Improvising Church - by Mark Glanville (Paperback)

About the Book

Though the post-Christian cultural turn can be disconcerting, it is also a uniquely exciting time to reimagine churches. Building on the dynamic traditions of jazz music and Christian community, biblical scholar and jazz musician Mark Glanville unfolds a biblical, practical, and inventive vision for building the churches we long for.

Book Synopsis

Though the post-Christian cultural turn can be disconcerting, it is also a uniquely exciting time to reimagine churches. Building on the dynamic traditions of jazz music and Christian community, biblical scholar and jazz musician Mark Glanville unfolds a biblical, practical, and inventive vision for building the churches we long for.

Review Quotes

"Improvising Church is a harmony of scriptural insight and pastoral wisdom, soulfully explored. Drawing from the metaphors of jazz, Glanville calls Western churches in post-Christian contexts to embrace an improvisational journey shaped by the biblical narrative and the perception of artists within incarnational community that loves their place and its people. Like a musician in sync with our contextual rhythm, Glanville urges us to embrace our interconnectedness with creation, tying that to the need to confront the legacies of colonialism with courageous solidarity. This book resonates deeply, hits all the right notes, and will inspire you to embrace a new, transformative song to improvise with for our twenty-first-century witness."

"Imagine an interpreter of Scripture with trustworthy credentials. Now imagine a musician who enchants with creativity. Next imagine a pastor who can mobilize a community to bless a neighborhood. In Mark Glanville, all three of these are one person. Read, listen, and imagine what more may be possible."

"In a world where Scripture struggles to gain a hearing and models for renewing the church are often drawn from the latest fads, Improvising Church is stunning. Drawing on his deep, loving engagement with Scripture and his long experience in churches on the margins, Mark Glanville offers a humble, exhilarating invitation to become congregations that help our neighbors encounter the joy of Jesus and his way in the world. Like the jazz that serves as its primary metaphor, Improvising Church brought me to tears and made my heart sing. It is a gift to anyone seeking to help God's people become who we're called to be in our post-Christian, Western world."

"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever, but the church is called to be a beautiful reflection of the incarnational God who came not to be served but to serve. Too often churches, in their desire to be faithful to a God who never changes, refuse to change any of their practices, structures, or presuppositions, even though people are leaving church disillusioned and hurt. Weaving together his expertise in Old Testament, pastoring, and jazz music, Mark Glanville provides fresh insight into God's unchanging Word to help us be faithful witnesses in God's changing world. Be inspired by the lived examples, and be challenged and equipped to bring healing, hope, and beauty in the name of Jesus."

"Mark has expertly distilled the essence of communal faith in our cultural times. Foundational and fundamental depth matches with Spirit-led movement, creating a vibrant, contextual, and boundless exploration of encounter. Release the music! A gift to the church in these times! This book releases the song of the Artist who wants us to play along."

"Mark Glanville writes with a kind of humility, curiosity, creativity, and compassion that are not merely desired but required when learning from traditions that you've been graciously grafted into-be it from Moses or Miles Davis, Elijah or Ella Fitzgerald, Nathanael or Nina Simone, John Coltrane or Jesus, the Christ. Mark has experienced a 'love supreme' and is inviting us to take giant steps of communal improvisation and imagine somethin' else, an alternative to Christendom and its colonial legacy, something that looks like Jesus, something that is the shape of things to come."

"There is a good case to be made that the missing component in our contemporary apologetic is beauty. In this book, Mark Glanville draws on his pastoral and musical experience to invite and instruct the church to move in ways-like good jazz-that show the beauty of God to a world that desperately needs good news."

"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever, but the church is called to be a beautiful reflection of the incarnational God who came not to be served but to serve. Too often churches, in their desire to be faithful to a God who never changes, refuse to change any of their practices, structures, or presuppositions, even though people are leaving church disillusioned and hurt. Weaving together his expertise in Old Testament, pastoring, and jazz music, Mark Glanville provides fresh insight into God's unchanging Word to help us be faithful witnesses in God's changing world. Be inspired by the lived examples, and be challenged and equipped to bring healing, hope, and beauty in the name of Jesus."

"Mark has expertly distilled the essence of communal faith in our cultural times. Foundational and fundamental depth matches with Spirit-led movement, creating a vibrant, contextual, and boundless exploration of encounter. Release the music! A gift to the church in these times! This book releases the song of the Artist who wants us to play along."

About the Author

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 Christian leaders 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, which he hosts from the grand piano. His personal website is https: //www.markglanville.org.