Alan Hirsch oversees missional leadership development for his denomination in Australia, and he is also a key mission strategist for churches in the UK and New Zealand. He is a mission strategist, teacher, and church leader, and is known for his radical approach to mission-in-the-West. His local church, South Melbourne Restoration Community, is a model of incarnational mission and ministry in postmodern settings. He is the author of The Shaping of things to Come and The Forgotten Ways.

Reviews

"Captivating. . . . Hirsch creates novel terms, repackages discarded or unfamiliar words, and peppers the book with acronyms. . . . This is a powerful book that will provoke a lot of helpful thought."--Chad Hall, Leadership Journal

"A full-blooded and comprehensive call for the complete reorientation of the church around mission. Nothing less than the rediscovery of a revolutionary missional ecclesiology will do for Alan Hirsch. A master work."--Michael Frost, coauthor of The Shaping of Things to Come and author of Exiles

The Forgotten Ways is not for the faint of heart. . . . This book has stretched my heart to conform to a model of church that is undeniably biblical, yet all but forgotten. This book is great for anyone longing to see a spiritual movement characterized by the rejection of those things in contemporary Christianity that limit the work of God among His people."--Marshall Fagg, On Mission

"Alan Hirsch's inspiring work in The Forgotten Ways delivers for those interested in rekindling the heart of every successful church movement. Reading as part rally cry and part biology book, The Forgotten Ways takes transforming the church to the most detailed level. . . . Hirsch proposes no less than a complete, grassroots, put-up-or-shut-up, no holds barred, pull-out-all-the-stops reassembling of how we do church. But he makes it look possible. If you aren't ready to go all-in on transforming the impact of your church, you need to stay away from this book."--Luke Trouten, YouthWorker Journal

This title is the best I have read yet on the missions church concept. While it is not an easy read, it does provides a multitude of insights on what it means for the church to go beyond the four walls of the church. Hirsch begins by defining the true missionary spirit of being a follower of Jesus Christ. He describes how the dawn of the age of Christendom stifled that spirit, and how the church has suffered enormously as a result. He then speaks of "Apostolic Genius" and "Communitas," two phenomenons both rooted in the early, New Testament church prior to Christendom. This book is a great read. Just be forewarned: it will shake to the core the traditional, "attractional" way of doing church!

Reviewed by David R Bess (Charleston, West Virginia),