More than Planting the Vineyard: Lifelong Formation makes the Wine

This is not the abandoned vineyard.

In the last thirty or so years, Walla Walla county went from no vineyards to nearly 3,000 acres. They grow lots of things around here: mustard seeds, chickpeas, lentils, onions, apples, wheat, alfalfa, and wine grapes.  The geological history and seasonal variations and being the wettest part of the dry side of the state make for world-class viticulture. The industry here isn't very old, yet not far from my house is an abandoned vineyard. It still has the wooden structures and vines that grow wildly and even produce grapes in between the overwhelming blackberry vines. Why I asked a winemaker, why would someone abandon a vineyard?

Disease and changes in water availability are the two primary reasons. There are some vineyards that once made good wine and no longer do. That is good and healthy to name out loud. The same winemaker asked me, why are you planting new churches, isn’t Christianity dying? Maybe, I said, maybe we are evolving into something more authentic and true to the love of God. We used to think we were making a whole lot of wine and that was a verifiable measurement and we felt satisfied with the big shallow number. Lot's of wine, but not particularly remarkable or memorable or eye-opening or daring. Now I think we desire to make more authentic wine that heals and transforms; sometimes in huge volumes and other times in a single barrel garage vintage.

I believe in planting new vineyards and find the work that we are doing in these efforts of church planting and evangelism are damn exciting and good good news. However, I am concerned that if you look at our proposed budget, we are investing in planting new vineyards but not budgeting for their long-term care and feeding; nor are we budgeting for the ongoing re-evangelization of lifelong congregational formation, settings old and fresh. The current draft budget seems to be spending much more on fancy new toys and equipment and new vineyards than it does for supporting the daily work of making wine at all the production facilities. It is hard to escape the impression that we are supporting the showy parts of the whole body of God faith experience, and not the rather tedious but redemptive work of local nurture, education, and formation.  We cannot plant new vineyards, and buy the equipment, and expect any of the wine to get itself to the feasting table.

There are thousands of practitioners, lay and ordained, nurturing and dug into this work of fermentation/formation every single day.  A field that is constantly evolving and changing and demands attention and new learning and re-evangelizing and being re-evangelized all the time. FORMA is the established, collaborative, grassroots network that equips and supports and ferments lifelong formation all across the church for all ages and congregations.  If you teach or pastor or plan or lead in the shaping of Christian lives then you should discover what the networks of FORMA can do to assist your mission.  

Whatever the ecosystem is that your congregation is planted in, you are called to teach and transform across whole lives.  The alliance of experts, experimenters, gardeners, and winemakers is already in place in FORMA. We want to help you make the wine of faithful lives as part of the reign of God. 

Funding FORMA continues the mission and movement and fermentation on the ground all across the church.  Funding FORMA collaborates with the amazing and limited staff at DFMS and helps meet the need they are woefully understaffed and underfunded to meet.  Funding FORMA helps us get from vineyard sprout to cup on the table (and then back out into the world to heal and repair and shine).