Alan Hirsch

Last week I traveled to Kidderminster to hear Alan Hirsch, author of The Forgotten Ways and co-author or The Shaping of Things to Come, speak to a group of Together in Mission master class students. I promised that I would be coming back here to list some of the poignant thoughts from the time. Maybe some of these will spark some discussion? Here’s some of what I found fascinating about this time.

Jesus

• We’ve lived in 17 centuries of Christianity, this is the first time we’ve been post-Christian.
• The path of innovation: Innovators -> Early Adopters -> Adopters -> Late Adopters -> Resistors.
• Our credibility is gone because of preconceived ideas of Christianity. So, “Shhhhh.” Live it.
• Christianity takes constantly going back to Jesus.
• Christianity - Jesus = Religion. Religion is the very thing that Jesus came to save us from.
• What if Jesus did turn up? Religious people didn’t like him. His harshest criticism was for the religious.
• How do we become people of The Way again?
• Paulinism seeks to replace Jesus with Paul. Paul is not our savior.

Making Disciples

• Romantic love isn’t enough. Sacrificial love is.
• Become like Christ, but keep your personality intact!
• Engage others…life on life.
• The problem with “seeker-sensitive” is that is misunderstands the Great Commission as an evangelistic text, which it is not. Our goal: discipleship.
• Meaning, identity, purpose, belonging. Advertising reaches into our faith.
• If you believe something to be true, you must be changed by it.
• The ART of disciple making is gone. People cannot be entertained into discipleship.

Incarnational Missional Impulse

• A system’s weakest point determines its overall strength.
• Church currently operates under the idea of evangelistic attraction.
• If you’re idea of success in church is institutional, then you will measure in numbers, maturity, money, and resources. This is not good for crossing boundaries. It leads to evangelism with the expectation of joining that particular church.
• Think of a zygote. The question isn’t “How can we grow.” It’s “How can we multiply.” Start with multiplication in mind.
• “I’ve never seen a church that starts with Bible study become missional, but I’ve seen missional churches have Bible studies.”
• Plant a movement, not a church. When thinking missionally, think, “What is good news for these people? What is church for these people?” What is their real search?
• “All our vices are virtues gone wrong.” C.S. Lewis

Adventure in the Venture

• Communitas: living within a common ordeal
• Liminality: unfamiliar territory, pushed to the margin, forced to restructure, associates become comrades, relationships are restructured
• Losing together is also bonding. Find comradeship in shared events.
• Adventure is good for the human soul
• In relationship to God, we’re all the feminine (receivers)
• One will not find a solution until one finds the uncomfort of the problem

Apostolic Environment

• Without a missional leadership, you will not get mission
• Apostle: a person who generates - sniffs the wind for what’s coming
• Prophet: challenges the status, has an ear to God, speaks with insight and challenge
• Evangelist: recruiters, infectious, creates movements
• Shepherd: creates community and connectedness
• Teacher: disperses wisdom and understanding
• A leader creates an environment, a vibe and has inspirational authority
• The cross is not coercion, it’s a drawing in
• Real leadership disturbs the system - a leader is not going to be popular
• Apostolic job description: missional, seeds DNA, guards DNA, is a sentinel
• The more complicated one makes church, the more the church is slowed down
• What we’re not maturing: (Ephesians 4) apostles, prophets, evangelists have been sidelined
• Leadership is a calling within a calling

Organic Systems

• Characteristics of a movement: 1) There’s a vibe 2) There’s a chaordic structured network 3) It seems to spread like a virus 4) There’s a commitment to reproducing the church

Still with me? Wow, that’s a lot to pack in to one full day and the morning of a second. I was writing furiously and listening intently. Now I’m off to begin reading his book. I’m intrigued and I like that didn’t just accept everything he said, but rather, and ready to work this stuff out - because that’s part of the fun.

So, any thoughts sparked? Anything that made you think? Let’s start a conversation in the comments.

Before you read this, we want you to know that we are now at 100% of our support! God has done what has often seemed impossible to us. For more details, click here. Otherwise, read on to hear more of what God’s done.

How does one start a post about the God of the Impossible? How is his authority over all life/situations/things communicated with power using weak words? And yet we try:

God can do anything, you know-far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us. (From Ephesians 3 MSG)

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. (From Ephesians 3 NIV)

“No chance at all,” Jesus said, “if you think you can pull it off by yourself. Every chance in the world if you trust God to do it.” (From Luke 18 MSG)

Jesus replied, “What is impossible with men is possible with God.” (From Luke 18 NIV)

In typical fashion, he has taken our very lives through impossible situations and has worked out details in ways that demonstrate that he alone is God and with him nothing is impossible. So what has he done?

He has guided us through tremendous life change. From happiness in suburban America to an urge to leave the comfortable to a call to reach out to England. He has provided visas to live in the UK. He provided these in a total of three (3) business days from the day we mailed the application, which is simply unheard of. And in a short eight (8) months, he has help us secure prayer support and 100% of our financial support: $13,645 (one-time) and $8755 (monthly). 100%. Since February. He has drawn in faithful people who believe to join this journey. He has done all of this.

Yours is the Greatness the Power and the Glory
Yours is the Vic’try the Majesty and Splendor
For all things come from You
And of Your own we give You

Now our God we give You thanks
And praise Your glorious Name
O Lord our God we declare
The wonders of Your Ways

God of our father’s Abraham and Isaac
Yours is the Kingdom the Heavens and the Earth
For all things come from You
And of Your own we give You

Let Your Name be glorified, O Lord

From Grace in the Wilderness by Eoghan Heaslip | Buy

Indeed he has done great things. He has done them in ways that show his power and control over all of life.

And now we wait for his reply to the many, many prayers that have gone to him over the house. We wait to hear from him. How will the God of the Impossible reply? How will he use this to tell the story of his greatness and power?

I have this challenging task of trying to communicate how it feels to be so close to departure after a year+ of training, preparing, praying, traveling and support raising. I’m writing this as much for myself as anything else, as I am excited to look back a while from now to recall this point in my history. Read the rest of this entry »