The Agile Church: Spirit-Led Innovation in an Uncertain Age

Zscheile is a name people ought to add to their Microsoft dictionaries if they seek any Christian education. This name ought to be synonymous with the higher Christian books like Purpose Driven Life and Jesus Is_____. While written for a different audience than those books, The Agile Church: Spirit-Led Innovation in an Uncertain Age is the appetizer on the main menu of a course of books meant for the healthy Christian eater. This isn’t spiritual milk, as Paul illustrated, but instead, this is more akin to a dip into an Asian-Mexican fusion dish. The book itself showcases how we (as Christians) can be inspired by the Holy Spirit utilizing our natural gifts rather than attempting to manufacture or copy something of commercial success. Zscheile begins the book by taking us through our uncertain times. Published in 2014, six years ahead of the worldwide uncertain time calamity – COVID, Zscheile encourages the Christian church by a healthy dose of reality. “The church tends to operate as if the Western culture still supports Christian identity and practice,” he writes. “Yet this is increasingly no longer the case.” If he only knew then what would happen on January 6, 2021, where Christian flags and signs were among those storming the capital of the United States. If he only knew then that many Christians would be hijacked into the American Nationalist cult being led by Former President Donald Trump. Zscheile uses this as evidence for why the Christian church must change for the better or perish. As he notes on expressive individualism, he also notes on how the church is seen from the rest of the world – like a restaurant, different flavors, different spiritual foods, and self-filling. Zscheile then gives steps of how we can learn to innovate. One step of note is that of improvisation. No, he is not offering the solution that Sunday mornings ought to feature a Christian group asking the congregation for a person, place, or thing, regarding a biblical story or moral ideal they hope to hilariously convey. Instead, the idea of “Spiritual Improv,” is more like the improvisation of a Jazz musician. A pianist can’t join a jazz group on their second day of playing. Instead, there must be an intimate knowledge of the 88 keys and countless scales to know specifically how the song works and where it's going. The same with the drummer, whose knowledge of timing must be iconic to produce even terrible jazz. As illustrated in Soul, jazz requires improv, but skillful improv. It’s the same here. Unskilled Spiritual Improv only leads others astray, where one would be better tying a cement brick around their neck and falling into the ocean. One’s theology and doctrine must be Biblically sound and tuned by God Himself to faithfully improv with the Spirit. This book has more highlights in it than I may care to admit. Even searching through the book for this review, I found more there than I forgot I placed. This book cries for the church to be less rigid, more fluid, but even more faithful to the Word of God. It calls for all believers to reconcile with Christ as to trust in Him through the uncertainty of the age, while also allowing for trust in the Almighty unmatched by anything corporate America can offer. If we are to change, allow us to faithfully change while inspired by the Holy Spirit, whose actions rhyme and flow harmoniously with the Scriptures and the Almighty. This book will be saved for quite a long time.

excellent all around

This is a book for churches who are seeking to reimagine their place and their purpose in a world of disruptive change. It’s a book about “making good mistakes” writes the author, rather than replicating the fatal mistake of doing what we always have done even though it fails to resonate with the broader culture, the church’s neighborhood, and even our own members. It’s a book that aims to help churches become learning communities rather than program factories running on unexamined assumptions about both the gospel and the real needs of their broader context. Zscheile writes as a practical theologian who bears witness to the organic, fruitful work of innovative discipleship and purposeful clarity within his local parish in St. Paul, MN. What is refreshing and vital about his approach to innovation within the church is that he is able to draw out lessons on innovation from Silicon Valley and see possibility within the the tradition of mainline Christianity. This “traditioned innovation” will resonate deeply with faithful leaders within the mainline church who may feel as though they have been left behind by fresh expressions of Christian community that have jettisoned ties with the church of the past 1500 years.As any good book on the church will do, Zscheile presents his readers with a critique of the established church with cutting clarity. This critique, combined with his insights into innovation, present a challenge and a risk that can feel overwhelming yet necessary if the church is going to regain its sense of place and purpose in a fast-changing, often bewildering culture of the post-Christian West. Zscheile also offers a thorough deconstruction of our contemporary culture’s obsession with consumer-driven identify making, expressive individualism, and moralistic-therepeutic-diestic spirituality. In short, he hits the nail on the head… and it hurts.Even after his poignant critique, Zscheile holds out hope even for churches that may feel stuck or fruitless. He asks that the church reimagine the situation, especially in light of the OT narratives of barrenness, wilderness, and exile. “God is continuously calling people into a new way of interpreting and experiencing the world.” Even the early church in Acts is one of disruptive change and bewilderment under the leadership of the Spirit. To quote Zscheile, “An agile church is, above all, a Spirit-led church.” He asks that churches consider lessons from agile organizations in Silicon Valley who know how to stay atop innovation in an uncertain environment filled with disruptive change. He invites the church into disciplines of a learning community akin to a spiritual journey filled with failure and surprise, genuine curiosity and deep listening, as well as a playful openness to possibilities that already exist in the church and neighborhood. Zshceile begins and ends with a little parable of Jesus, "every scribe that has been trained for the Kingdom of hHeaven will be like a household master who brings out what is new and old”. This parable is a good summary of Zscheile's work and welcome wisdom for faithful leaders in our day and age.

This is a very solid book for people wanting to read, reflect and discuss new and more nimble ways of being the church. Zscheile is a professor at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, MN but writes in a way that is accessible for most leaders in congregations. Focusing on a mainline audience, he explores principles from Silicon Valley, outlines a set of principles for church practice, and provides genuine help for leaders wanting to change how the congregation they lead moves forward. As a church consultant, I found the book to be a very worthwhile read.

Zscheile shares ancient (helpful insight on biblical narratives) and modern (e.g., Silicon Valley and Lean Startups) wisdom in a practical, accessible, and honest diagnosis and regimen for today's church. He cautions against "that's the way it's always been done" and advocates for a deep attending to the "customer", embracing vulnerability (e.g., failing forward), all while functioning out of a biblical core that is dynamic, agile, and full of integrity. This book is for established communities experiencing decline as well as those hoping to prevent it. It is also a book for church-planters, entrepreneurs, and future church leaders.

Fantastic book to think about the cultural changes happening around us and helps us get off our duffs and do something meaningful to alleviate our apathy.Zscheile is approachable and thoughtful. Great tool for working with leadership teams who may not want to engage the hard questions.