Mark Glanville on jazz, scholarship and the Church
As a musician/scholar what links do you see between jazz and the Church?
While the Church roots itself in Scripture, jazz musicians root our music in the rich jazz tradition. Both demand improvisation. As churches we are improvising fresh melodies on the biblical tradition, in our particular neighbourhoods, sensitive to the context and moment.
Should churches do more to bring Bible scholarship to average folks? How?
I see four key questions on this. How do we understand (1) the biblical story, (2) ethics, (3) the gospel and (4) witness? The Bible is the story of God recovering the divine purposes for creation, with a deep core muscle throughout Scripture being an ethic of kinship – the weakest among us are enfolded at the centre of the community. The gospel is the Good News that God continues to establish a sovereign, redeeming rule over every aspect of creation, and we are to be the witness, say the witness and do the witness.
Can you introduce one of your recent books?
Improvising Church: Scripture as the Source of Harmony, Rhythm, and Soul is a guidebook for the Church in post-Christian neighbourhoods. It offers a vision for churches that truly belong in their neighbourhoods, full of creativity and tenderness, with the Bible in our hands. Its 12 chapters offer 12 characteristics for improvising church in our context, like the 12 notes in an octave on the piano.
Mark Glanville of Vancouver is director of the Centre for Missional Leadership at UBC, author of five nonfiction books, a former pastor, a veteran jazz pianist and host of the Blue Note Theology podcast (MarkGlanville.org).