VineyardUSA is launching a new initiative, the Society of Vineyard Scholars (SVS).

Here is the description from the website: We are gathering the thinkers and scholars of our movement to "think theologically" in community — both in order to address the critical questions of the moment and to put down theological and intellectual roots for the long haul. Our expectation is that doing this well involves building a diverse, interconnected community of scholars, pastors, and scholar-pastors within our movement. Ultimately, our desire is both to deepen our theological reflection and to broaden our engagement with our culture. Towards these ends, we anticipate holding conferences and other events to provide forums for collaborating and sharing intellectual work as well as pursuing other ways of facilitating connections among current Vineyard seminarians, graduate students, and scholars.

The Theology and Practice of the Kingdom of God: Justice, Power, and the Cross

Location: Houston, Texas (changed from Columbus, Ohio)
Dates: February 11-13, 2010 (changed from October of 2009)***

All in the Vineyard who hold or who are working on a graduate degree and enjoy thinking theologically about your discipline are invited and encouraged to submit a paper for the first annual Society of Vineyard Scholars (SVS) Conference. The theme of the conference is "The Theology and Practice of the Kingdom of God: Justice, Power, and the Cross." It will be held Thursday evening through Saturday morning, February 11-13, 2010, in Houston, Texas. Our keynote speaker will be Dr. Ron Sider, Professor at Palmer Theological Seminary and President of Evangelicals for Social Action. The opening address Thursday evening will be delivered by Dr. Don Williams on "The Past, Present, and Future of the Kingdom of God in the Vineyard Movement."

Three panel sessions on Friday will feature presentations of and responses to papers written by SVS participants, focusing on some aspect of the conference’s larger theme. Papers should be in one of the following areas, broadly defined: Bible, Theology, Ethics, and History, as they relate to the theme of the conference. For these sessions, we will select a maximum of nine papers of no more than 12 pages in length. Completed papers, including titles and abstracts, will be due December 15, 2009. Submissions should be emailed to Carol.Shelton@vineyardcolumbus.org. Those who submit will be notified of the acceptance status of their papers by January 15, 2010.