The Vine Church Podcast

Today Warren speaks with McKinley. McKinley has only been at The Vine for less than six months, but she has become a valuable and active member during that short time. In this episode, she discusses her personal history and how she has encountered faith, deconstruction, reconstruction, disconnection, and wholeness, all while dealing with issues of mental health and the normal challenges of emerging in early adulthood. This is the latest in a series of conversations with people at The Vine about their lives and faith journeys. As we encounter people at church, we may not know about the struggles, blessings, successes, and failures that have brought them to this point in their lives. As we get to know others and their stories better, we gain a little more of the image of Christ and the wholeness God wants for us. That is the mission of Vine Stories. If you want to be featured in a future episode or want to learn more about The Vine Church, please email Warren Gray at warren@thevinetemple.com.

[NOTE: This is part 2 of a 2-part episode that was recorded at once. The first episode was released on January 22, 2024, and Part 2 is released on January 29, 2024.]On November 30, 2023, Pope Francis gave brief comments about the need “to make the Church less masculine” and to understand how “the Church is woman.” In this episode Warren welcomes Karen Smith and Jennifer Jones, and the three of them use the Pope’s comments as a launching point to discuss the space for women in modern theological and religious spaces. To read the Pope’s comments for yourself, you can view a transcript here.If you are interested in learning more about The Vine Church, please email Warren or subscribe to the weekly email newsletter. If you want to become a member or volunteer to serve at The Vine, you can do that on the website.

This is an episode that was originally published on December 14, 2020, but we thought it was time to share it again.In this conversation about Advent, Warren and Jason are thrilled to have a special guest on this episode, John Hatfield. John is Director of Contemporary Worship at Clear Lake Church United Methodist Church in Houston Texas. (He was at Ecclesia Church Clear Lake at the time of recording.) In this episode, the three of them discuss the ways that music can help shape our advent experience, helping provide the spiritual preparation for the season. They also discuss the value of the church calendar for spiritual development and debate the merits of Whataburger versus In-N-Out Burger.Go here for more information about John's Hymnistry Podcast. If you would like more information about John and his music, or to purchase his music, visit his page on Bandcamp.Music for this episode: "Hope is Here" by John Hatfield, Hope is Here - EP (used with permission)

Warren speaks with Vine member, Timothy Noble. Timothy is deaf, but he treads his own path in the liminal space between the hearing and non-hearing world, which also parallels his faith journey between what he has been taught and what he had come to believe. Warren and Timothy discuss identity for him as a deaf person and how his identity has contributed to his faith development.This is the latest in a series of conversations with people at The Vine about their lives and faith journeys. As we encounter people at church, we may not know about the struggles, blessings, successes, and failures that have brought them to this point in their lives. As we get to know others and their stories better, we gain a little more of the image of Christ and the wholeness God wants for us. That is the mission of Vine Stories. If you want to be featured in a future episode or want to learn more about The Vine Church, please email Warren Gray at warren@thevinetemple.com.Music: Spirit Of Achievement [Full version] by MusicLFilesFree download: https://filmmusic.io/song/42-spirit-of-achievement-full-versionLicensed under CC BY 4.0: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Study and understanding of attachment styles is a branch of psychology that helps therapists and parents understand how children bond with parents. It can inform our understanding of the freedom and safety children feel as well as the dangers and anxieties. But the implications do not end in childhood. Attachment lessons learned early in life inform the relationships we develop and nurture throughout our lives, including our relationship with God.Jason and Warren welcome back to the podcast friend of The Vine, Dr. Jude Austin, to engage in a discussion about Attachment Theory. What is it? How might we think about it? And what can it tell us about ourselves and our relationship with God? The three of them describe attachment theory and how understanding it can help us better grasp why we may struggle to accept the good things in life, including the love of a savior.For a brief primer about attachment theory, please see this simple explainer.If you are interested in learning more about The Vine Church, please email Warren or subscribe to the weekly email newsletter. If you want to become a member or volunteer to serve at The Vine, you can do that on the website.

Jessie Castro has only been a member of The Vine for less than a year, but he and his fiancé, Derek, have been faithful Christians for most of their lives. In today’s episode, Warren interviews Jessie about his story of faith. It includes love, loss, grief, anger, alienation, and redemption. His is a story that many can relate to in good ways and bad, but Jessie also provides inspiration for others looking for God’s will in their lives and God’s comfort in suffering and tragedy.This is the latest in a series of conversations with people at The Vine about their lives and faith journeys. As we encounter people at church, we may not know about the struggles, blessings, successes, and failures that have brought them to this point in their lives. As we get to know others and their stories better, we gain a little more of the image of Christ and the wholeness God wants for us. That is the mission of Vine Stories. If you want to be featured in a future episode or want to learn more about The Vine Church, please email Warren Gray at warren@thevinetemple.com.Music: Spirit Of Achievement [Full version] by MusicLFilesFree download: https://filmmusic.io/song/42-spirit-of-achievement-full-versionLicensed under CC BY 4.0: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

After a long hiatus, Warren and Jason are back on the podcast. This week's discussion is about one of the more enigmatic parts of Jesus's teachings: parables. While some seem straightforward in their lesson, other are difficult if not impossible to understand, confusing even the audiences of Jesus's time. After an opening discussion about the challenges of parables, the conversation turns to a specific parable about a king's banquet. What are we to learn from this parable? Can we really ever know for certain what it means? What might be some hypotheses about it?If you are interested in learning more about The Vine Church, please email Warren (warren@thevinetemple.com) or subscribe to the weekly email newsletter. If you want to become a member or volunteer to serve at The Vine, you can do that on the website (https://thevinetemple.com/membership).

Today Warren talks with Bridget Jarrett about her ongoing faith journey, including how her life-long doubt has actually made her faith stronger. They also talk about the profound impact that her brother’s death by suicide affected her and continues to affect her. [Note: While there is no discussion of his manner of death, in case there are listeners sensitive to that topic, Warren & Bridget do discuss suicide and associated topics in this episode.]This is the first in a series of conversations with people at The Vine about their lives and faith journeys. As we encounter people at church, we may not know about the struggles, blessings, successes, and failures that have brought them to this point in their lives. As we get to know others and their stories better, we gain a little more of the image of Christ and the wholeness God wants for us. That is the mission of Vine Stories. If you want to be featured in a future episode, please email Warren at warren@thevinetemple.com.Music: Spirit Of Achievement [Full version] by MusicLFilesFree download: https://filmmusic.io/song/11216-spirit-of-achievement-full-versionLicensed under CC BY 4.0: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license