Re: Alan Hirsch, The Forgotten Ways, and the future of the churc

The article is as good a reprentation and critique of TFW as found anywhere. However, there seems to be more critique than applicable affirmation. This is unfortunate because it gives the impression that you have serious doubts about the applicability of a movemental approach in Europe at all.

So let me do some response. I can’t spend too much time on this but here as some points for considersation. I do agree that our situation in 21C is different to Early Church and China, but remember that my argument is that Apostolic Genius (AG) represents the most primal expression of the ecclesia in any era. It is nascent, ever-present, but mostly inactive. But it can, and must, be reactivated if we are to re-establish a viable Christianity in the 21C. I do believe unless we begin to approximate AG in the West we will continue to decline and eventually lose all significant ground. It is a big claim I know, but I do maintain that more of the same will not lead to significantly different results—and I do think history and experience are with me here. Perhaps you might explore a bit more about the adaptive challenge that we face in the West and how this might be significant for reactivating AG to some extent or another. The external conditions are becoming ever more ripe for the activation of AG in our time. Karl Barth´s letter in the conclusion of the book remains highly pertinent here. The current forms of the church lack the integrity and necessary theological funding to (re)generate movements in the West.

As for the criticism that this looks like a another missiological technique (my words), I believe this is best answered by the Jesus is Lord and Discipleship elements of mDNA. Spirituality is deeply implied, in fact explicit, in both of these. If we get these right, it will be hard not to have impact. No one will die for a renewal movement, but they will die for Jesus. Discipleship at martyrdom do go together.

As for liminality, I believe both the movements in view, as well as the high points in biblical revelation, do suggest that liminality is more normative than we are generally inclined to think. I have ripped the idea from Turner, but I am not bound to his conclusions that liminality is transitory. In fact the church has an inbuilt liminality mechanism in its eschatology. The invading Kingdom places a constant liminal pressure on us. But we might disagree there. :-) Add to this the writer of Hebrew´s assertion that we are, at core, a pilgrim people, and must ever remain so untill the conclusion of all things. We are in constant unrest…read liminality here. Besides, I do think it is one of the functions of leadership to create conditions of liminality through vision-casting and risk-taking.