Forgotten Ways, The: Reactivating the Missional Church [Paperback]

Using studies by Rodney Stark, Hirsch calculates that the early church grew from 25,000 in AD 100 to about 20,000,000 in AD 310. How did this happen? What was going on in early Christianity to experience this type of growth? To illustrate that this phenomena was not just an early church experience Hirsch shares the example of the church in China. When Mao Tse-tung took control of China there were approximately 2 million Christians. However, when the Bamboo Curtain was lifted some estimated the Christian population in China to be near 60 million. Moreover, the number of Christians in China today are around 80 million. Once again, how did this kind of growth happen?

Hirsch states some qualifications:

1. They were an illegal religion throughout this period.

2. They didn't have church buildings as we know them.

3. They didn't have scriptures as we know them.

4. They didn't have an institution or professional forms of leadership.

5. They didn't have seeker-sensitive services, youth groups, worship bands, seminaries, etc.

6. They actually made it hard to join the church.

In chapter one, titled "Setting the Scene" and subtitled "Confessions of a Frustrated Missionary" Hirsch tells a bit of his own story as leader of South Melbourne Restoration Community. Hirsch shares how he and his wife were brought to the church as a kind of last ditch effort to revive a church that had experienced birth, growth and decline in its 140 year history. Through the process the Hirschs came to the conclusion that they wanted to be involved in a church that was highly participatory (much more than the 20:80 rule) and missional.

Hirsch provides a good contrast between the typical church growth principles that are used today to grow a contemporary church and the essential components that best describes the nature of the church. Hirsch states "if you wish to grow a contemporary church following good church growth principles, there are several things you must do and constantly improve upon:

1. Expand the building for growth.

2. Ensure excellent preaching that relates to the life of the hearers.

3. Develop an inspiring worship service with an excellent band.

4. Make certain you have excellent parking facilities.

5. Ensure excellent programs for children and youth.

6. Develop a program of cell groups rooted in a Christian ed model.

7. Make sure that next week is better than last week.

In contrast to the above, Hirsch discusses the nature of, or innate purpose of the church according to scriptures:

1. A covenanted community

2. Centered on Jesus Christ ("Jesus is Lord").

3. Worship, defined as offering our lives back to God through Jesus.

4. Discipleship, defined as following Jesus & becoming like him.

5. Mission, defined as extending the mission of God through the activities of the covenanted community.

In the last section of the chapter, and my favorite, Hirsch discribes the practices that their faith community "came up with" as:

1. The basic ecclesial (church) unit was to become much smaller so as to transform from the active:passive ratio from 20:80 to 80:20.

2. They would not devleop a philosophy of ministry per se, but rather a covenant and core practices.

3. Each group had to be engaged in a healthy diet of spiritual disciplines, following the TEMPT model:

T: Together we follow -- community focused.

E: Engage Scripture -- integrating Bible into life.

M: Mission -- missional activities bring cohesion.

P: Passion for Jesus -- worship and prayer.

T: Transformation -- character development & accountability.

4. They would organize the movement in three basic rhythms: a weekly cycle of TEMPT groups, a monthly regional meeting of TEMPT groups, and a biannual gathering of all the groups in a movement-wide network.

5. Each TEMPT group would covenant to multiply itself as soon as it is organically feasible and possible.

In chapter two of "The Forgotten Ways" author Alan Hirsch proposes that the decline of the church in Western culture can be attributed to defaulting to a Christendom mode of thinking. Moreover, because of our Christendom default mode we don't even know that there is a better alternative.

Quoting Bono from U2, "we are stuck in a moment and now we can't get out of it." Or from one with few more academic credentials; David Bosch in Transforming Mission states: "Strictly speaking one ought to say that the Church is always in a state of crisis and that its greatest shortcoming is that it is only occasionally aware of it."

For Hirsch the root of the problem is Christendom and our inability to adequately deal with the very assumptions on which Christendom is built and maintains itself. Relying partially on Stuart Murray's excellent Post-Christendom: Church and Mission in a Strange New World, Hirsch provides a convincing summary of the significance of Constantine's decisions. Just a few of the Christendom shifts include:

1. The movement of the church from the margins of society to its center.

2. The assumption that all citizens were Christian by birth.

3. Sunday as an official day of rest and obligatory church attendance.

4. A generic distinction between clergy and laity, and the relegation of the laity to a largely passive role.

5. The defense of Christianity by legal sanctions to restrain heresy, immorality, and schism.

6. The division of the globe into "Christendom" or "heathendom" and the waging of war in the name of Christ and the church.

7. A hierarchical ecclesiastical system, based on a diocesan and parish arrangement, which was analogous to the state hierarchy and was buttressed by state support.

Hirsch states: "This shift to Christendom was thoroughly paradigmatic, and the implications were absolutely disastrous for the Jesus movement that was incrementally transforming the Roman world from the bottom up."

He follows this up with a fantastic quote from church historian Rodney Stark: "Far too long, historians have accepted the claim that the conversion of the Emperor Constantine (ca. 285-337) caused the triumph of Christianity. To the contrary, he destroyed its most attractive and dynamic aspects, turning a high-intensity, grassroots movement into an arrogant institution controlled by an elite who often managed to be both brutal and lax."

On page 64 Hirsch offers an excellent comparison table (which was previously published in "The Shaping of Things to Come" p. 9) between three "church modes." He compares the "Aposotolic & Post-Apostolic Mode" (AD 32 to 313), the "Christendom Mode" (313 to present) and the "Emerging Missional Mode" (past 10 years) in six different categories.

The characteristics of the Christendom mode include:

1. Locus of gathering: Buildings become central to "church."

2. Leadership: Institutionally ordained clergy/professional guild.

3. Organizational structure: Top-down.

4. Means of grace: Sacraments experienced only "in church."

5. Position in society: Church is perceived to be central to society.

6. Missional mode: Attractional and extractional.

The characteristics of the Emerging Missional mode (and in most cases parallels the Apostolic mode):

1. Locus of gathering: Rejects need for "church" buildings.

2. Leadership: Pioneering-innovative, 5-fold ministry.

3. Organizational structure: Grassroots, decentralized movement.

4. Means of grace: Redeems/ritualizes new symbols, including Lord's Supper.

5. Position in society: Church is once again on the fringes.

6. Missional mode: Incarnational-sending and missional.

Hirsch offers (p. 75) a short introduction to the second section, in which he presents the core piece for the rest of the book - mDNA (missional DNA). He states on p. 76:

"With this concept/metaphor I hope to explain why the presence of a simple, intrinsic, reproducible, central guiding mechanism is necessary for the reproduction and sustainability of genuine missional movements. As an organism holds together, and each cell understands its function in relation to its DNA, so the church finds its reference point in its built-in mDNA. As DNA carries the genetic coding, and therefore the life, of a particualr organism, so too mDNA codes Apostolic Genius (the life force that pulsated through the New Testament church and in other expressions of apostolic Jesus movements throughout history)."

So what are the key elements of Apostolic Genius? The six distinctives identified by Hirsch (and illustrated more extensively in the diagram above which you can click on for a larger view) are:

1. Jesus is Lord

2. Disciple Making

3. Missional-incarnational Impulse

4. Apostolic Environment

5. Organic Systems

6. Communitas, Not Community

After introducing these six elements Hirsch then moves in chapter 3 to the heart of Apostolic Genius (and the reason it is at the core of the diagram) - "Jesus is Lord." I found much to like about this chapter. I enjoyed Hirsch's insights on how the early church, in order to survive in the context of persecution, had to "jettison all unnecessary impediments" such as an institutional conception of the church. Additionally, in the midst of persecution Hirsch maintains that the church had to "travel light" in regards to a simple Christology (essential conceptions of who Jesus is and what he does).

I also appreciated Hirsch's discussion on the Shema and the consistency that is to be found between it and Christ. Moreover, the implication that "christocentric monotheism" has for bringing to an end the false dualism of things sacred/secular. However, for sake of brevity I thought the best summary of Hirsch's overall purpose for this chapter was in the following paragraph from page 94:

"At its very heart, Christianity is therefore a messianic movement, one that seeks to consistently embody the life, spirituality, and mission of its Founder. We have made it so many other things, but this is its utter simplicity. Discipleship, becoming like Jesus our Lord and Founder, lies at the epicenter of the church's task. It means that Christology must define all that we do and say. It also means that in order to recover the ethos of authentic Christianity, we need to refocus our attention back to the Root of it all, to recalibrate ourselves and our organizations around the person and work of Jesus the Lord. It will mean taking the Gospels seriously as the primary texts that define us. It will mean acting like Jesus in relation to people outside of the faith."

Hirsch dose a masterful job in showing how the church of the western world has forgotten the way to be a Christ follower. As Hirsch puts it, "... all God's people carry within themselves the same potencies that energized the early Christian movement and that are currently manifest in the underground Chinese church." (Hirsch, 2006, p. 22) Hirsh then introduces the term: Apostolic Genius which the primary missional strength of the gospel and God's people. He expresses that this strength lies dormant in each Christian and local church that seeks to follow Jesus faithfully in any time. The problem, he rightly recognizes is that today's Christian culture has forgotten how to access and trigger it. Hirsh writes this book to help reactivate it so Christians can transform the world by living transformed lives.

Hirsch identifies in the book six simple but interrelating elements of missional DNA, forming a complex and living structure. They are: 1) Jesus Is Lord: At the center and circumference of every significant Jesus movement there exists this very simple confession. 2) Disciple Making: This is the life-long task of becoming like Jesus by embodying his message. Hirsch believes that this is perhaps where many of our efforts fail. Disciple making is an irreplaceable core task of the church and needs to be structured into every church's basic formula. 3) Missional-Incarnational Impulse: Hirsch examines missional movements that seed and embed the gospel into different cultures and people groups. 4) Apostolic Environment: This relates to the type of leadership and ministry required to sustain metabolic growth and impact. 5) Organic Systems: Determining appropriate structures for metabolic growth. 6) Communitas, not Community: Too much concern with safety and security, combined with comfort and convenience, has lulled us out of our true calling and purpose.

Hirsch wisely spends much attention as to how in the modern and the postmodern situation, the church is forced into the role of being little more than a vendor of religious goods and services. Which is why many of it's members have become passive. The church is supposed to radically change society and to do so we must tell an alternative story

Hirsch ends quoting church consultant Bill Easum. Easum is right when he notes that "following Jesus into the mission field is either impossible or extremely difficult for the vast majority of congregations in the Western world because of one thing: They have a systems story that will not allow them to take the first step out of the institution into the mission field, even though the mission field is just outside the door of the congregation." (p. 252)

Alan Hirsch offers a critique of Western Christianity and encourages Christian leaders to return to the ways of the early church in order to reach the missional field of the West. Hirsch has fifteen years of experience pastoring churches and leading ministries in Australia. During that time, he has moved from working within a traditional denominational structure to helping develop more outreach oriented ministries that go to the unchurched with the gospel. His focus throughout the book is on identifying the "Apostolic Genius" of the early church and showing how Christians can discover it within themselves and apply it to their contexts. His assertion is that the established church must become a missional one that lives on the edge of chaos and has only the necessary organizational structures.

I think Hirsch conveys some insights that are crucial for readers to take away from this book and instill in their own ministries; however, I also think that Hirsh's critique and way forward must be tempered by a perspective that takes into consideration a larger picture of church history, theology, the human condition, ecclesiology and spiritual warfare. My honest response to this book is that it is poorly written and seemingly unedited; I think its narrow scope neglects important issues to bear in mind when considering that Hirsch seems more than once to suggest the jettisoning of the ordained priesthood, liturgy and institutional churches. Although Hirsch might respond that this is not what he meant; his book certainly seems to suggest that this is what he is saying.

For me, Hirsch's positive message is summarized in a quote from Hans Kung that Hirsch uses to introduce one of his chapters. Kung writes:

"A church which pitches its tents without constantly looking out for new horizons, which does not continually strike camp, is being untrue to its calling. ... [We must] play down our longing for certainty, accept what is risky, and live by improvisation and experiment. "

Hirsch's idea of Apostolic Genius includes six key actions/elements that reflect the early church's and China's underground church's distinct nature that leads to growth and expansion. These are the missional-incarnational impulse, an apostolic environment, disciple making, organic systems, and communitas. When these elements are in a dynamic relationship to each other, Hirsch contends that challenges acts as catalysts serving to generate Apostolic Genius. He elaborates on all of these elements. At the core of the Apostolic Genius is the Holy Spirit, his inspiration, gifts and invigoration.

As he critiques the church of the West, Hirsch identifies some real problems. I think his main concern is the consumerist ideology adopted by the church. Hirsch fears that consumerism has become the driving force within our churches. This force has caused the development of the "attractional" model of the evangelical church. Hirsch rightly exhorts readers to accept a new understanding of the way we do church.

An additional critique that I hope resonates with readers as it has with me is the lack of discipleship in the church. Hirsch discovered this neglect of disciple-making in his own ministry and realized that the church in general is entertaining and feeding the people without engaging them and forming them into disciples who can and will carry out the mission of the church. He also notes that the culture fills this void left by the church.

Hirsch calls churches to transform themselves from being "attractional" to being "sending" churches. Similarly, he calls for the end to the partitioning of what the church treats as "sacred" space versus "secular" space. This differentiation only serves to alienate the world from the church and prevents evangelism and mission. As churches become sending and missional, they also become incarnational, Hirsch calls attention to the four aspects of the incarnation that is a model for the missional-incarnational church:Presence, Proximity, Powerlessness and Proclamation.

When it comes to ecclesiology, Hirsch looks very Puritan in his ways. He emphasizes the irreducible structure and nature of the church and is critical of anything beyond it. Further structure is sketched as stodgy institutionalism. He defends this approach by appealing to the early church and underground church in China. Although these appeals provide insights about those churches, they are also narrow and neglectful though not entirely off the mark. But the early church also found the need to develop liturgies, leadership, structure, discipline and theologians. Hirsch's idyllic picture of the early church is too limited in scope. It ignores the dangers in a structureless spirituality such as false prophets, poor teaching, cultism, unaccountability, etc. Instead, Hirsch associates the shortfallings of the Western church with post-Constantinian Christendom & institutionalism instead of with sin, Satan and human nature--all of which are also present in the organic, grassroots, missional churches advocated by Hirsch. He ignores the positive benefits that the early church and the contemporary church gain from structure and a sacramental liturgy with ordained clergy.

I think Hirsch also treads into ambiguous and tenuous territory when he defines what is and is not an "authentic Jesus movement" or a "more authentic church." These types of claims are indicative of Hirsch's attempts to define the best way to do church. His way of describing the ideal church is somewhat like identifying the best year of a person's life and then admonishing others to live that way in that state all of the time without maturing. He prescribes living on the edge of chaos, but ignores the dangers; whereas, some readers will recognize that living on the edge of chaos will lead to many falling over the edge into the chaos. Taking adequate precautions to avoid this danger should not be neglected.

For Hirsch, mission is the starting and ending point for the church. He asserts that mission is the mother of all good theology. This is a somewhat naïve view of mission and theology. The early church that Hirsch highlights had to deal with the bad theology of Marcion, Arian, the Gnostics, the Judaizers, etc. during its times of great expansion. I think Hirsch would have a difficult time arguing that study of Scripture and true worship are somehow subject to missional enterprises. These are not opposed to each other, but I think they need to go hand-in-hand with each other. The Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses are not lacking in mission zeal and endeavors, but their theology is awful. This point is just indicative of Hirsch's general failure to take into account the larger scope of what he writes.

The concept and picture of transforming the church from attractional to sending-missional-incarnational is surely the key factor of Hirsh's book and the one that can be implemented in the institutional church without the church ceasing to be a member of the institution. I believe that the sending-missional-incarnational church can be church with a priest, liturgy, orthodox theology, sacred space and discipline, just as it can be home churches, underground churches and grassroots movements.

Below is a list of descriptors taken from the various places in the text that Hirsch uses for the church of Apostolic Genius (make of them what you will):

* metabolic growth and impact are catalyzed
* distinctly higher and more authentic form of ecclesia
* primal and uncontrollable nature
* defining encounters with some fringy people
* leaders with an apostolic gifting, an innovator's audacity, and an uncanny ability to see things organically
* fluid, adaptive, adventure-based, and formed in the context of a common purpose that lies outside of itself
* it codes its life and makes it transferable by all members of the group
* true and authentic organizing principle is mission
* a simple Christology
* does not limit the presence of God to spooky religious zones.
* a translocal apostolic-prophetic team held together by a common purpose and friendships
* edge of chaos
* metabolic, organic, missional movements
* life-oriented approach
* living systems
* innate capacity
* activate latent intelligence
* less programmatical
* dynamic network-a web of life
* constantly relating
* learning/ adaptive
* catalyze its built-in capacity to adapt
* distributed intelligence is cultivated and focused through information.
* meaningful interrelationship
* relationally networked
* bringing diversity into a functioning unity
* grander perspective
* on a learning journey and in missional mode
* responsive and response-able
* in-form itself
* natural discipling friendships, worship as lifestyle, and mission in the context of everyday life
* a living network "in Christ" that can meet anywhere, anytime and still be a viable expression of church
* leadership authority is decentralized.
* maintaining a movement ethos
* grassroots people movements
* dynamic social movements
* has a seminal vision/idea
* fluidity, vision, chaos and dynamism
* edges of society/culture
* nonelitist
* reawaken a virile movement ethos
* responsive to that increasing fluid dimension of our culture
* overarching beliefs provide a central ideological and operational coherence (fit) that allows for wide tactical decentralization (split)
* significant or "dense" communications to hold it all together
* metabolic growth
* hyperbolic growth in action
* do mission organically, traversing the rhythms of life, memes, and relationships
* reproduction and reproduce-ability
* ecclesial genetic variety
* liminal