Not your typical Vineyard Church

I had the great pleasure to have dinner with Kevin Rains when he was in town recently. Kevin is pastor of Vineyard Central in Cincinnati. My relationship with Kevin goes back to 2001 when I contacted him for my research on Emerging Churches. His story surprised me -- it was a watershed moment in my research and for me personally. This church was unlike any Vineyard I had seen.

A little background -- my roots are in the Vineyard -- I go way back to a pre-Wimber Vineyard. I spent a good amount of time with the people at Anaheim as well -- I went on the ministry trips, I got to 'do the stuff' (Wimber's mantra for physical healing in the 1980s). I saw the many flavors of Vineyard, both regionally and with every new movement they embraced and then rejected. But the stories Kevin shared I had never heard -- he represented an expression of church that I had not seen in the Vineyard or anywhere else in the US. It gave me my first hope that the US may experience some of the vital, more indigenous forms of community that was becoming prevalent in the UK.

Here is a bit of their story. In 1994, when their Vineyard church lost their building, they transformed into a community of house groups. Having exorcised the Sunday service = church spirit out of their system, they began a weekly meeting in a Catholic church building as well. The core of the community began to live together and share a common purse. They located themselves in one of the poorer sections of town and served their community regularly. They hosted a cafe. They adopted  a more explicit contemplative lifestyle, practicing spiritual disciplines and adopting a 'rule' for the community. They did not abandon any aspect of their Vineyard heritage, but enhanced it, filling it out. One could argue that this was 'doing the stuff' of Jesus, a holistic version.

They did this intuitively, without any explicit modeling. They felt their way and became pioneers. Early on, I saw their influence grow to other communities in the US as well, simply because they had been at it longer and Kevin has a pastor's heart. Their community strongly resembled Tribal Generation in Sheffield (UK), but they had zero contact at the time.

On his visit out here, Kevin caught me up on his community and the current challenges they face. As a bi-vocational pastor, Kevin doesn't have it easy. He often works all day at work and then his pastoral responsibilities begin. But it sounds like his work has turned a corner and he is pleased with where the church is at. He is pondering some new ministry initiatives that sound pretty exciting. Their community continues to grow in influence, both in the Vineyard and elsewhere. Renewal always come from the margins, and Vineyard Central is no exception.

Technorati Tags: Emerging_Church, neo-monastic

Comments

[+ Alan]

You had dinner with a good man there Ryan. Maybe we can all break some food together sometime. Peace.

[Dana Ames]

I remember reading about this in the "Cutting Edge" magazine- and I saved it. It excites me to no end! I think John would be in the thick of this conversation.

Thanks for your blog; I appreciate your insights and your spirit.

Dana Ames
Ukiah, CA

[Bill Ekhardt]

Thanks for sharing this piece of the church with us, Ryan.

[Chris(tine)]

Ryan -

I've seen your book talked about on emergent blogs for a while, just found a link to your blog and saw this post - look forward to reading your blog. I was wondering which pre-Wimber Vineyard you were at (in my understanding of the timeline, there were about 3 or 4 when Wimber started)? I was in SLO...

[Ryan Bolger]

Chris(tine) -- I was part of the Valley Vineyard in the San Fernando Valley (just north of LA). I joined it right after the Vineyard split from one church to two...

[Dana Ames]

Holy cow, Ryan, I didn't think you were old enough to go back that far with the Vineyard!!!

I was Bill Dwyer's secretary from 1983 to 1988- quit to work at home when I was pregnant with baby #3, then we moved away in 1989. I have fond memories of the Vineyard years- felt like my spiritual adolescence in all the good ways: stretching, exploring, taking good risks, being part of a tight tribe with incredible personal support.

Some things have changed- a few personal upheavals, they finally got a building, most of the people we knew have moved on, lots of new people since we left...You must know Dallas Willard attends the Valley Vineyard...

Anyhow, glad you had a relaxing break. Lots of good words for your book out there in the blogs. Looking forward to meeting you some day.

Dana

[Ryan]

Dana, then I am sure we met at one point -- Tyge Irskens and I would return from UC Davis (1981-1985), and Bill and the church would always pray for us -- mostly during summers and winter break.

I started going to Anaheim in 1985, but Tyge kept connected with the VV until much later...

[Dana Ames]

I remember Tyge's name but can't put a face to it- I am really sad to have lost you two somewhere in the recesses of my brain...

Blessings to you.

Dana

[erickeck]

so awesome to hear these stories. thanks for writting em down.

[robbymac]

Cool. I was once a pastor at Westside Vineyard in Santa Monica -- it was the very first Vineyard started by Gulliksen; I think Valley was the first new congregation to come out of Westside.

Small emerging world...