Tag: Alan Hirsch

Review: Untamed by Alan Hirsch (pt 1)

Posted on April 1, 2010

If Alan Hirsch wasn’t a household name among the mission-minded before the VERGE conference, he certainly is now. Alan was kind enough to lend his 6 Elements of missional DNA as the architecture of the VERGE missional community conference. Add to that the outstanding introductory videos that explain each of the 6 Elements, and you’ve got a quite Hirschian splash. As if that wasn’t enough, Alan & his wife Deb drop a new book called Untamed: Reactivating a Missional Form of Discipleship.

Structure of Book

Those familiar with The Forgotten Ways will immediately recognize that Untamed is an expansion of one of the 6 Elements of mDNA—missional discipleship. However, the book does not assume this familiarity.

The Introduction is extremely helpful in laying out a map for reading the book. There are four main sections (Theology, Culture, Psychology, Mission), each containing four Signature Themes (Jesus-shaped discipleship, Shema Spirituality, No Mission, No Discipleship, & Of Idols and Prophets).

Recovering the Incarnational Jesus

Chapter One is a cultural exorcism of distorted American Christology, a calling out of moralistic and hypermasculine (read=Mark Driscoll critique) views of Jesus. Could Hirsch be more Jesus-centered than Driscoll?! He levels an irenic but incisive critique. Speaking of men more effeminate than Driscoll’s “caricature of Jesus,” he writes: “they are unacceptable to Jesus as they are…but this strikes a blow against the gospel itself.” Before we start defending and accusing missional leaders, let’s be sure to make this about about Jesus, not personalities, something both Driscoll and Hirsch would want.

Hirsch keeps centering on Jesus. Warning us of cultural stereotypes of Jesus, he says that Jesus must be freed to relate to all people. Hirsch doesn’t simply exorcize the demons, he replaces them with an incarnational Jesus, a Jesus who enters our humanity and empathizes with our condition as the basis and example of mission. On this incarnational note, a couple quotes are worthy of reflection:

  • “It is true that Jesus is like God, but the greater truth…is that God is like Jesus!” (36)

  • “Jesus holiness was compelling. Sinners flocked to him.” (46)

  • “For Jesus, acceptance must precede repentance.” (48)

I love the first two quotes but have some pause on the third. I’m sincerely grateful for this book, chapters one and nine in particular, which underscore and unpack an incarnational way of following Jesus. I’ve been provoked, challenged, and encouraged. Thanks, Alan & Deb!

Great Insights from Alan Hirsch

Posted on February 12, 2010

If you attended the VERGE conference, you’ll know that missiologist and theologian Alan Hirsch. Michael Stewart used Hirsch’s work on Missional DNA in The Forgotten Ways to give structure to the conference. Alan also led some of the pre-conference to VERGE, which was a stimulating time. Alan’s unique combination of intellect, humility, creativity, and faith have led to some great insights over the past few years. Here’s a list of some of them:

Is Movement Happening at VERGE?

Posted on February 6, 2010

There’s a remarkable momentum being generated at VERGE. Wave after missional wave washes over conference participants through speakers, breakouts, and conversations. There’s a sense that the Spirit is really stirring his people, not into some kind of frenzy, but into all kinds of mission.

Alan Hirsch launched the wave with some dense missional aphorisms, followed by a host of speakers and breakouts that seem to build and build. I’m hopeful that the dam of disobedience will break, in my life and all our lives. Hopefully we all walk away motivated for mission, not by mission, but by Spirit. Here’s a quotation sprint through VERGE.

Alan Hirsch returned mission to it’s inception for every Christian:

Your baptism is your commission.

Matt Carter called us to Gospel before Mission:

If you love your mission, more than you love your Savior, then your Savior will have no part of your mission.”

Stetzer fired us up with his impassioned plea to release the church into mission:

“You shouldn’t have to say missional disciples; disciples are mission.”

Something is happening. Maybe it will result in a movement, maybe not. It depends on us…depending on the Spirit. It will require an absolute shift from mission as leisure to mission as lifestyle. But this missional movement will die out, burn out, and go nowhere if we aren’t continually brought to repentance and faith in Christ ourselves, over and over again, for our idolatry of mission and indifference to mission. May Christ be more precious than mission, but may mission be more precious than our very own lives.