In this episode of We Are Vineyard, Jay talks with Ranjo Clements about traveling from Bombay, India to the US with his parents at age 5, the disconnect he felt moving back as a young teenager, and his experience of re-learning how to be Indian. They discuss some cultural values and norms that are strengths, and others that require navigation in a mixed-culture environment. Ranjo shares about the life events that led him to taking diversity issues seriously, some of the challenges and benefits he has found in being a part of the Vineyard, and what he finds valuable about Vineyard USA Associations.
Ranjo joined the Vineyard in 2013. Although originally from India, he is a card-carrying “third culture kid,” having spent multiple stints in India and the US. He is passionate about equipping worship leaders, building multiethnic communities, and creating “safe spaces” where people encounter God and operate in their gifting. Ranjo served as a worship pastor in India before returning to the US in 2008 to pursue an M.Div. in worship studies at Asbury Theological Seminary (ATS). He has since served as Associate Pastor at GCF Vineyard in Wilmore, KY, and is on the core team for Vineyard USA’s AAPI association. He is also pursuing a Ph.D. in Asian American studies at ATS. His research interests include Asian American identity and theology, worship, ethnodoxology, and missiology. Ranjo and his wife, Aletha, have five beautiful daughters. They love hosting people, singing, sharing stories, laughing, and eating all kinds of ethnic food, especially spicy food.
Show Notes:
2023 VUSA National Conference “Making All Things New”
Learning Our Names by Sabrina S. Chan, Linson Daniel, E. David de Leon, and La Thao
