Pivot

#93: Beyond Church Growth Strategies: Is Innovation a Helpful Category for the Church? (2 of 2)

Dr. Andy Root, Rev. Dr. Michael Binder, and Rev. Dr. Dwight Zscheile suggest true ministry innovation may come from slowing down, not speeding up.

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In this compelling follow-up episode, the Pivot Podcast dives deeper into the heart of church leadership and innovation. Dr. Andy Root, Dr. Michael Binder, and Dr. Dwight Zscheile challenge prevailing notions about church growth and effectiveness, proposing a radical shift in approach. Could the key to revitalizing ministry be found in doing less, waiting on God, and embracing uncertainty?

Explore why slowing down might be the most innovative step a church can take, how to redefine growth beyond numbers, and what it means to cultivate the courage to ask difficult questions about God’s activity. This conversation offers hope and practical wisdom for leaders feeling burnt out or discouraged, inviting them to rediscover the heart of authentic, Christ-centered ministry in a rapidly changing world.

Show Notes

Shift Ministry Models
Faithful Innovation

Featuring

Andy Root Headshot

Andy Root

Andrew Root is the Carrie Olson Baalson Professor of Youth and Family Ministry at Luther Seminary, USA. He writes and researches in areas of theology, ministry, culture and younger generations.  His most recent books are Churches and the Crisis of Decline (Baker, 2022), The Congregation in a Secular Age (Baker, 2021), The End of Youth Ministry? (Baker, 2020), The Pastor in a Secular Age: Ministry to People Who No Longer Need God (Baker, 2019), Faith Formation in a Secular Age (Baker, 2017), and Exploding Stars, Dead Dinosaurs, and Zombies: Youth Ministry in the Age of Science (Fortress Press, 2018).

Michael Binder

Michael Binder

Michael Binder is a professor, church leadership consultant, and small business owner. He serves on the faculty of Luther Seminary teaching ministry leadership, innovation and church planting. Michael serves on the leadership team for the Seeds Project at Luther. He and his wife run a five-generation family HVAC business. They live in Saint Paul with their three children.

Meet Your Hosts

  • Terri Elton

    Terri Martinson Elton began teaching at Luther Seminary as an adjunct instructor in 2004 before becoming the director of the Center for Children, Youth and Family Ministry in 2008. In addition to her continued work with the Center, Elton accepted the position of associate professor of Children, Youth and Family Ministry in 2010 and associate professor of Leadership in 2014.

    Prior to her call to Luther Seminary, Elton served as an associate to the bishop in the Saint Paul Area Synod where her responsibilities included working with congregations, leadership development, First Call theological education and youth and family ministry.

    Before her work in the synod, she served at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Burnsville, Minn. for 16 years. While at Prince of Peace she worked in various roles within children, youth and family ministries, as well as served as the director of Changing Church Forum, an outreach ministry of Prince of Peace. She also authored To Know, To Live, To Grow, a confirmation curriculum, and co-authored What Really Matters, a book for congregational leaders, with the Rev. Mike Foss.

    Elton holds a B.A. degree in communications from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minn. (1986). She earned both her M.A. (1998) and Ph.D. (2007) degrees in Congregational Mission and Leadership from Luther Seminary.

    Elton’s research and teaching interests include: congregational leadership, leading in the midst of change and conflict, helping ministry leaders craft a missional ecclesiology with an eye toward the First Third of Life, awakening a vibrant theology of baptism and vocation and reimagining faith and mission practices for children, youth, young adults and their families.

    Elton is a member of the Academy of Religious Leadership, the Association of Youth Ministry Educators, the ELCA Youth Ministry Network and the American Society of Missiology and is on the board for Real Resources. Elton spends much of her time working with congregations and congregational leaders and seeks out opportunities for enhancing ministry with those in the First Third of Life within the ELCA.

  • Dwight Zscheile

    Dwight Zscheile is vice president of innovation and professor of congregational mission and leadership at Luther Seminary. His latest book is Leading Faithful Innovation: Following God into a Hopeful Future (with Michael Binder and Tessa Pinkstaff, Fortress Press, 2023).