I've got a pretty short list of modern heroes these days and in my top five is David Pytches, an amazing church leader, author, theologian, and inspiring man who went home to be with the Lord...
Having been ordained Anglican, in the New Wine 'renewal' tradition, I 'hitched my skirts' and fled into the Vineyard in South Africa in 2007, because we had been cooperating as churches already. The journey from 'charismatic Aglican' to Vineyard was seamless for many of the reasons you mention here. My early influences (prior to Wimber in the early 2000's) were the English Renewalists viz; Urqhart, Pytches, Watson, Harper etc. Now having been Vineyard for 16 years, I have found that space where the 'fresh', or more accurately the authentic, is always anchored to the well worn ancient paths. There is no 'new thing' that is not linked to the 'old thing.' The breathing of the Spirith and 'liturgy' / spiritual disiciplines are not independent from one another. It is indeed the more 'sacramental' connection to ministry in the Spirit, the more 'Spirit-responsive' dialing in and dialing down type of practices that keep us (I am convinced) from going off the rails into loony tunes territory. In a family sized Vineyard church in the North of Canada we break bread twice a month. The spiritual disiplines of prayer, solitude, silence, meditation, lectio, worship, confession, repentance etc. are taken seriously, along with prophecy within the local church, for the local church, and weighed by the local church. Vineyard is by and large a both / and, rather than either / or movement. This is a great blog. Keep it going thanks...
I'm sorry I missed this comment until now! So much wisdom here.. I love your thinking about being rooted and connected to the "old thing." Wisdom...
I'm gonna write more, so thanks for the encouragement. Been super busy with trying to be a pastor and more importantly having a family... but I'll do better :) ha ha.
Having been ordained Anglican, in the New Wine 'renewal' tradition, I 'hitched my skirts' and fled into the Vineyard in South Africa in 2007, because we had been cooperating as churches already. The journey from 'charismatic Aglican' to Vineyard was seamless for many of the reasons you mention here. My early influences (prior to Wimber in the early 2000's) were the English Renewalists viz; Urqhart, Pytches, Watson, Harper etc. Now having been Vineyard for 16 years, I have found that space where the 'fresh', or more accurately the authentic, is always anchored to the well worn ancient paths. There is no 'new thing' that is not linked to the 'old thing.' The breathing of the Spirith and 'liturgy' / spiritual disiciplines are not independent from one another. It is indeed the more 'sacramental' connection to ministry in the Spirit, the more 'Spirit-responsive' dialing in and dialing down type of practices that keep us (I am convinced) from going off the rails into loony tunes territory. In a family sized Vineyard church in the North of Canada we break bread twice a month. The spiritual disiplines of prayer, solitude, silence, meditation, lectio, worship, confession, repentance etc. are taken seriously, along with prophecy within the local church, for the local church, and weighed by the local church. Vineyard is by and large a both / and, rather than either / or movement. This is a great blog. Keep it going thanks...
I'm sorry I missed this comment until now! So much wisdom here.. I love your thinking about being rooted and connected to the "old thing." Wisdom...
I'm gonna write more, so thanks for the encouragement. Been super busy with trying to be a pastor and more importantly having a family... but I'll do better :) ha ha.