In this episode of The Ferment, Adam talks with Paul Cullen about growing up in a small town, how he turned from an athlete into a musician, and when he started to know his marketing degree wasn’t going to be utilized. Paul shares about discovering that he loved leading worship during a tumultuous time at his church, and how following the Lord’s leading consisted of saying yes to the next thing offered to him. He talks about the people who believed in him from the beginning and the joy he now finds in pouring into students at his church, the ways he cares for himself as an introvert, and the refreshment he finds through leading a small group with his wife.   Paul and his wife Leah live in Columbus, OH and serve as a part of Vineyard Columbus, where Paul is one of the worship pastors.  Paul has been leading worship in Vineyard churches for nearly 15 years. Since joining the worship staff at Vineyard Columbus in 2015, Paul has primarily invested in training worship leaders, developing a culture of songwriting, and raising up the next generation of worshippers. In addition to leading worship at Vineyard Columbus, Paul has recently become involved with the growing community of songwriting and creativity in Vineyard Worship (USA), most recently as a songwriter and worship leader on the upcoming Vineyard Worship album "This Joy", releasing Summer 2023!    Show Notes: Catch the latest single from Vineyard Worship: "If You Say Go (We Wait For You)"-Live From Urbana https://youtu.be/jejv_GAY2CI Alpha https://alphausa.org/

It’s season FIVE of The Ferment Podcast, and our friend David Ruis is back to kick it off with a conversation about communal discernment of prophetic words! He and Adam talk about how and why the Lord speaks in a community, the process of discerning the timing and meaning of words, and some lessons they’ve learned the hard way.    David and Anita Ruis have lead, encourage, and empowered the Vineyard in Canada as the National Directors since 2014. David is a well-respected worship leader and songwriter (You're Worthy Of My Praise, Every Move I Make) and has also authored two books: The Worship God Is Seeking and The Justice God Is Seeking. Most recently, he is a contributing songwriter on Vineyard Worship’s highly anticipated album “This Joy”, releasing summer 2023! As a team David and Anita are also known to be effective church planters and seasoned pastors, having established churches in Canada and the US. David has also been instrumental in seeing Vineyard communities established in Nepal and India. Much of the Ruises' focus has been in indigenous settings, working with people experiencing poverty and subsequent marginalization. They also have significant experience facilitating leadership development and on the creative side David is known for fostering originality in song-writing and the arts in various cultural settings.   A burning passion for the Ruises is both practical and theological integration of creative worship in church community, and deep life engagement with issues of poverty and social injustice. The Ruises currently reside in Kelowna, BC. In their down time they love to be creative and hang with their grandkids.     Show Notes:  The Patient Ferment of The Early Church by Alan Kreider https://amzn.to/3Y8eNdZ   Slow Kingdom Coming  by JT Meyer, Dan Wilt and Michael Hansen (2017 Mercy/Vineyard Publishing) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foedee85CDk

In this Advent-focused episode of The Ferment, Adam catches up with Mike and Susan O’Brien to chat about some themes to meditate on, the gifts that come through a season of waiting, and why Advent might feel like a heavy weight for some worship leaders. They talk through some practical ways to relieve the pressure of expectation, remove the tension and chaos of the season, and share an encouragement to prioritize the traditions that make Christmastime special and enjoyable for you and your family. Mike provides some thoughts about how to mix classic Christmas songs into a modern worship set, and ways we can take advantage of the liturgical gifts offered by our friends in different streams. Finally, Susan leads us in a spiritual direction exercise that allows us to connect with the Holy Spirit and prepare our hearts and minds for this coming Advent Season. 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 and is currently serving the church at large in worship team training and worship leader mentoring as the director for the Vineyard School of Worship. Susan O’Brien is a spiritual director who works with people to become more aware of God’s presence in their lives. She received her certification through the Institute of Christian Spirituality at Lipscomb University and also holds a Bachelor of Theology from Point University. She believes that God is working in every person that she encounters. She lives in Atlanta with her husband, Mike and their son, Ezekiel.   Socials:  Instagram @thefermentpodcast Twitter @fermentcast TikTok @vineyardworship Vineyardworship.com  

In this special repost 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. 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.   Show notes: Vineyard Global: https://vineyard.org

In this episode of the Ferment, Adam and Steve Nicholson have a conversation about how to lead a Vineyard ministry time.  Steve identifies the distinctives of Vineyard ministry, and they talk about what we can do when ministry time becomes formulaic, and how to recognize what the Lord is doing in people. Steve shares his thoughts on the role of a worship leader in ministry, and what to do when nothing seems to be happening. This is a back-to-basics conversation where Adam asks all the questions you’ve probably wondered at one time or another, and is an excellent training tool for both fresh and seasoned ministry leaders and prayer teams! Steve Nicholson began ministering as a college student through InterVarsity Christian Fellowship in the early 1970s.  After graduation, he moved to the Chicago area where he and several other twenty-something leaders founded a church.  That fellowship, begun in 1976 in Evanston, Illinois, placed a high priority on contemporary worship, biblical teaching, openness to the Holy Spirit, and committed relationships as a church family. In 1981, Steve and a team from the fellowship established a new church in Humboldt Park, a neighborhood in Chicago’s inner city. Both churches joined Vineyard USA in August of 1985, and Steve transferred leadership of the Humboldt Park Vineyard to one of his team members in 1986. The Evanston Vineyard has since planted nine other congregations in the Chicago area, and another fifteen in other cities or countries.  Steve led Vineyard USA’s church planting task force for over twenty years. Steve has ministered to and trained church leaders in India, Australia, New Zealand, Kenya, Uganda, South Africa, Turkey, Lebanon, Brazil, Chile and several Central Asian countries as well as in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The Evanston Vineyard is a diverse congregation from over 50 nations of the world with no majority racial or cultural group. Since 1986 the ministry of the Holy Spirit has been a regular and ongoing strength and emphasis of the Evanston Vineyard.  Steve and his wife, Cindy, live in Chicago. They have three adult children and eight grandchildren.  

In this episode of The Ferment, Adam talks with Christina Lowery in a continuation of our short series on raising up leaders. Christina shares about her inclination towards ministry from an early age, and when that calling was named and fostered by her pastor. She talks about how being a life-long church attendee and student of church health eventually led to her role as the Associate National Director of Church Health and Development for Vineyard USA, the effects of COVID on the church she pastors, and what that time of disruption revealed about the discipleship in our congregations. Christina gives an encouragement to tell people what you see God doing in them, and talks about the gift of entrusting youth with Sunday service responsibilities, as well as the value in broadening our expectations of what it looks like to disciple people.   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 (17), Caleb (15) and Zoe (8).  The Lowery family loves to travel and so far, their favorite destination is Maui, with its warm sun and beautiful island beaches.    Show notes:  Malcolm Gladwell podcast - Revisionist History https://www.pushkin.fm/podcasts/revisionist-history

In this episode of The Ferment, Adam talks with returning guest Terry Butler.  This is the first episode in a short new series on developing leaders. Terry shares about being raised in an environment where equipping leaders was a way of life, developing a mindset of mentoring, and the areas he looks for to cultivate and train in a potential worship leader. Terry and Adam also discuss the role of scripture in the life of a worship leader, and the biggest things Terry has learned in 45 years of worship leading and raising up leaders.   Terry Butler is a veteran Vineyard songwriter and worship pastor, but he is first and foremost a worshipper.  Drawn into the mystery and majesty of God through anointed hymns in his early childhood, Terry has written songs and pastored worship for over 42 years. Best known for the classic Vineyard songs "Cry Of My Heart,” "At The Cross,” "Psalm 19 (May The Words Of My Mouth),” and the 2019 Vineyard Worship single "All The Same,” his pastoral work in raising up younger generations into ministry reflects his passion for true, heartfelt congregational worship.    Show notes:  Want to hear more from Terry? Listen to his episode from January 2020 here:  https://bit.ly/3SoBsyR   Socials:  Instagram @thefermentpodcast Twitter @fermentcast TikTok @vineyardworship

In this episode of The Ferment, Adam talks with Kelly D’Auria about life at Cape Vineyard Community Church in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian. Kelly provides an on-the-ground update about the effects of the hurricane on her community and what the church is doing to meet the needs of their neighbors.  She also talks about what it’s like to be a worship leader after a community-wide crisis, the way devastating events shape the songs we write, and how songs birthed from tragedy serve a congregation. Kelly speaks a powerful word about how worship leaders are called to lead people through times of chaos and hardship, and shares some of the beautiful moments she’s seen in the wake of Hurricane Ian, as well as the lasting work that will need to be done over the coming months and years. Kelly D’Auria is the worship leader at Cape Vineyard in Cape Coral, FL. Kelly, her husband, and their three boys are busy helping to care for their community in the wake of Hurricane Ian.   Show Notes: Cape Vineyard needs about $1000 per day to feed their community. If you would like to contribute, please go to CapeVineyard.com

In this episode of The Ferment, Adam and Melisa share some updates about Vineyard Worship, including a recap of last week’s Worship Leaders’ Retreat, some upcoming events for worship leaders and sound techs (you’re invited!!), and an exciting new project called Adoración Viña, which includes Spanish and bilingual songs, training videos and other resources for our Spanish-speaking friends.    Show Notes:  Convoy Of Hope https://convoyofhope.org   Cape Coral Vineyard  https://www.capevineyard.com/hurricane   Thrive Worship Leader Training https://www.vineyardworship.com/vsow-thrive   Sound Lab https://www.vineyardworship.com/soundlab   Quiero Cantar  https://www.vineyardworship.com/quiero-cantar   Socials:  Instagram @thefermentpodcast Twitter @fermentcast TikTok @vineyardworship

In this special repost episode of The Ferment, Sam shares his journey into worship leading and songwriting as the son of Vineyard UK pioneers Chris and Fliss Lane. From the depths of a life given to the worship of God and the service of His people, Sam brings a treasure of insights to sustain and inspire all of us who serve weekly in the trenches of local church worship ministry.   Samuel Lane is a worship leader, songwriter, and recording artist. For over twenty years, he has worked to refine his songwriting, exploring musicality and faith, pouring his life into crafting songs that draw people closer to God.   Lane has written and recorded 40 songs with Vineyard Worship, and his songs have been covered by various artists including Jesus Culture. In 2013, Samuel released his debut solo album, The Fire, which Christianity Magazine called “incredible - there hasn't been an album that has captured my attention in such a way for a long time.”   In 2018, Lane released  The Difference. “Maybe it’s the stripped-down urgency of Lane’s voice, the album’s eclectic sonic treasure-chest or simply the B3 humming throughout, but whatever it is, it’s enough to make you rethink today’s neat-and-tidy Christian music categories” (Pandora Blog, Curators’Choice).