Leading Faithful Innovation

Dwight Zscheile, Michael Binder, and Tessa Pinkstaff build on Scripture, theology, and the latest leadership and change theories to guide church leaders on a journey toward grassroots, participatory spiritual growth. This faithful innovation begins with a three-step process: listening to God and to each other, acting so we can learn, and sharing our stories in community. Real-life stories and supportive spiritual practices make each step toward effective change accessible and actionable. The book then examines how these steps change the culture of a church, establishing a new, biblically grounded way of being church. The authors present leadership practices that invite listeners to redefine their leadership identity, accept the loss of their role as the primary driver of their congregation, and discover new hope and possibility. These topics are again fleshed out with real-life stories and undergirded by suggested practices. Throughout the book, the authors demonstrate that faithful innovation is not another program or an add-on to what listeners are already doing. It is a path to a new normal. It is an ongoing way of following God that allows the Spirit of God to drive the energy among the people of the church.

Dwight Zscheile is vice president of innovation and professor of congregational mission and leadership at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota. An Episcopal priest, he is author of Participating in God's Mission: A Theological Missiology for the Church in America (with Craig Van Gelder), The Agile Church: Spirit-Led Innovation in an Uncertain Age, People of the Way: Renewing Episcopal Identity, and The Missional Church in Perspective: Mapping Trends and Shaping the Conversation (with Craig Van Gelder) and editor of Cultivating Sent Communities: Missional Spiritual Formation. A graduate of Stanford University, Yale University, and Luther Seminary, he has served congregations in Virginia and Minnesota. Dwight's experience growing up in a secular home in California has shaped his commitment to helping the church cultivate Christian community across populations and generations in today's world.