This is the next edition of a special series we're calling the COVID Check-In. In this series we get an on-the-ground look at how faith leaders and churches are dealing with the global pandemic.    Today, we talk with John and Judith Hix, lead pastors of the Seattle Vineyard in Washington State. They had an early personal brush with COVID-19.

Stu G is a guitarist, songwriter, and producer. Stu is best known as the guitarist for the British band Delirious?, who—for nearly two decades—penned many of the popular worship songs in modern Christendom. He was also a member of the distinguished CompassionArt songwriters collective, which boasted heavy-hitters Paul Baloche, Darlene Zschech, Steven Curtis Chapman, and Israel Houghton. Stu lives in Nashville with his wife Karen.   On this episode, Stu and our host Adam Russell dig into Stu's origin story leading to the birth of Delirious?.  They then discuss the riches found in the Sermon on the Mount, specifically the Beatitudes. This passage of scripture has become a passion project for Stu culminating in "The Beatitudes Project" - a feature-length documentary that has spawned an album, book, podcast, and group experience featuring artists, thinkers, and change-makers from all over the world who grapple with this timely question: does the most famous sermon in history still apply? This conversation on the text of Matthew 5-7 has particular relevance in this time of COVID-19 quarantine and economic crisis.

This is the next edition of a special series we're calling the COVID Check-In. In this series we will get an on-the-ground look at how faith leaders and churches are dealing with the global pandemic.    Today, we talk with Hal Donaldson, CEO of Convoy of Hope, about their mission to provide 10 million meals during this crisis. As a faith-based, nonprofit organization, Convoy of Hope has helped more than 115 million people throughout the world by sharing food, water, emergency supplies, agricultural know-how, and opportunities that empower people to live independent lives, free from poverty, disease and hunger.

Jesse Duley is the training coordinator for Vineyard Worship in the UK & Ireland. In addition to his role at Vineyard Worship UKI, Jesse serves as worship pastor at Kingdom Vineyard in St. Andrew's, Scotland.    In this episode Jesse recounts his faith journey, which led to his discovery of the spiritual discipline of sabbath and finding God in the small, everyday things of life. Then, Adam and Jesse discuss the need for local churches and worship leaders to find their own voice rather than just being an echo of the popular worship culture. The episode closes with a conversation about the challenges of leading worship online in this current climate.    Jesse is a fount of wisdom and experience you won't want to miss!

This is the first edition of a special series we're calling COVID Check-In. In this series we will get an on-the-ground look at how faith leaders and churches are dealing with the global pandemic.    Today, we talk with John & Kara Kim, pastors of the 166 in Hells Kitchen, Manhattan, NYC. In addition to his work as a pastor, John is a highly-respected economist.

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.  From Steve's website:  I love leaders, and I see how much pressure they carry. My particular concern is to bring relief by equipping them with tools for individual and team health. I especially enjoy helping leaders break long stuck patterns in themselves and their organizations.  I cut my teeth on leadership anxiety when I served as a chaplain at a level one trauma hospital. The hospital sent us into every conceivable human experience and we had nothing but our wits and the presence of God to get us through. In that baptism of fire, I learned how to pay attention to what was going on under the surface of my own life, and also the dynamics between family members. One of the supervisors was Murray Bowen’s student, so I was steeped in family systems theory and then later studied it and cybernetics more formally in graduate school. My unique experience and training deepened my leadership capacity to manage anxiety and notice it in groups. I have sixteen hundred hours of supervised ministry in Clinical Pastoral Education. I hold a Master of Divinity from Emmanuel Christian Seminary where I focused on Hebrew Scriptures and Family Systems. My thesis was based on the Hebrew Scriptures’ dignity laws in Leviticus and Exodus and how a suburban church can engage local and global poverty through the lens of reciprocity and dignity rather than charity.   Since 2005, I have served as Lead Pastor of Discovery Christian Church in Broomfield, Colorado, an innovative and entrepreneurial church that has grown from 150 to more than 1000 in weekly attendance. The church intentionally welcomes spiritual seekers and skeptics and is passionate about partnerships that break the local and global poverty cycle. I have also served at a mega church in Las Vegas, on a ranch for struggling teens, and as a youth minister in the Appalachian region.  I was privileged to grow up in Perth, Western Australia, in an adventurous family of origin. After moving to the United States for theological study, I married Lisa and together we have two sons and a daughter, in whom I take great delight. When I am not working, you can find me laughing with my family, knee-deep in a trout stream, or trying a guitar I cannot afford at a local music store.

Susanne "Soose" Courtney is a worship leader and pastor at Manchester Vineyard in the UK, and a broadcast journalist working for a national BBC radio station On this episode, our host Adam Russell talks with Soose about her backstory as a kid of the '90s finding her way to faith and eventually into leading worship in a Vineyard church. Soose is a trusted guide with wise words for worship leaders, especially for women in worship leadership.  Soose then gives us a behind-the-scenes look at what it's like to be a person of faith in the world of mainstream media in our current cultural climate.  This is a fascinating conversation you won't want to miss!!

Today we have another edition in our "conversations" series. This time we hear from Vineyard School of Worship Director, Mike O'Brien, as he discusses the practical topic of building effective set lists in every season of your church's life.

**BONUS EPISODE**   How do we lead our families, our churches, ourselves in this moment?  How do we follow Jesus?  How do we press into new ideas and new creativity in this strange time?   Today we have special edition of our “conversations” series with Adam & Heather Russell.  Together, Adam & Heather take a look at the personal and leadership issues brought up by COVID-19, challenging us to ask the big questions.   Tune in to Vineyard Worship's Facebook page on Wednesday, March 25th at 12pm Eastern time for a live Q & A with Adam and Heather Russell.

Mark Fields currently serves as the Director of Global & Intercultural Ministry for Vineyard USA. Prior to assuming his current position, he was the Senior Pastor of the Vineyard Community Church in Pomona, CA for over 20 years.    As a lifelong learner, Mark attended Fuller Seminary and the London School of Theology, and he has traveled and ministered extensively around the world. He and his wife Karen have been married for nearly 40 years, and are the parents of three adult children and a growing number of grandchildren.    On this week's episode, we get a look into Mark's unusual journey into mission work. Mark also shares some inspiring stories of church planting and evangelism from Vineyard USA's work in over half of the world's countries.