Dr. Charles A. Montgomery, Jr serves as a Teaching Pastor at Vineyard Church of Columbus and in 2012 took on the additional responsibility of becoming the Campus Pastor of Vineyard Columbus East Campus. A Spirit-filled, gifted preacher and lecturer, he is nationally and globally recognized as a critical thinker and advocate for racial reconciliation and is a member of the prestigious Martin Luther King Jr Board of Preachers of Morehouse College.  Dr. Montgomery earned his Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics from Morehouse College; a Master of Divinity from Emory University with certificates in Black Church studies and Christian Education, and a PhD in Ethical and Creative Leadership from Union Institute and University in Cincinnati, Ohio(highest honors). He has also written several articles on Leadership and Spirituality, and is the author of the forthcoming book, Building A House Without Walls. Throughout his career Dr. Montgomery has received numerous academic, civic, literary, and ecclesiastical awards. Concerning these and other accomplishments, Dr. Montgomery believes his greatest accomplishment is being married to the love of his life, Kimberly. In this episode of The Ferment, Dr. Montgomery shares his journey from childhood to becoming a rocket scientist to pastoring, and the God thread woven throughout. He and Adam discuss the difference between oration and preaching, the craft of formulating a sermon and what happens when God asks you to scrap it and redirects at the last minute. Dr. Montgomery also presents some tough questions for us to wrestle with, like what does “thy kingdom come” look like in our context? And as the Vineyard is seeing movement towards real multiethnic communities, what does it mean to have true diversity and oneness in our churches? This is an encouraging conversation that will leave you with thoughts to chew on for the weeks to come.   Show notes: Vineyard Worship’s Song of the Month: “You Don’t Have to Lose Heart” https://slinky.to/YouDontHaveToLoseHeart Vineyard Columbus https://vineyardcolumbus.org

In this follow-up episode of The Ferment, Mike O’Brien and Adam Russell continue their conversation about worship team culture and development and the importance of defining excellence within your own church context. They also tackle what it looks like to age well as a worship leader and some key strategies for longevity.     Mike O’Brien has served as a worship pastor, speaker, record producer and songwriter for over 25 years. For 18 years he served one church (Vineyard Community Church of Marietta, GA) training hundreds of worship leaders and musicians; in that church he founded a creative common called “Poured Out Like Wine”. Mike serves as the director for the Vineyard School of Worship and has produced numerous albums including "Shine On Us", "Miami Vineyard Live", and "Not Be Moved". He holds his Masters of Worship Studies from the Robert E. Webber Institute and is currently serving the church at large in worship team training and worship leader mentoring. Mike, his wife Susan and their son Ezekiel live in Atlanta GA.   Show notes: Mike’s Website: http://Themikeo.com Vineyard School of Worship http://Vsow.org Vineyard Worship’s Song of the Month: “You Don’t Have to Lose Heart” https://slinky.to/YouDontHaveToLoseHeart  

Mike O’Brien has served as a worship pastor, speaker, record producer and songwriter for over 25 years. For 18 years he served one church (Vineyard Community Church of Marietta, GA) training hundreds of worship leaders and musicians; in that church he founded a creative common called “Poured Out Like Wine”. Mike serves as the director for the Vineyard School of Worship and has produced numerous albums including "Shine On Us", "Miami Vineyard Live", and "Not Be Moved". He holds his Masters of Worship Studies from the Robert E. Webber Institute and is currently serving the church at large in worship team training and worship leader mentoring. Mike, his wife Susan and their son Ezekiel live in Atlanta GA.   In this episode of The Ferment, Mike shares some of the insight he has gained from visiting Vineyard churches across the nation over a number of years observing worship teams, and extends an invitation to worship leaders and pastors to view their teams differently, valuing the opportunity for discipleship over the desire to have a team stacked with “the best” musicians week in and week out. Mike also offers some tips for shaping the church’s worship diet in a way that is most nourishing for that specific congregation and proposes some thoughts and personal experience on how to leave a church role well.   Show notes: Mike’s Website: http://Themikeo.com Vineyard School of Worship http://Vsow.org Vineyard Worship’s Song of the Month: “You Don’t Have to Lose Heart” https://slinky.to/YouDontHaveToLoseHeart Managing Leadership Anxiety by Steve Cuss: https://amzn.to/2ObHtDN

Melisa Keller is the Director of Events & Project Management for Vineyard Worship. In her role, Melisa oversees Vineyard Worship Leader Retreats and Rise events, and serves as project manager for all products and releases. She earned her MBA in Hospitality Management, which has enabled her to better enjoy food, wine, good music and good times with family and friends. Melisa and her husband Scott currently lead worship and serve on the leadership team at Vineyard Fullerton in Fullerton, CA. They have two amazing children.  In this episode of The Ferment, Adam and Melisa discuss emotional intelligence: what is it, why do we care, and how does it affect worship leaders and pastors? Melisa shares about how becoming self-aware allows us to find freedom from our reactionary responses, first by noticing what is happening in our physical bodies and then bringing them to the Lord and allowing Him to speak, often revealing things to us about our formative experiences. Emotional Intelligence leads us to an awareness of how we move through the world, and also allows us to love others better and to build teams marked by grace and understanding.  This is an incredibly practical and valuable episode that all humans, but especially leaders, should have in their tool box.    Show Notes: The Ferment: Melisa Keller - We Need To Pastor The Ministry Of The Holy Spirit https://bit.ly/3ozkoaC Managing Leadership Anxiety  by Steve Cuss https://amzn.to/3j4cm8E  

Paul Anleitner is the Worship Pastor at the First Evangelical Free Church in Minneapolis, MN and host of the Deep Talks podcast - Exploring Theology and Meaning-Making. Prior to joining the staff at First Free, he enjoyed 15 years of vocational ministry experience in a variety of roles and denominational settings. He has had the privilege over the years of being not only a Worship Pastor in the Assemblies of God, Evangelical Covenant Church, and now the Evangelical Free Church, but has also taught theology and biblical studies courses in Christian high schools, directed parachurch ministries, and recorded & released original music. Paul loves reading theology, exercising and watching or playing basketball. He is married to the girl of his dreams, Keri, and they have 3 kids. In this episode of The Ferment podcast, Paul and our host Adam Russell have an incredibly nuanced conversation about the way symbols and the meaning we ascribe to them create stories that shape our worldview. Coming on the tail of January 6th and the insurrection at the US Capitol Building, Paul and Adam discuss the mixed symbolism of nooses and Confederate flags displayed alongside “Jesus Saves” signs and the way that mirrors the present state of Christianity and politics in our nation. As the layers are peeled back, Paul and Adam dive into spheres of psychology and theology, examining the symbolism within our church buildings and worship songs, and the effect the convergence of culture and subcultures has on shaping the narrative of our nation, our worship experience, and our lives.   Show notes Deep Talks Podcast https://deeptalkstheologypodcast.podbean.com The Ferment Podcast – Paul Anleitner 5.26.19 https://bit.ly/3980Pl6

Eleanor Mumford and her husband John play a significant leadership role within the Vineyard family of churches, both in the UK and overseas. They worked for two years with John Wimber at the Anaheim Vineyard in California before starting the SW London Vineyard in 1987. They handed over the leadership of that church in 2008 and served as National Directors in the UK and Ireland until 2015. They now focus on the continued development and momentum of the international Vineyard family. Eleanor and John have two grown sons, two beautiful daughters-in-law and 4 grandchildren. In this episode of The Ferment, Eleanor shares her origin story and the power of a praying roommate. She also talks about her husband’s first interactions with John Wimber and their earliest days with the Vineyard movement, the profound impact of worship in their life and ministry, and their life more recently as international coordinators within Vineyard Global. Eleanor speaks about unity, equipping international leaders to care for their people and communities, and shares an encouraging word about staying close to the Lord during this hard season.   Show notes: Vineyard Global: https://vineyard.org

Ryan Delmore and his wife Sarah live on the central coast of California where they own and operate Del’s Famous Pizzeria & Italian Restaurant. A worship leader in the Vineyard church for over 25 years, Ryan continues to write songs and lead worship in his local church, while touring occasionally. He has written and recorded several songs with Vineyard Music, including “Better Than Life,” “Set Me on Fire,” “Let It Come,” and “Jesus’ Name”. Ryan and Sarah have five children and a granddaughter. In this episode of The Ferment, Ryan shares his story of growing up seaside, finding the Lord and becoming an “accidental songwriter.”  He talks about how his definition of success and his dreams have evolved over time, and how being mentored as a young man really helped shape him both personally and musically. Ryan and Adam also reminisce about the lengths they used to go to in order to have access to their favorite songs on demand pre-Spotify.   Show notes Del’s Famous Pizzeria & Italian Restaurant https://delspizzeria.com John Barnett - Holy and Anointed One https://youtu.be/oAjSjxg-BOs The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions https://amzn.to/3nBCoRi  

Sandra McCracken’s prolific contributions as a songwriter, modern-day hymn writer, and record producer have brought grace and clarity to her soulful, folk-gospel sound. Whether in a theater or in a chapel, she is a dynamic performer who blurs the lines of what church music sounds like, captivating and inviting audiences to sing along. While many of her songs like “We Will Feast In the House Of Zion” and “Thy Mercy My God” have settled into regular rotation in Christian worship services internationally, she has also had songs recorded by All Sons And Daughters, ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy, Audrey Assad, A Rocha Compilation, Bifrost Arts, Caedmon’s Call and others. She is further a founding member of Indelible Grace Music and Rain for Roots (children’s music) and has been a guest writer for Art House America, She Reads Truth, The Gospel Coalition, Christianity Today, RELEVANT Magazine, and more. In the first episode of season 3, Sandra and our host Adam Russell talk about how songwriting is influenced by the world around us, discovering who we are when our normal affirmations are stripped away and the opportunity that change brings to learn to love each other.  Sandra also shares her love of the Psalms and the profound impact they’ve had on her songwriting, and how songs can be a purveyor of hospitality.   Show notes: Sandra’s Website https://www.sandramccracken.com Sandra McCracken - Lay My Worry Down https://bit.ly/2X7jeIc To Be Told - God Invites You to Coauthor Your Future by Dan B. Allender https://amzn.to/2X6lBL7 Yo-Yo Ma - “Music Happens Between the Notes” (On Being with Krista Tippet) https://bit.ly/3rN2eEZ Sandra McCracken- Traincar https://bit.ly/3pICyrk Sandra McCracken - Patient Kingdom https://sandramccracken.lnk.to/PatientKingdom https://sandramccracken.lnk.to/PatientKingdom

As we take our end of season break, please enjoy some of our very favorite episodes from 2020, released on Mondays and Thursdays throughout December! We will catch you back with Season 3 in January! New Year, new episodes! Steve Cuss is the author of the influential book, "Managing Leadership Anxiety: Yours and Theirs” (published by NEXT Leadership Network), and serves as lead pastor at Discover Christian Church in Broomfield, CO.    On today's episode, Steve and Adam discuss chronic anxiety and its effect on our personal lives, our teams, and the society in which we live. This is an important conversation, especially in the current global pandemic.

As we take our end of season break, please enjoy some of our very favorite episodes from 2020, released on Mondays and Thursdays throughout December! We will catch you back with Season 3 in January! New Year, new episodes! Chris Lizotte is a singer-songwriter and worship leader best known for his songs "Glory The King,” "I Love Your Ways,” and "I Will Trust You.” Born and raised in Orange County, CA, Chris has led worship for The National Youth Leaders Convention, Promise Keepers, and Campus Crusade, and his songs have been recorded by Kim Walker-Smith, Crystal Lewis, Vineyard Worship, and Maranatha! Music.    On this episode Chris shares his faith journey — from growing up Catholic to coming to faith through a physical healing — as well as his journey into music and leading worship.  Many prominent voices have spoken deeply and personally into Chris’s life and long road in worship ministry and mainstream music, including Chuck Smith, Kevin Prosch, John Wimber, and Eddie Espinosa. There is much to learn here.