Blogs & Podcasts

Thinking about coming to the National Women's Conference August 4-6, Lead On ? The early-bird deadline is coming up quick! The deadline for the Pastors and Leaders pre-conference gathering on the 3rd and 4th is also June 13. Time to sign up before the price goes up.

Why come to a big national conference? What happens there that doesn't happen in quite the same way at a local church women's conference?

A question that we all wrestle with is “should we be doing more marketing?”. I’m sure that no one in this economy has a lot of discretionary money to use for marketing, so what is the best way we can utilize the limited funds that we have?  Here are some thoughts…..

This month’s question is posted by Nicole McAdoo-Popovich, Denver Hub pastor from Arvada Vineyard, CO and answered by Jeff Heidkamp, co-pastor of Mercy Vineyard in Minneapolis, MN with his wife, Le Que Heidkamp, and editor of Cutting Edge, the Vineyard church planting magazine. Nicole is one of a group of current and potential church planters within Arvada Vineyard, and this is one of the most common questions they struggle with.

I was one of those kids who actually read all or most of the books on the summer reading list they sent home with us from school. I'm sure that the first year it was because there was a prize involved, but after that I was hooked. As I turn the corner into autumn, I'm beginning to compile my reading list, and I thought I'd throw out the friendly challenge to you to post a comment, a book review, or a list you yourself might "go for".

Here are my categories:

A provocative question, asking which race a person prefers.

I have just finished a book by Malcolm Gladwell called "Blink" which I found a fascinating read, and I was captured by this question in one section of his book where he talks about a test a person can take to show what they unconsciously feel toward African-Americans and European-Americans.

When my wife was having our first child, the midwife was very concerned because the baby was in the breach position. If the baby was to try to leave her body that way there would be real damage to the baby and my wife. In the birthing process leaving well is critical.

Leaving well in the birth of a church is important too! We want healthy, strong churches right from the start that have what they need to grow to full maturity. There is a lot of unnecessary pain and agony when the leaving is done poorly.

This year, at the Vineyard 2009 National Conference, we on the Ethnic Diversity Task Force used it as a place to introduce ourselves the larger Vineyard movement -- and we had a great time doing it! Every conversation I had felt like I was making friends with a kindred spirit on this journey toward a multi-ethnic community of believers.

A frequent question for church planters is how to balance church and family. I generally give a two part answer: one answer for the first year of planting, another answer for all the years after that. In the first year I recommend working all out, especially at gathering, in hopes of getting the church to an attendance of 100 or so in the first year-two years at most. This would make all the other things more simple. Which means that in the first year a planter has to get by on minimal family time.

The Ethnic Diversity Task Force would like to invite any ethnic minority pastors and their spouses to attend a luncheon on Tuesday, May 5, during the National Conference in Galveston, TX. This lunch is open to associate and senior pastors.

We would love to take the opportunity to meet you and hear about your interest in the area of ethnic diversity in the Vineyard.

Please just RSVP with an e-mail to leque@mercyvineyard.org so we can be sure to have enough lunch!

Today a friend told me about visiting a church in another city. The first time he went it was for a Sunday evening service he found on their web site. But when he got there the place was closed - no signs, no lights, no notice, and no people except for three other newcomers who did the same thing - look on the web and come to the stated service time. So eventually he tried again on Sunday morning. But the service was much longer than he expected - he had arranged a ride from someone else and had to leave after 90 minutes and the sermon still hadn't started!