church for the Mile High Vineyard in downtown Denver with a team from the Arvada Vineyard. After several years of pastoring there, she handed the site off to another pastor and helped several other Vineyard church plants and established churches in the Denver area.Nicole has also worked extensively outside the church, leading creative teams at Anthropologie as a store designer, as Chief Operations Officer for TEDxMileHigh, the largest TEDx in North America, and for the White House as an Advance Associate for the President. She consults many growing organizations around their creative, operations, and HR needs in the nonprofit and entrepreneurial sectors. Nicole is thrilled to be on the National Team, pairing together her passion for creativity, the church, and spreading the message of Jesus to the world around us.She lives in Arvada, CO with her husband Jason, and two daughters, Vera and Rosalie, and attends the Arvada Vineyard.Show notes: Hear more of Nicole’s storyThe Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt The Life We’re Looking For by Andy Crouch Notebook LMPerplexity.ai Aiforchurchleaders.comSubscribe to the Vineyard USA Monthly
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In this episode of We Are Vineyard, Super Regional Leader John Elmer chats with Lindsay Mizell about growing up in Young Life camps, connecting with a Vineyard church after college, and finding language for her experiences with the Holy Spirit. Lindsay shares about being invited to pastor a multisite church, wrestling through her identity as a female pastor, and how “on-the-job training” has been a hallmark of her life. Lindsay talks about her experience as an Area Leader for Vineyard USA and shares an incredible story of the healing she experienced this year. Lindsay Mizell is the pastor of Vineyard Springbrook in Alcoa, TN. She grew up in a ministry family, running around Young Life camps and believing she could be part of things God was up to in the world. She is married to Daniel and they have 3 sons. Lindsay serves on the Women’s Association national team and is an Area Leader in the southeast. Show Notes: Register for Vineyard USA’s National Conference: Melody and Harmony Register for Vineyard Women’s Conference: More. www.vineyardspringbriok.org Instagram: @vineyardspringbrook
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In this episode of We Are Vineyard, Jay and Danielle Pathak continue their conversation with Steve Macchia with a discussion about sitting with people in discernment instead of offering answers and opinions, and Steve shares a very personal example of the discernment process he undertook before starting his company. They talk about the rewards and difficulties of navigating such an enormous transition, and Steve provides a helpful definition of, and approach to, discernment. The Rev. Dr. Stephen A. Macchia is founder and president of Leadership Transformations, Inc. (LTI), a ministry serving the spiritual formation, discernment, and renewal of leaders and learners since 2003. For more than 20 years he has been the Director of the Pierce Center for Disciple-Building at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, where he also serves as an adjunct faculty member in the Doctor of Ministry Program. From 1989-2003 he was the president of Vision New England, the largest regional church renewal association in the country. Earlier in his ministry life, Steve was a member of the pastoral staff of Grace Chapel in Lexington, Massachusetts for 11 years. He is the author or co-author of 17 books, including The Discerning Life (Zondervan Reflective), and Crafting a Rule of Life, Becoming A Healthy Church (LTI), and Broken and Whole (IVP). He and his wife Ruth live in the Boston (MA) area and are the proud parents of two married children and grandparents to three adorable grandchildren. Steve’s personal website is www.SteveMacchia.com. Show notes: Learn more about Steve Leadership Transformations The Discerning Life by Stephen Macchia Vineyard History and Identity Resources: The Way It Was by Carol Wimber The Quest For...
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In this episode of We Are Vineyard, Jay and Danielle Pathak talk with Steve Macchia about growing up in a Christian household but not really having a personal relationship with Jesus, changing from a teaching degree to seminary in college, and finding his passions in ministry. Steve shares the advice he’d give his younger self in seminary, and they discuss how creativity and play can open us up to hear from God. They also discuss why he believes the sabbath is the turnkey to the deeper life. This is part one of a two-part series, so come back next week to hear the rest of the conversation! The Rev. Dr. Stephen A. Macchia is founder and president of Leadership Transformations, Inc. (LTI), a ministry serving the spiritual formation, discernment, and renewal of leaders and learners since 2003. For more than 20 years he has been the Director of the Pierce Center for Disciple-Building at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, where he also serves as an adjunct faculty member in the Doctor of Ministry Program. From 1989-2003 he was the president of Vision New England, the largest regional church renewal association in the country. Earlier in his ministry life, Steve was a member of the pastoral staff of Grace Chapel in Lexington, Massachusetts for 11 years. He is the author or co-author of 17 books, including The Discerning Life (Zondervan Reflective), and Crafting a Rule of Life, Becoming A Healthy Church (LTI), and Broken and Whole (IVP). He and his wife Ruth live in the Boston (MA) area and are the proud parents of two married children and grandparents to three adorable grandchildren. Show notes: Learn more about Steve Leadership TransformationsThe Discerning Life by Stephen Macchia
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In this episode of the We Are Vineyard podcast, Jay talks with Bubba Justice about the work he's doing as Vineyard USA’s CFO, and the ways in which his interests in finance and missions overlap. Bubba shares about cultivating new imagination to engage the nations, strategic partnerships that equip international churches to expand the services they can provide, and the role of church planting in missions. Elgie “Bubba” Justice is the Chief Financial Officer and Missions Coordinator for Vineyard USA. In his capacity as the Missions Coordinator, he gives leadership to VUSA Missions by overseeing mobilization, training, partnership development, and coordinating US activity with Vineyard associations internationally. As CFO, he oversees the financial and human resource systems for the Vineyard Movement in the United States.Prior to this role, Bubba served as the National Coordinator for Vineyard USA for four years, starting in 2017 under the leadership of Phil Strout. Over the years, Bubba has served in Vineyard Leadership on the Executive Team, Vineyard Resources Board, Vineyard Worship Board, and on the Multiply Vineyard Advisory Team.After working in the financial world as a C.P.A., a financial manager, and a chief financial officer, Bubba was the senior pastor of the Inverness Vineyard Church (IVC) for 23 years. Before planting IVC, Bubba served in many roles as a volunteer pastor in the Birmingham Vineyard from 1983 until 1993. Some of the ministries Bubba led included youth, children, nursery, intercession, small groups, and ministry team.Bubba and his wife Melany live in Houston, TX, and have two married daughters and two grandchildren. Show notes: Hear more of Bubba’s story December Skim Convoy of Hope Compassion InternationalPetros Network
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In this episode of the We Are Vineyard podcast, we’re celebrating Black History Month! In April 2023, the Vineyard USA National Team and some leaders from around the country embarked on an immersive learning experience hosted by the Evangelical Covenant Church called “Sankofa”, an African word meaning “looking back to move forward.” Dr. Charles Montgomery, Jr. talks with Joel Seymour about the parts of the experience that impacted him as a white man, his realization that discipleship was at the foundation of the Civil Rights Movement, and some of the convictions he’s bringing into his own discipleship process. Dr. Montgomery then talks with Alex Faison, a young Black worship leader, about her experience of Sankofa, the personal connections she felt to her own family’s story, and the ways her church staff has benefited from recreating a similar journey for themselves. Show Notes: SankofaVineyard USA’s Black History Month pageWebcast | MLK and the Local Church: Nonviolence Training as Christian DiscipleshipThe Role of Religion in the Civil Rights Movements by Dr. Bernard LaFayette16th Street Baptist Church
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In this episode of We Are Vineyard, Josh Williams talks with Reverend Gabriel Salguero about an impactful message from the books of Isaiah and Revelation that shapes his vocational journey as a bridge builder, emphasizing how justice and mercy are interwoven in the gospel. Revered Salguero shares about the reality of justice fatigue, the essential role of prayer in staying refreshed and grounded, and the importance of staying intimately connected to the local church. Finally, Josh and Reverend Salguero discuss the challenge of leading a national movement in a non-partisan way, and some of the current issues affecting the undocumented members of our churches. The Rev. Dr. Gabriel Salguero—is pastor of The Gathering Place, a Latino-led multi-ethnic Assemblies of God congregation in Orlando, Florida. Salguero is also the president and founder of the National Latino Evangelical Coalition (NALEC), a national coalition of several thousand evangelical congregations in the United States. He was the former Director of the Hispanic Leadership Program (HLP), and the Institute for Faith and Public Life at Princeton Theological Seminary. Salguero is also a powerful voice on issues that affect the close to 9 million Latino evangelicals in the United States. Salguero’s leadership through NaLEC offers an important voice for the growing diversity and changing demographics in our country. He has written extensively on Latino evangelicalism, immigration, racism, and multicultural congregations. Salguero has been named as one of the nation’s most prominent Latino evangelical leaders by the New York Times, Huffington Post, the New York Observer, the Center for American Progress, El Diario, CNN Español, NBC Universal, Univisión, and Jorge Ramos’s Al Punto. In addition, his leadership on issues of young male education and criminal justice reform has been featured by the Discovery Channel and the Oprah Winfrey Network. Rev. Salguero has served on the White House Faith-Based Advisory Council, the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE), and the National Advisory Council of the My Brother’s Keeper Alliance. He is also on the board of La Asociación Evangélica Latina (AEL) the coalition of Latin American evangelicals which is the representative body for all evangelical associations in Latin America. Salguero holds a BA in Spanish and History from Rutgers University, and M.Div (magna cum laude) from New Brunswick Theological Seminary, and holds a Doctorate in Divinity (honoris causa) from Eastern Nazarene College. Rev. Salguero lives together with his wife, the Rev. Jeanette Salguero and their two sons in Orlando, Florida. Show Notes: National Latino Evangelical Coalition (NALEC)
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In this episode of the We Are Vineyard Podcast, Josh Williams talks with Reverend Paul Robinson about how he defines justice and mercy, the crucial interplay of the two, and some of the upstream initiatives he’s currently focusing on. They discuss the value of investing in the health and well-being of your city both practically and spiritually, and how Reverend Robinson’s church uses the BLESS model as an evangelism tool. Reverend Robinson also shares about immersive cultural experiences, some of the challenges pastors are currently facing, and what’s bringing him hope. Paul Robinson is the Executive Minister of the newly formed Serve Locally for the Evangelical Covenant Church. Serve Locally plants and equips local churches that contribute to a more caring and just world through evangelism, discipleship, biblical justice, and church health. We empower leaders by offering resources, curated experiences, and leadership development. From June of 2019 to October 2023 Paul served as the Executive Minister of Love Mercy Do Justice (LMDJ). Prior to this role Paul was Senior Community Leadership Manager with the Wilder Center for Communities, former Director of the organization’s James P. Shannon Leadership Institute and Church Planter. Paul has partnered with nonprofit, for-profit, education, government and community individuals and organizations in core value clarification, leadership development, intercultural agility, and capacity building to help them better lead themselves and others. Paul is most comfortable at the intersection of ideas, difference, passion and effective action. He enjoys using his skills in meeting design, facilitation and convening to catalyze meaningful connections to stimulate individual and community transformation. Robinson holds a B.S. degree in Finance from Eastern Illinois University and a Master of Divinity degree from McCormick Theological Seminary. Paul Robinson is 2017 AARP Minnesota and Pollen Fifty over Fifty honoree. Paul is married to Kim and together they have seven adult children. Robinson’s combined experience in ministry, business, nonprofit management, and leadership development spans 30 years.Show Notes: We Are Vineyard - Reverend Paul Robinson: Living At The Intersection Of DifferenceLearn more about Sankofa Learn more about the ECC’s immersive learning experiencesLearn more about BLESSLove Mercy Do Justice on Instagram: @LMDJ_ECC
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Welcome back to Season Four of the We Are Vineyard Podcast! In today’s episode, Jay Pathak talks with Josh Williams about Vineyard USA’s connection with InterVarsity and partnering in their recent Ambition conference. Josh shares about how his role as AND of Justice & Evangelism has changed over the past couple of years, some of the partnerships he’s been developing, and his emphasis on serving your city and joining the redemptive history of places. Josh also talks about some of the interesting statistics he’s gathered related to his areas of oversight, the impact of Alpha on churches that have incorporated it into their annual rhythms, and what he’s excited about for the next year. Josh Williams is the Associate National Director for Evangelism and Justice. Josh grew up in Iowa, with strong family ties to Indianapolis, IN.In 2004, he headed to the East Coast to study at Yale University in New Haven, CT where he majored in American Studies and Ethnicity, Race and Migration. During his time in undergrad, he was involved in connecting his faith to justice issues on the campus and in the city. That integration continued as he went to Divinity School and got plugged into Elm City Vineyard (ECV), then an eight-month-old church plant in the heart of the city. Right before he graduated with an M.Div in 2011, Josh was ordained as a pastor in the Vineyard. Weeks later, he happily married his wife, Tina (ECV’s Worship Pastor and a regular presence in Vineyard Worship recording projects), in a very musical service followed by a reception with much dancing. In 2014, Josh became ECV’s first full-time Lead Pastor, and he has enjoyed seeing Jesus grow the church in multi-ethnicity, justice, evangelism, spiritual formation, and Holy Spirit ministry over the last seven years. In the Vineyard, Josh has served as an Area Leader and an Executive Team member since 2017. He has also been on the Vineyard Ethnic Diversity task force since 2019. Josh and Tina are parents of two adorable little ones with a third on the way. Their favorite family activities are going to waterfalls and beaches in Connecticut, eating ice cream, and singing loudly together. Show notes: Hear more of Josh’s story Alpha USAInterVarsity Gospel With The Poor Check out Vineyard USA’s new Justice webpage Vineyard History and Identity Resources: The Way It Was by Carol Wimber The Quest For The Radical Middle by Bill Jackson
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Welcome to the We Are Vineyard Podcast! Today’s episode is week 3 in our Advent series, and Rubén Quintero, leader of Vineyard USA’s Hispanic Association, brings us a devotion on the theme of JOY. This will be followed by the song “Esplindida Noche/Cantemos” from Adoración Viña and Heaven and Earth, Vineyard Columbus’s worship and songwriting community.Show Notes: Esplindida Noche/CantemosVineyard USA’s Advent devotional and resources
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Welcome to the We Are Vineyard Podcast! Today’s episode is week 2 in our Advent series, and Melanie Forsythe-Lee, leader of Vineyard USA’s Women’s Association, brings us a devotion on the theme of PEACE. This will be followed by “Christmas Medley” from Vineyard Worship’s album “Humble King”, performed by Tina Colón Williams.Show Notes: Christmas MedleyVineyard USA’s Advent devotional and resources
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