上帝葡萄园里的生活

辛迪·斯坦贝克, MA ’02, 和 Steve Schedler ’84 both spent years serving as 基督教教育总监(DCE)以各种方式支持康科迪亚，并度过了巨大的个人困难时期. 现在，作为配偶和合作伙伴 葡萄园部的声音, they are creating ways to support ministers with teaching, 更新撤退, 以及关系的治愈力量.

“我们的热情是关心和支持教会工作者和教会领袖，”史蒂夫说. “我们的部门提供了一个休息的地方, 鼓励, 和 growth for DCEs 和 other church leaders 和 educators.”

这主要发生在一个故事, 450-acre vineyard in north San Luis Obispo County, 在那里，辛迪开着她那辆生锈的1958年威利斯吉普车带着游客进行教学之旅——这辆车甚至吸引了基督教作家和演说家贝丝·摩尔, who featured Cindy in a video series accompanying one of her books.

The Steinbeck vineyard has been in Cindy’s family for seven generations 和, 在她的领导下, 推出了自己的酿酒厂和品酒室. It is the place she came home to after 15 years serving as a DCE, 和 it has provided fertile soil for the growth of her ministry as a speaker, 作者, 和主机.

在人生的大部分时间里，辛迪和史蒂夫走着平行的、偶尔相交的道路. 辛迪于1980年来到康考迪亚(当时被称为基督学院欧文分校)，然后转到波特兰康考迪亚大学从事正规博彩网站排名亚洲体育博彩平台(康考迪亚欧文分校当时没有女子体育项目)。. Steve, a San Diego native, enrolled at CCI six months later.

“It was a much different place—150 学生 和 four buildings,他说. “我开玩笑说，我上的大学比我的路德教会小学还小. It was a great experience at Irvine with friends 和 professors.”

大地在召唤我回家.

都成为了dce. 史蒂夫在卡马里奥的和平路德教会工作, 然后在安大略的路德救赎会待了10年, 在回到圣. Paul’s in San Diego, where he has served ever since.

“Being a DCE means lots of great ministry,他说. “你可以和孩子们一起出去玩, 与他们分享生活, Lead和guide, 谈论耶稣, 做王国的仆人.”

辛蒂曾在俄勒冈州波特兰市和加州兰开斯特市附近的教堂担任主祭. 但她的心被家族的帕索罗伯斯(Paso Robles)葡萄园所吸引，该葡萄园自1884年以来一直维持着他们的生计.

“大地在召唤我回家 through my son,她说。. “He was his gr和pa’s sidekick from birth 和 always wanted to farm. 生意越来越好，我儿子也上七年级了，他很想经营葡萄园.”

In 1997, she moved back to Paso Robles 和 began working the vineyard, 开拖拉机, 和 doing “all the work that the men carry out on the ranch now,她笑着说. “我一下子就迷上了它，因为我在成长过程中有很多这样的经历.” 

Steinbeck Vineyards supplies grapes—mainly cabernets—to large wineries. 但当我一天开10个小时的拖拉机时，“我的事工开始发挥作用了，”辛迪说. “我起得很早，学习圣经，尤其是约翰福音第15章. I had time to meditate as I watched my dad work as a vine dresser.”

The words of Jesus came alive to her: “I am the vine, you are the branches.” In Revelation 22 he called himself “the root of Jesse.” The images corresponded to what she saw daily in the vineyard.

她说:“我观察嫁接，他们在葡萄藤的果肉上深深地切了一片。. “藤蔓就是我们所说的根茎——由苗圃繁殖的不结果实的葡萄藤. We use it because it’s not susceptible to disease. We take a bud-wood from Cabernet Sauvignon 和 graft it in.”

同样地, Christians are branches connected to the one True Vine by grafting, 在路德教的理解中，洗礼是什么, 她说.

“旧的走了，新的来了，砧木不容易生病，”她说. “Christ is not susceptible to sin, death, Satan, or temptation. 我们住在他圣洁的生活里. Romans 11:16 says, ’if the root is holy, the branches are holy.’”

当她做日常的照料工作时，这些和其他的教训变得生动起来, 浇水, 和收获.

她说:“虽然我喜欢户外活动、拖拉机和农业，但我内心深处仍然是一名DCE。. “The call home turned into ministry, even on this l和.”

辛迪经常把她的想法写在博客上，这引起了康科迪亚出版社的注意. 他们请她写三本书. 最终, Cindy started Jeep tours to educate people about sustainable farming, 和 to teach the gospel through the visual example of the vineyard.

“’Sustainable’ is a very en vogue word,她说。. “Sustainable farming means every decision we make—water use, 种植葡萄, 和 so on—all looks to the future 和 sustainability. 我们必须有盈利能力, use chemicals safely for our workers 和 families, 永远不要过度利用环境.”

另一个叫做可持续生活或, 更多的非正式的, “my John 15 Jesus Jeep ride”—gained traction as well.

“我们上了吉普车，看到耶稣说‘我是葡萄树，你们是枝子’,在葡萄园里,她说。.

在商业方面, visitors kept asking where they could taste the Steinbecks’ wines, 和 Cindy tired of sending them to wineries that purchased their grapes.

“就在那时，我很清楚地意识到，是时候创立斯坦贝克葡萄酒品牌了,她说。. “走出去，制作一款带有我们自己名字的产品，这是非常可怕的, 但我心里知道这是对的.”

I pray every moment 和 ask God to work through this place.

斯坦贝克家族于2006年推出了自己的葡萄酒品牌，并于2009年开设了一家葡萄酒品酒室. 他们在2017年完成了一个加工设施, allowing them to cask 和 bottle their own vintages on site.

然而，就在葡萄酒生意和事工蒸蒸日上的时候，辛迪的婚姻却走到了尽头.

“I had to wake up to [the fact that it was] domestic violence. 我看不到虐待，”她说. “我非常确信上帝希望我结婚，所以我没有给上帝其他的选择. 20年来，我一直在为家里的和平祈祷，从来没有想到离婚会是上帝为我的家带来和平的方式.”

Meanwhile, Steve had walked a similarly painful road. 他的第一次婚姻以离婚告终，他的第二任妻子乔伊斯(Joyce)在2016年死于白血病. “这段旅程一点都不顺利，也不轻松, 但神在供应我和我们的家庭方面是非常信实的,史蒂夫说.

丧偶的, 史蒂夫保持着每年春天前往北部帕索罗伯斯参加葡萄酒节的传统, 就像他和乔伊斯多年来做的那样. 在那里，他拜访了辛迪的葡萄园. The couples had known each other well in ministry. “乔伊斯去世的时候，辛迪也很伤心，因为我们都是朋友，”史蒂夫说.

史蒂夫和辛迪在葡萄园里散步，谈论生活中的艰辛和胜利, 和 how they saw the h和 of God working through it all.

“She helped me through in so many ways,史蒂夫说. “这是我康复过程中很重要的一部分. 耶稣说:“住在我里面.“当你在葡萄园里闲逛的时候, you see those grafts 和 the times of the season, 不同的成长, SAP流程. 这是一个非常有灵性的地方.辛迪也有同样的感受.

起初，两人都没有想过要发展一段新的关系，但随着时间的推移，他们有了新的想法. They were married in 2021 和 just celebrated their first anniversary. “这完全是上帝的旨意，”史蒂夫说.

他们之间的部分联系是分享对康考迪亚大学欧文分校的巨大兴奋, 辛迪曾两次在 校董会年，史蒂夫担任苹果公司总裁 校友董事会，两人都做过客座演讲. Cindy获得了硕士学位 历史和神学 from Concordia in 2002, 和 Steve earned his bachelor's degree in 宗教研究 in 1984.

“I have developed a tremendous fondness for the people of Concordia,她说。. “随着我不仅与管理团队，而且与摄政同事成为好朋友，我的热情与日俱增. 教授们邀请我来演讲 市场营销 或者在 业务 或者神学课. I was able to integrate myself as a regent into the school setting.”

她最近和 汤森研究所 在最近为新一代学生举行的开学仪式上，学生们带头奉献. 约翰·汤森, who made her a Fellow of the Institute in Leadership/Executive Coaching, says Cindy’s contributions are “highly valuable for our 组织的领导 和 高管培训与咨询 学生.”

Cindy says her love for her alma mater has grown over the years. “能够捐赠葡萄酒 群星晚会 有这么多忠实的人来牧场拜访我，体验耶稣吉普车之旅真是太棒了,她说。. “Dr. 迈克尔·托马斯。 is an astounding leader—not only personable but visionary. 他完成了任务. 他看到了一个愿景，并将实现它. The cabinet he has placed around him is a dynamic force, 和 he has given them the tools to carry out his vision. He sets the course 和 then turns the work to them without micromanaging them. 他是一个伟大的领袖. 这是一种巨大的协同作用.”

她称之为“成功的多米诺骨牌效应”，比如建筑项目, 筹款, 和 the establishing of new programs happen together.

“上帝真是太好了，”她说. “我们正在改善我们的校园. We have faithful donors who are tremendously active 和 very generous. 长期战略计划是惊人的.”

史蒂夫很高兴能成为“康考迪亚使命和事工这么多酷的事情的一部分”,他说. “这是一个光明的未来.”

这段旅程绝非一帆风顺，但上帝一直非常信实.

今天，Steve也为太平洋西南地区的dce提供领导和指导.

“史蒂夫和辛迪都通过他们的不同部门产生了强大的影响,蒂姆·耶格说, Concordia’s Vice President for University Advancement, 市场营销, 和通信. “It’s wonderful to see God bringing these two special people together.”

史提夫正准备北上到葡萄园与辛蒂会合，并全力投入他们共同的事工中, 葡萄园之声. In addition to Cindy’s Jesus Jeep Tours 和 speaking engagements, 这对夫妇正在改造他们房产上一个长满橡树的公园，并在那里安装拖车，让人们可以住在葡萄园里, 享受集体聚餐和美酒, 谈话, 和鼓励.

“We are coming together to support 和 care for people we love,史蒂夫说.“我们将通过热情好客、学习圣经和与人交谈来支持和关心他们. We help those who are strong, but tired, to rest 和 get renewed.”

Cindy’s son now runs Steinbeck’s agriculture operations, 和 her son-in-law is their assistant winemaker. Cindy recently self-published a fourth book about her experience with divorce, 她还在地里干活.

“几分钟后, I’m going to jump on a tractor 和 mow some weeds that are bugging me badly,” she said toward the close of an interview with CUI magazine.

The Steinbeck tasting room welcomes guests seven days a week, 它的酒厂生产1,每年500例, selling the other 99 percent of harvested grapes to larger wineries. 她的妈妈和爸爸, 也有支持协和女神的历史吗, 在他们八十出头的时候健康强壮吗. 她的父亲, “一个真正的农民,” loves hosting the sustainable farming tours 和 is a visitor favorite.

What continues to sustain Cindy 和 Steve together is prayer. “我每时每刻都在祈祷，”她说. “我经常坐在车道顶上，祈求上帝在这个地方做工. It’s his l和; I’m a steward.”

她说，他们的旅程，无论是分开还是现在在一起，“一直都是上帝的眷顾”.