Book 17/48: Alan Hirsch – The Forgotten Ways
I picked up Alan Hirsch’s book in January and really enjoyed it. And then something happened (well I got a job) and it took a back seat. I guess my reading overall has taken a backseat (but hey I am still at 17 this year). But I really enjoyed this book. Hirsch does a great job of being very brainy and breaking down the thought process behind becoming a more incarnational church planting movement. This guy has a lot of very great thoughts and I have been making some mad notes that I hope to explore again later. Much of what he wrote in the organic systems chapter I found very helpful for our churches current transition.
I will give this a CP rating of 4.5/5 for any church planter who is going to engage an urban setting and would like a great handbook to help through the intial stages of the church planting process. I have been at it just under 3 years and I think this book could have really helped me in the initial stages.
My only critiques are two things. 1) Hirsch has to be the worst illustrator in the world. No he didn’t draw cartoons, but he might as well have because I found his illustrations quite hilarious as he attempted to make points through graphs and diagrams (no offense Alan, but I laughed out loud). 2) Sometimes (and I mean very rarely) Alan got a little too smart. I have been reading this stuff for many years and loved all his thoughts but I think the new church planter might find it a little over the top.
At the end of the day Alan is real, honest and brilliant. Read this book and while your at it, read this review by my bud Nick at symbiosis who has many other very insightful things to say.