We Are Vineyard

As we wrap on the first quarter of We Are Vineyard, Jay and Caleb Maskell meet up to share some behind the scenes of different episodes, their thoughts and reflections on some of their favorite conversations, and of course they laugh… a lot! From Andy Crouch’s episode on doing the internal work that allows us to be effective leaders to Santiago “Jimmy” Mellado’s episode about learning from people of different cultural backgrounds, join us as we take a brief walk through just some of the richness of these first 12 episodes!

Caleb Maskell is the Associate National Director of Theology and Education for Vineyard USA. Caleb has been involved in leadership in the Vineyard movement for twenty-five years. He holds a Masters in Divinity from Yale Divinity School where he immersed himself in the study of theology, church history, and scripture, while also leading worship and working with middle school and high school youth groups. In 2007, along with his wife Kathy and their friends Matt and Hannah Croasmun, Caleb planted Elm City Vineyard Church in New Haven, Connecticut. That year, he also began a Ph.D. program at Princeton University and, after moving to Manhattan for four years while Kathy went to seminary, the Maskells ended up in suburban Philadelphia, where Caleb completed his Ph.D while teaching regularly at Princeton Theological Seminary and serving as the Worship Pastor at Blue Route Vineyard Church.

Since 2010, Caleb has led the Society of Vineyard Scholars, which exists to foster and sustain a community of theological discourse in and for the Vineyard movement. Caleb is passionate about developing leaders and institutions that will help to produce a healthy, courageous, and hospitable future for the church in the twenty-first century. Caleb and Kathy now live with their two kids, Josiah and Emmanuelle, in the heart of Denver, where Kathy pastors East Denver Vineyard Church.

Show Notes:

The Ferment, March 7, 2022

Canoeing the Mountains by Tod Bolsinger

Tempered Resilience by Tod Bolsinger

Society of Vineyard Scholars

In this episode of We Are Vineyard, Jay talks with author and pastor Steve Cuss about what it was like growing up in an irreligious family that eventually came to really embrace his calling, the valuable experience he gained in chaplain residency and the practice of vulnerability and self-awareness that has shaped his heart and his life’s work. Steve also reveals his secret talent as a chicken hypnotist (see show notes for a visual!) **Please note: This episode contains some discussion of grief and pregnancy loss as Steve shares stories from his years as a chaplain.

Steve is the author of Managing Leadership Anxiety: Yours and Theirs and the founder of www.capablelife.me, an online community helping you to function as a calm, aware, present human in the work place and home place. Steve has served in a variety of pastoral roles for 26 years, the majority of those years as a lead pastor. He is also proud to be a strategic partner with Compassion International, Leadership Network, and Missio Alliance.

Steve was privileged to grow up in Perth, Western Australia, in an adventurous family of origin. After moving to the United States for theological study, he married Lisa and they have two sons and a daughter, in whom they take great delight. When Steve is not working, you can find him laughing with his family, knee-deep in a trout stream, or trying a guitar he cannot afford at a local music store.

Show Notes:

Steve’s website

Managing Leadership Anxiety by Steve Cuss

All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot

Chicken hypnotism (not Steve)

Steve’s Socials:

In this episode of We Are Vineyard, Jay Pathak chats with Joel Seymour, a Super Regional Leader for Vineyard USA. Joel shares about being raised in the Church of Christ, his introduction to John Wimber and a wild encounter with the Holy Spirit. Joel also shares his experience of being sent home by the Lord to plant a church and how their church has found creative ways to make a practical impact in their small town.

Joel Seymour is a Super Regional Leader for Vineyard USA. Joel’s passion for the Vineyard began as a teenager when he watched John Wimber’s testimony video (yay VHS!). He knew he found his home when, as a college sophomore, he took the Fuller Seminary class MC550 “Healing and World Evangelism” led by Wimber and C. Peter Wagner. In 1998, Joel and his wife Kristi planted their second church – the Lancaster Vineyard in Lancaster, OH and Joel has served there as the Lead Pastor. He has been deeply engaged in his city, bringing together the social, private, and public sectors through the Art of Neighboring Fairfield County initiative. Joel also started the Small Town initiative within Multiply Vineyard. He has served as both an Area Leader and a Regional Leader within Vineyard USA. He looks forward to drawing on his experience to encourage, equip and empower local pastors. Joel enjoys playing guitar, leading worship, laughing, and most of all, taking long daily walks with his wife. Joel and Kristi have raised 3 great kids.

Show Notes:

Lancaster Vineyard Church

Watch a quarantine throwback of Joel and his daughter dancing for “Monday Moves”!

Managing Leadership Anxiety by Steve Cuss

In this episode of We Are Vineyard, Brian McLees shares about growing up a pastor’s kid, studying with John Wimber at Fuller Seminary, and a formational encounter he had with the Holy Spirit and a demonized man. He also shares about the overarching theme of kindness that has defined his life’s path, how he came to join the team at Convoy of Hope and their current response to the war in Ukraine.

Bryan McLees has been a part of the Vineyard church planting storyline with chapters in New England and Colorado since 1982-ish.  He began serving the Vineyard through his Network Relations Director role at Convoy of Hope in 2006.  Helping churches respond to poverty, towards a sustainable hope, is a calling he shares with an incredible team at Convoy of Hope.

Show Notes:

Convoy of Hope

Rich Nathan talks with Hal Donaldson from Convoy of Hope

Donate to support Ukraine!

Managing Leadership Anxiety by Steve Cuss

In this episode of We Are Vineyard, Rubén Quintero shares his story of becoming a Christian as a child, learning to preach the Gospel as a teen and beginning to serve the church as a young adult; from scrubbing toilets at his church to managing their finances and finally planting his own church in El Centro, Rubén has spent his life saying “yes” to Jesus and the next thing in front of him. Rubén also shares his heart for Hispanic people, his culture and the movement of La Viña churches.

Rubén Quintero loves Jesus Christ, is the pastor of Imperial Valley Vineyard church in El Centro, CA, and is a chaplain for Workforce Chaplaincy, which allows him to serve hundreds of immigrants who work in agriculture in the US.  He is a CPA graduated from UABC in Mexicali, Mexico, and holds a Master’s in Theology from San Diego Christian University.  He is passionate about planting churches among the Hispanics in the U.S. Rubén is happily married to Vaneza and they have 3 wonderful boys – Rubén (16), David (13), and Iván (11). He likes traveling and baseball, so he expects to visit the 30 MLB stadiums during his lifetime.

Show Notes:

Managing Leadership Anxiety by Steve Cuss

If you’ve been enjoying the podcast and have questions for Jay Pathak and Caleb Maskell? Email [email protected]!

In this episode of We Are Vineyard, Jay Pathak and Tod Bolsinger discuss adaptive change in the church. Tod speaks about how his passion for studying change and helping “faith leaders thrive as change leaders” developed, and the role of the pastor as a steady force in the midst of crisis and anxiety. Tod and Jay also talk about what we learned from the crucible of change that was the pandemic.

Tod Bolsinger, MDiv, PhD, the co-owner and principal of AE Sloan Leadership, Inc, an executive coaching and consulting firm that works with church, non-profit, and marketplace leaders in leading change. He is also the Executive Director of the De Pree Center Church Leadership Institute, a Senior Fellow of the De Pree Center for Leadership, Associate Professor of Leadership Formation at Fuller Theological Seminary, was the founder of the Fuller Leadership Platform, and served as a Vice President of Fuller Seminary for six years. Prior to his educational career, he served as a pastor for 27 years.  He is the author of five books, including the Outreach Magazine Resource of the Year in pastoral leadership, Canoeing the Mountains: Christian Leadership in Uncharted Territory, Leadership for a Time of Pandemic: Practicing Resilience and most recently, Tempered Resilience: How Leaders are Formed in the Crucible of Change.

Show Notes:

Tempered Resilience by Tod Bolsinger

Canoeing the Mountains by Tod Bolsinger

Reach us at:

In this episode of We Are Vineyard, Jay Pathak and Dave Ferguson discuss growing churches. Dave encourages dreaming big enough to where you are forced to be dependent on God, and talks about some common obstacles that keep us from dreaming big dreams. He also shares tangible practices for staying hungry and motivated after long years in ministry and the shift he believes needs to happen during the life of every leader.

Dave Ferguson is the lead pastor of Community Christian Church, a multisite missional community that is passionate about “helping people find their way back to God.” Community has grown from a few college friends to thousands and has been recognized as one of America’s most influential churches.

Dave also provides visionary leadership for the international church-planting movement NewThing and is chairman of the board and president of the Exponential conference. He is an award-winning author of books that include The Big Idea, Exponential, On The Verge, Finding Your Way Back To God, Starting Over, Hero Maker and most recently B.L.E.S.S. 5 Everyday Ways to Love Your Neighbor and Change the World. Dave and his best friend Sue have three terrific children Amy, Josh and Caleb.

Feel free to email him with questions, ideas, feedback or introductions at [email protected]

In this episode of We Are Vineyard, our host Jay Pathak chats with Robb Morgan, the Managing Director of Vineyard USA, about the risks they took as young adults learning to hear from Jesus and how this built a lifestyle of taking Kingdom risks. Robb shares the radical story of being introduced to Jesus by a bartender, the immediate change in the trajectory of his life, and the incredible value of the formative friendships that were built during those years. This episode is full of fun and powerful stories of God moving in the lives of these two men whose faith and sense of Kingdom adventure will both inspire and ground you in the Lord’s goodness.

Robb Morgan is the Managing Director of Vineyard USA. Robb grew up in Danbury, CT before going to college at The Ohio State University where he played for and captained the OSU Men’s Soccer Team from 1991-1995, graduating from OSU with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1996. In 1998, following a very dark and difficult few years, Robb encountered Jesus while on a business trip to Southern California. Over the course of one week, a bartender at the hotel where Robb was staying, and who happened to attend a Vineyard Church, proclaimed the love of God and demonstrated the power of Jesus. At 2am on September 1, Robb surrendered his life to Jesus – just a few hours before hopping on a plane and going back to Ohio.

Upon returning to Columbus, Robb immediately got involved with Joshua House, the young adult ministry at Vineyard Columbus. It was there that Robb met his wife Julie, and they attended a small group led by Jay & Danielle Pathak. At Vineyard Columbus, Robb led multiple small groups, attended Vineyard Leadership Institute and interned with Bill Christensen. In 2001, along with a team of young adults, Robb and Julie moved to Colorado to be a part of the Arvada Vineyard church plant led by Jay & Danielle.

In 2004, Robb, Julie and their three month old daughter Emma returned to the Columbus area and joined the Vineyard Church of Delaware County serving on staff with Danny and Penny Meyer. Robb served as an Associate Pastor until he and Julie sensed the call to plant again and in 2009 were sent across the county to plant the Delaware City Vineyard. On September 6 2009, Delaware City Vineyard held its first service and for the past twelve years has faithfully tried to live out its simple mission statement – “in the city, for the city.” Much of the ministry of Delaware City Vineyard focuses on children, the poor, the margins and the lost. The Delaware City Vineyard released the Neighborhood Church plant in Marion, OH in 2017 and have recently sent a church planter to join Vineyard61 in south London.

Throughout his time in the Vineyard, Robb has served as an Area Leader, a Missions Partnership Leader, on the Multiply Vineyard team and in a variety of other translocal roles and task forces. Robb has spoken at regional and national events with Multiply Vineyard and Vineyard Justice Network.

Robb and Julie will be celebrating their 20th anniversary in 2022 with a trip to Iceland. They are the parents to two teenagers, Emma and Via. As a family they enjoy good music, good food and the great outdoors. You may have seen some of the adventures in their converted school bus on Instagram (@mor.to.explore). Currently, they are working hard to raise some chickens, shelter some kittens and prepare for spring gardening and orchard planting.

What constitutes a meaningful experience with God? In this episode of We Are Vineyard, Jay and Ted Kim talk about first encounters with the Holy Spirit and the slow, formational work that happens between mountaintop experiences, as well as the pastoring that needs to happen during these gaps. They also discuss leadership transitions and the idea of “rhyming” with the past, embodying the stories and history while stepping forward into what God is doing in the present time.

Ted Kim is the senior pastor of the Evanston Vineyard, having taken over the leadership from Steve Nicholson in early 2020, six days after the church shut down its in-person services due to Covid. He is passionate about the beauty of Jesus, spiritual formation, and building a church for Generation Z. It is also his life mission to bend the heart of the city of Chicago to God through the multiplication and releasing of young leaders.

Prior to arriving in Chicago, Ted was a worship pastor and songwriter. He spent the last decade at the Vineyard in Syracuse, NY. For some reason, God’s intention is for Ted to be cold. Ted is the son of Korean immigrants. His mother is the daughter of a South Korean dignitary. His father escaped from North Korea during the war and would later go on to be an industrial engineer. They found each other on the other side of the world in bucolic Kentucky. Ted first attended and interned at the Evanston Vineyard in the 90s, while he was a student at the University of Chicago. Despite the  occasional polar vortex, he is delighted (and humbled) to return to Chicago and serve the church that formed him more than any other community in his life. Ted is married to Brittany, an Old Testament scholar. Together they have three children.