In the heat of oppression, oppressed people improvise. Improvisation is not “making stuff up,” but rather a discipline honed in tight restrictions to create something beautiful out of the materials available. The traditions of the Blues and jazz, birthed from the Black experience in America, is one of the most fertile areas of improvisation in our culture. In this conversation, we will explore the idea of improvising within community and ministry as a way of making something beautiful and life-giving in the midst of empire.