Contents

Preface to the 2018 Edition
Introduction
Part 1: Plowing
1. Ethics as Theology
2. Theology as Narrative
3. Narrative as Drama
4. Drama as Improvisation
Part 2: Planting
5. Forming Habits
6. Assessing Status
7. Accepting and Blocking
8. Questioning Givens
9. Incorporating Gifts
10. Reincorporating the Lost
Part 3: Reaping
11. A Threatening Offer: Human Evil
12. A Threatening Offer: Flawed Creation
13. A Promising Offer: Perfectible Bodies
14. A Promising Offer: Unlimited Food
Epilogue
Afterword Wesley Vander Lugt and Benjamin D. Wayman
Indexes

Improvisation establishes theatrical improvisation as a model for Christian ethics, helping Christians embody their faith in the practices of discipleship. A new afterword by Wesley Vander Lugt and Benjamin D. Wayman explores the book's reception and ongoing significance.

"[A] fresh, engaging approach to Christian ethics."
--Gayle Gerber Koontz, Christian Century

"This book is a treasure, a genuine contribution to the field of Christian ethics. In it Wells offers a constructive account of Christian ethics that critiques quandary ethics on the one hand and postliberal ethics on the other. He argues persuasively that the Christian practices of worship, especially baptism and Eucharist, can be helpfully thought of in terms of theatrical improvisation. Such a rethinking uncovers resources in these practices that might otherwise be missed, resources that can guide the church as it seeks to live faithfully in the world."
--L. Roger Owens, Modern Theology

"This book is conversant both with academic issues and with the liturgical and pastoral practices of congregational ministry. . . . Wells's account represents a significant advance for the discipline of Christian ethics."
--David S. Cunningham, Theology Today

"Wells provides us with skills for the imagination that we might live more faithful (and humorous) lives as Christians. This extraordinarily sophisticated book can be read for profit by those well schooled in the literature of theology and ethics, but more important, this book will satisfy those who hunger and thirst for an account of what it means to live as a Christian in our day."
--Stanley Hauerwas, Duke Divinity School

"This is one of the most relevant, stimulating, and lucid books on Christian ethics to appear for some time. It provides an excellent introduction to current debates in Christian ethics while making its own vivid and sometimes controversial contribution. It is in many places profound and original, and it deserves to be widely read and discussed."
--Duncan B. Forrester, University of Edinburgh

"Bold, creative, and yet showing a deep mastery of his craft, Wells charts a fresh course for Christian theological ethics that is at once artful, contemporary, and faithful both to the Bible and to the best of Christian ethical reflection. This is a very important book."
--Michael Hanby, Baylor University