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A guide to the diverse forms of Christian community that are needed today.
Throughout its history, the church thrived when it embraced diverse organizational and cultural forms. In this volume, Dwight Zscheile and Blair Pogue argue that as American culture shifts away from voluntary association and toward individual self-expression, most existing congregations are bound to inherited forms of church that are not designed to connect with neighbors or form disciples. Taking the Church of England’s efforts over two decades to engage its deeply changed missionary context as an example, the authors build on historical and contemporary precedent to argue that the renewal of the church requires a new paradigm where inherited and innovative forms of church coexist and thrive together. Examining numerous innovations—including fresh expressions of church, megachurches, microchurches, church plants, digital churches, and more—the authors show how a mixed ecology is central to church renewal.
Throughout its history, the church thrived when it embraced diverse organizational and cultural forms. In this volume, Dwight Zscheile and Blair Pogue argue that as American culture shifts away from voluntary association and toward individual self-expression, most existing congregations are bound to inherited forms of church that are not designed to connect with neighbors or form disciples. Taking the Church of England’s efforts over two decades to engage its deeply changed missionary context as an example, the authors build on historical and contemporary precedent to argue that the renewal of the church requires a new paradigm where inherited and innovative forms of church coexist and thrive together. Examining numerous innovations—including fresh expressions of church, megachurches, microchurches, church plants, digital churches, and more—the authors show how a mixed ecology is central to church renewal.
Price: $29.95
Pages: 208
Publisher: Church Publishing Incorporated
Imprint: Seabury Books
Publication Date:
03 June 2025
Trim Size: 9.00 X 6.00 in
ISBN: 9781640657717
Format: Paperback
"Dwight Zscheile and Blair Pogue are two of the brightest minds in Episcopal theology and practice. With Embracing the Mixed Ecology, they come together to deftly analyze our changing church and changing world, and then offer illuminating pictures of ministries shaped for the future. This wonderful book will make you think and make you hope."
“This book will change how you think about Church, and... open your eyes to see how and where God is at work in the corners of our communities, among ordinary people, in unexpected and extraordinary ways. With uncommon wisdom and a spirit of generosity, Zscheile and Pogue invite us on a journey of transformation, into a future with hope.”
"With a Christological lens and a generous spirit, Zscheile and Pogue have created a faithful and imagination-widening book for ecclesial leaders."
“A really excellent survey of the field—easy to read, balanced, carefully researched, wide ranging, and with lots of inspiring stories. It deserves to be widely read.”
“[A] wonderful overview of the diversity of the mixed ecology. A must read for all church leaders!”
“A perceptive and illuminating analysis of why a mixed ecology of church is so vital in our contemporary cultural context in the West."
"In an age when Christendom's project to hold the center of social and cultural influence has reached a decisive end, this book offers an extraordinarily simple and compelling invitation to return to our core work of following Jesus as a way of life."
“A thoughtful and challenging book that approaches the crisis in the church today with a clear-eyed and commonsensical view of what is needed and what lies before us as we seek, as a Christian community, to act as God’s hands in the world. The church, as the authors beautifully explain, both embodies and enacts encounters with the risen Christ. This seems especially relevant now, as we confront a world fractured along tribal and political lines. Living according to the gospel, they suggest, is the only way forward, for individuals and for the church as a whole. I strongly recommend this book.”
“This book will change how you think about Church, and... open your eyes to see how and where God is at work in the corners of our communities, among ordinary people, in unexpected and extraordinary ways. With uncommon wisdom and a spirit of generosity, Zscheile and Pogue invite us on a journey of transformation, into a future with hope.”
“The ‘mixed ecology’ metaphor is so helpful for understanding the re-shaping of our churches for mission.... Zscheile and Pogue explore the many rich forms this metaphor takes as it lands across various church movements... Read the book and take the journey every pastor, leader and Christian must take in these challenging times.”
"With a Christological lens and a generous spirit, Zscheile and Pogue have created a faithful and imagination-widening book for ecclesial leaders."
“A really excellent survey of the field—easy to read, balanced, carefully researched, wide ranging, and with lots of inspiring stories. It deserves to be widely read.”
“[A] wonderful overview of the diversity of the mixed ecology. A must read for all church leaders!”
“A perceptive and illuminating analysis of why a mixed ecology of church is so vital in our contemporary cultural context in the West."
"In an age when Christendom's project to hold the center of social and cultural influence has reached a decisive end, this book offers an extraordinarily simple and compelling invitation to return to our core work of following Jesus as a way of life."
“A thoughtful and challenging book that approaches the crisis in the church today with a clear-eyed and commonsensical view of what is needed and what lies before us as we seek, as a Christian community, to act as God’s hands in the world. The church, as the authors beautifully explain, both embodies and enacts encounters with the risen Christ. This seems especially relevant now, as we confront a world fractured along tribal and political lines. Living according to the gospel, they suggest, is the only way forward, for individuals and for the church as a whole. I strongly recommend this book.”
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Notes
For Further Reading
Introduction
- A Time of Disconnections
- Rediscovering Roots
- Church Planting
- Fresh Expressions of Church
- Megachurches and Microchurches
- Digital Church
- The Mixed Ecology: A Contemporary Case Study
- Making Space, Learning, and Leading Together
Notes
For Further Reading