Leading Faithful Innovation
Following God into a Hopeful Future
- Church Leadership & Ministry
- Publisher: Fortress Press (Augsburg Fortress)
- Published: 2023
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Publisher's Description
What might God be up to amid the seismic changes the church and our culture are undergoing? What opportunities will congregations encounter if they rediscover and follow God's leading? Leading Faithful Innovation offers a practical, hands-on approach to addressing this challenge, a process that culminates in the hope that comes from following the Spirit. 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 readers 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 readers 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.
Endorsements (7)
“Leading Faithful Innovation: Following God into a Hopeful Future is a must-read for congregational leaders today. The authors not only make the case for faithful innovation and experimentation in congregational ministry but outline how to actually put it into practice. This is not a handbook on the latest gimmicks for church growth but, rather, a model for church life where leaders intentionally listen to God’s voice (starting with Scripture), act on what is heard, and then share subsequent learnings with others. Along the way, leaders may find their own lives transformed as their congregations become centers for faithful innovation in Christ’s name.”
“For too long the church has mistaken the ideology of progress for the hope of new creation. Moreover, we have blindly accepted the corporate world’s fascination with creative destruction while sacrificing true Christian innovation. This has led to devastating consequences for congregations and communities. Leading Faithful Innovation invites us to embark on a journey of new creation that draws us into the very triune life of God. Introducing us to simple prayerful practices that help us discern and join what God is up to in our daily lives, this book opens up revolutionary pathways for new expressions of healing, community, and faith to flourish in the world.”
“This book is designed specifically for congregations who want to find new ways to live out the old faith. It is for Christian leaders who desire faithful innovation.”
“If you are struggling to experience and name the power of the living God in your midst, this book is for you. Leading Faithful Innovation will help you listen for God, identify hope, and take risks in love. You will be given a viable path—a way of life—for creating new practices in your community. The kind of innovation this encouraging book invites will cultivate Christian faith in ways that will substantially impact people’s identity and daily life—yours and others’.”
“A timely book filled with helpful wisdom and insight that pushes beyond an overly simplistic programmatic approach toward a full embrace of our deeper call as the church to be a Spirit-led, outward-focused, relationship-based, community-building movement for a rapidly changed and still changing, post-pandemic world. It’s time for the church to learn how to let go and follow—rather than attempt to control and lead—God.”
“Provocative and inspiring in equal measure, Leading Faithful Innovation will kindle your thinking about how God is inviting us to live as a church in new ways. Anyone and everyone who cares about being a more effective Christian disciple will cherish this book. And it is a remarkable remarkable textbook with lessons for leadership in any sector.”
“Rarely do authors present such a comprehensive work that accomplishes both the elegance of rooted theology and the depth of experience of decades of practice. Leading Faithful Innovation is an essential tool for denominational leaders, pastors, and people of the church who are not content with the current status quo and want to join God in creating a better future for the world.”
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