From: Cyndie Norwood [cnorwood@vineyardusa.org] Sent: Thursday, August 12, 2004 12:22 PM Subject: On Behalf of Bert Waggoner August 11, 2004 Dear Pastors, This is the second time I have written this letter. Though I am extremely technologically challenged, it does seem by this time that I would remember to back up an important document at least one time in a three hour period, but I didn’t, so bye, bye to the document and the three hours I gave to writing it! Isn’t it strange how these things happen when you’re trying to get away on vacation? Well, here goes again! I pray that all is going well with you, your family, and the church. Evelyn and I are ready for a time of rest and relaxation. 2004 has been a very challenging year for us. We went to South Africa for the Vineyard International Consortium meeting, and attended all eight Regional Leadership meetings while basically re-staffing our church in Sugar Land. This, along with the regular things that happen, has made a vacation look very inviting. So when I finish this letter “again” I’m out of here! Regional Conferences The Regional Leadership Conferences began in Cincinnati, Ohio in May and concluded in Fort Collins, Colorado at the end of July. The average attendance in these conferences was about five hundred, which means we had a combined total of about four thousand participants relating to one another, getting refreshed, and being challenged to do the work God has called us to do. This far exceeds the participation we had even two years ago. I was so very pleased and blessed with what I saw and experienced in every Regional meeting. There was a lot of energy. Preaching was very good. The worship was off the charts and the ministry times were exceptionally powerful. We call Vineyard “A Community of Churches,” and this sense of community was very evident as people really seemed to enjoy being with one another. Two or three days ago I was reading Psalms 79 in my devotional time. I noticed the psalmist intercedes three different times with the Lord: “Restore us, O Lord God Almighty; make your face shine upon us, that we may be saved.” As I reflected on the Vineyard and my experiences at the Regional meetings, the psalmist’s petition turned into an impassioned praise. I could not help but cry out, “Oh Lord, your mercy is more than we can endure. For out of your love you have caused your face to shine upon us, and thus we are being saved. Praise your name, oh Lord.” Conferences are very difficult and challenging events to lead and to host. I do hope you will express your gratitude to your Regional leadership and your host church for doing such a wonderful job of putting the conferences together and for hosting them. National Leadership Conference Now that we have finished our Regional Conferences, the National Leadership team has begun planning for the 2005 National Leadership Conference, which will be hosted by the Columbus, Ohio Vineyard beginning the afternoon of May 2nd and ending at noon on the 6th. The speakers and the theme for the conference have not yet been finalized, but I will get this information out to you as soon as it is available. The real draw for these conferences is not the speakers, the theme, the workshops, or what we might learn. Our National Conference is primary a family reunion; a time for the leaders of the Vineyard to come together to bond with one another and simply enjoy being together. It is a time when friends of the Vineyard are able to see the Vineyard family in worship, in caring, and just being ourselves. The speakers will speak, the workshops will be held, but these are extra benefits that are surpassed by the blessing of just being together as family. As I stated earlier this year, we will not provide separate ministry to the children or the youth at this conference. The Vineyard is not like other denominations in that we have chosen to keep the National Office lean (but not mean!), therefore we decided not to have a national children’s or youth department. Instead, both of these ministries are led at the national level by task force leaders who are fully employed in their local churches and so do not have enough time to devote to their own ministry and to our children and youth at a national conference. With that change, the Board also decided to hold the conference in May so it won’t interfere with family vacations. We have placed the conference in one of the few Vineyards that can host the number of people that usually attends (it would not be large enough if we had conferences for the youth and children). We are encouraging people with children to find someone to care for them at home so they can enjoy the conference without any worries. There is a possibility that we will be able to provide care for children from seven months through five years. I am talking with the Columbus Vineyard at this time to see if this would be possible. I will let you know as soon as a decision is made. New Website We have been working on a new website for the Vineyard USA. Chad Estes developed and has maintained our current website and has done a splendid job! He took on the job after we had unsuccessfully tried to get something launched several times. The Boise Vineyard (Chad’s home church) hosted the website, and several members from the church assisted him in making it a helpful resource for Vineyard community life, but the time has come for us to move to the next phase in the development of our website. Over the last few months a team has been working with a group called Solerant who have developed websites for some of the largest churches in the United States. The new website will be up and running by the end of September. In addition to existing services, the new website will provide a host of new pastoral and leadership resources that were not available before. We will send you a notice to let you know when it is up and running. New Logo Logos play a strategic role in establishing the identity of a business, church, or national movement. Though we have used AVCUSA with a vine intertwined, we have never established an official logo for Vineyard USA, but this, too, is changing. With the introduction of the new website, we will also introduce our new logo. When you open to our web page, an animation of the new Vineyard logo, with an explanation, will come on your screen. We have tried to capture three basic concepts of who we are: the triune God, the already-not-yet of the Kingdom of God, and a community of churches. No small challenge! The idea is to see the kingdom emerging from the trinity, and the church from the Kingdom of God. I hope everyone will get the message. At least the logo will provide an interesting and professional mark by which the Vineyard USA can be identified. Pastoral Care My passion is for us to be a community of churches in which no pastor or pastor’s family is left alone with no one to care. We are doing a number of things at both the Regional and National level to make this happen. This week a team is meeting with ten pastor couples in the mountains of New Hampshire. Vineyard USA is providing this service to pastors who are weary from their season of service. They will be at the retreat center for ten days and will receive counseling, ministry, and spiritual direction for their inner life, as well as have a lot of free time. Our desire is that they will be restored and refreshed when they go back to their places of responsibility and service. This is the beginning of something that I hope will become a regular part of the life of our community. Please pray for Judy Davids and the team as well as the couples they are serving. Insurance After I became the National Director I became concerned about the number of pastors (especially church planters) who had no life or health insurance. So I hired Jane Hardesty, the best person I could find, to help us put a National medical insurance plan in place. Jane had served as the head of human resources in some of the larger organizations in Houston and brought a wealth of resources to the job. She not only had the experience to do the job, but she also has a deep love for the pastors and feels called to make certain every person has medical coverage. She and Lucie Rosser have worked far beyond the call of duty to see that we have a viable and efficiently run plan. It has been the biggest challenge of Jane’s life. As I explained in my last letter, we choose a third party administrator who came with high recommendations, but we discovered he was fraudulently removing funds from the Vineyard and other company plans. He is now under indictment for embezzlement, but he not only embezzled funds, he thoroughly fouled up the billing and claims management. It has taken months to get all of the records back in order. The lack of adequate claims experience provided us with a false picture in our actuaries thus causing us to undercharge on the premiums. This meant significant losses to the Vineyard that we are still trying to recover. We have now made the necessary adjustment in the premiums and revised the co-pay and the deductible where we believe the plan will be solvent and yet competitive in most insurance markets in the United States. It has been painful getting here, but who ever said developing community would be easy and not involve some pain? Thanks for your patience and your kindness to Jane and Lucie as they have worked hard to provide this service. Name Protection Commitment We believe the Lord gave us the Vineyard name. As stewards of that trust we began the process of protecting the name from misuse by groups that are not aligned with our values, priorities and practices. We have long had the trademark registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, but the law requires that we reinforce our ownership by taking steps to protect its integrity. So over the last few months we have been endeavoring to get every church to comply by signing an agreement recognizing the right of the Vineyard USA to the name. Response has been very good but all the churches have not yet finished the process. If you have not completed the paperwork, I would appreciate it very much if you would get it into us within the next two weeks so we can bring this project to a close. If you have any questions, please contact your APCL or Kris Miller at the national office (281-313-8463 or krismiller@vineyardusa.org). Census I have the same request regarding the census forms. I hate to fill out forms. It seems such a waste of time. I would much rather be reading a good theology book. This is especially true if I don’t have the information readily available to complete the questions. If you haven’t sent in your form (or filled it out online) because you don’t have all the information, please send in what you do have; that will be fine. Giving It is an amazing thing for me to come into the office and see the checks being prepared for deposit. These are the contributions of hundreds of churches that are showing, in this very tangible way, that they value the Vineyard, its mission, and the staff that works for them at the National Office. Thanks for faithfully giving your 3% in partnership with all the Vineyards to empower your movement to go forward. Cyndie and Christian I am saddened to report that Cyndie Norwood will be leaving the National Office in September. She has served as a personal assistant since the National Office moved to Houston and has been a faithful, diligent, and skillful servant to me and to the movement. There is no one I have enjoyed working with more than Cyndie. I will really miss her. She and her husband Michael and their daughter Makenzie are moving to California to serve as worship leaders in a church there. Christian Weber, a young lady who came up in the life of the Sugar Land Vineyard, will replace Cyndie. I have had the pleasure of watching Christian grow up and become a strong spiritual leader. Her husband, Ben, is replacing Mike Lehmann as youth pastor at the church as Mike and Amber (Amber has also served at the National Office) are officially starting a new church in North Houston this fall. Christian will be a wonderful asset to the Vineyard USA. I am thankful for the young leadership that is coming up in the Vineyard. Christian and Ben are reflections of what God is doing in bringing our younger leaders into the center of Vineyard life. Vineyard Music Recognition Last week WorshipMusic.com gave Vineyard Music USA the album of the year award for our latest release, Dwell. WorshipMusic.com is the world's largest non-label retailer dedicated exclusively to worship music. Casey Corum produced the album in conjunction with the Cincinnati Vineyard Worship team. Our hats are off to Bob VanMeter, Casey Corum and the entire Vineyard Music staff for a job well-done. In conclusion let me remind you that your work is not in vain. It takes place in the regular ebb and flow of space and time, but it is also has a transcendental value and nature. You are working within the Kingdom of God to see that Kingdom come in fullness. You are that community of hope that has been touched by the powers of the age to come. Already you are being drawn into the vortex of the powers of the unshakable Kingdom. So do not grow weary. Don’t quit. Keep growing in the Lord. Keep growing in relationship. Keep growing in service. Your reward is ahead of you. I am happy to serve you. Your brother in the Lord, Berten A. Waggoner National Director