Improvising Church: Scripture as the Source of Harmony, Rhythm, and Soul

Word Guild Award Winner―Academic

Englewood Review of Books Best Theology Book of the Year

Plenty of books diagnose our post-Christian malaise. Here's a dynamic solution.

The post-Christian cultural turn is creating the conditions for a crisis of confidence in the church and in pastoral ministry. While such changes can be disruptive and disconcerting, our new cultural reality makes the present moment a uniquely exciting timeto reimagine churches that bear witness to Christ. How do we move beyond cookie-cutter approaches (which may have worked in the past) to building the creative, compassionate, and incarnational churches we long for?

Biblical scholar and accomplished jazz pianist Mark Glanville plays with a metaphor of improvisation to chart twelve themes as the key "notes" on which Christian communities play as they bear witness to God in the world today. Building on these two dynamic traditions―jazz musicand Christian community―Improvising Church unfolds a biblical, practical, and inventive vision for churches seeking to receive and extend the healing of Christ.

Dr. Mark Glanville works as the Director of the Centre for Missional Leadership at St. Andrews Hall, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. He is an Old Testament scholar, and has written five books, including Improvising Church: Scripture as the Source of Harmony, Rhythm, and Soul, and Preaching in a New Key: Crafting Expository Sermons in Post-Christian Communities. Mark’s vocational goal is to research, teach, write, speak, and play music to nourish Christianleaders to creatively reimagine what the church can be and do in post-Christian societies, with the Bible in our hands. Mark is also a professional jazz pianist, active on the Vancouver jazz scene. Mark’s podcast is Blue Note Theology, whichhe hosts from the grand piano. His personal website is https://www.markglanville.org.