Dwight J. Zscheile is vice president of innovation and professor of congregational mission and leadership at Luther Seminary. His books include Leading Faithful Innovation (with Michael Binder and Tessa Pinkstaff), Participating in God's Mission (with Craig Van Gelder), The Agile Church, People of the Way, Cultivating Sent Communities, and The Missional Church in Perspective (with Craig Van Gelder). He lives in St. Paul, Minnesota.

 

Blair A. Pogue is canon for vitality and innovation in the Episcopal Church in Minnesota. She is an Episcopal priest with over two decades of ordained ministry experience in rural, suburban, and urban congregations. She holds a D.Min. in congregational mission and leadership from Luther Seminary and lives in St. Paul, Minnesota.
 

"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."—Stephanie Spellers Episcopal priest and author of The Church Cracked Open and Radical Welcome

“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.”—Louise N. Johnson, Executive for Vision, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

“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.”  —David Fitch, author of Faithful Presence

"With a Christological lens and a generous spirit, Zscheile and Pogue have created a faithful and imagination-widening book for ecclesial leaders."—Nick Warnes, Executive Director, Cyclical INC

“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.”—Dr. Michael Moynagh, author, advocate, theologian and consultant on new Christian communities

“[A] wonderful overview of the diversity of the mixed ecology. A must read for all church leaders!”—Ed Olsworth-Peter, Director of Innovation, St. Mellitus College

“A perceptive and illuminating analysis of why a mixed ecology of church is so vital in our contemporary cultural context in the West."—Mike Harrison, Bishop of Exeter, United Kingdom

"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."—Craig Loya, Bishop of the Episcopal Church in Minnesota

“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.”—Jay Parini, author of Jesus: The Human Face of God and New York Times bestselling author of The Last Station