Guiding PrinciplesCode of Conduct
Guidelines For Participation in the
Society of Vineyard Scholars Discussion Forum


The Society of Vineyard Scholars is an initiative of Vineyard USA that exists for the purpose of fostering a community of theological discourse in the Vineyard movement. Essential to the fulfillment of this mission is a commitment that all discourse conducted within the Society will be protected and governed by the principles of shared academic freedom and shared academic responsibility. The freedom of a Vineyard scholar must always remain in balance with the responsibility of a Vineyard scholar. Neither works without the other.


The Freedom of a Vineyard Scholar

[The Society of Vineyard Scholars] is not about setting doctrine. It is about bringing all of the ideas into the room and discussing them, and nobody saying “This is what it means to be Vineyard.”
 — Rose Madrid-Swetman, VUSA Regional Leader, Northwest Region; SVS Steering Committee Member


Within the context of the Society, academic freedom has several aspects. All participants are free to undertake research and inquiry without restriction of prescribed doctrine. All are free to discuss critically the results of such research and inquiry. All are free to express opinions regarding ideas and policies, including opinions at variance with any received tradition (whether of the Vineyard movement or otherwise) and opinions critical of any member organization of the International Association of Vineyard Churches, their administration and policies, or the systems by which they operate. No requirement is imposed that participants in the Society must agree to any given theological doctrine, statement of faith, or ecclesial policy, and no censorship of ideas or opinions on the grounds that they “aren’t Vineyard” can be permitted or tolerated.

Conversely, this also means that ideas and opinions expressed within the context of the Society remain the author’s own and are not necessarily representative of those of Vineyard USA or any other member organization of the International Association of Vineyard Churches.


The Responsibility of a Vineyard Scholar

SVS does not exist to exhibit the fact of erudition and excellent scholarship in the Vineyard, glad as we are that there is such. SVS exists to discover more of Jesus, and find ways to articulate those discoveries in service of the broader Vineyard community.
 — Caleb Maskell, Chair of the Steering Committee, Society of Vineyard Scholars


Within the context of the Society, academic responsibility means that all participants bear several obligations. All have the obligation to speak truthfully regarding the subject matter under discussion, regardless whether that truth is expedient to the interests of any party involved. All participants are responsible to show respect for the persons and opinions of others, even when disagreeing. All have the obligation to conduct themselves in a manner becoming of their role as participants in the Society. And all share in the responsibility to foster the common good of all members of the Vineyard movement and of the whole people of God by means of their activity within the Society.

A key element of academic responsibility is respecting the academic freedom, the intellectual property rights, and the privacy of others. Therefore, no one may redistribute material posted in this forum, whether that material be the content of messages, file attachments, or in any other form, without the express written permission of its author(s).

Some areas of the SVS forum are publicly viewable, while most are accessible only to registered forum members. Be aware that quoting, copying, paraphrasing, or otherwise reproducing material from a private discussion board into another discussion in a publicly viewable area counts as redistribution in the preceding paragraph. In short, whatever is written in the private discussion boards, stays in the private discussion boards.

In the interest of fostering academic responsibility, all forum participants are to use their real names in their forum profile instead of an online pseudonym.