A Disciple Maker's Book Review of Metanoia, by Dr. Alan Hirsch and Rob Kelley

The invitation to make disciples that multiply isn’t just an invitation to a new way of doing ministry. It’s a radical call to a whole new way of perceiving what ministry even is. It’s a paradigm shift. To that end, missiologist Alan Hirsch and Rob Kelley, founder of the For Charlotte Network, set out to examine what it even means to undergo a true paradigm shift. They don’t have to look far, however, because the answer lies in the very first words spoken in Jesus’ ministry.

”Metanoia! Metanoia! For the Kingdom of Heaven is at Hand!”

Usually translated into English as repent, it turns out the meaning of the word metanoia is much deeper than the way we tend to think of it in modern times. Rather than simple moralistic notions of being sorry for our mistakes, the kind of repentance Jesus invites us to in order to see the Kingdom of Heaven is a whole new way of knowing. Combining meta, meaning beyond and gnosis meaning knowledge or awareness, metanoia is a call to go beyond our traditional paradigms and move to a higher understanding of God’s Kingdom and it’s implications for our lives. In Disciple Making Movements, we often talk about moving from an addition mindset to a multiplication mindset. Surely this is reflected in the kind of mindset shift Hirsch and Kelley advocate for when they describe metanoia leading us to recover the apostolic DNA of the Church and help it to function more as a movement than an institution.

#Deconstruction

In Western countries, deconstruction is all the rage. With a host of young adults turning away from the faith due to bad experiences and having their questions discouraged, many of us take to the internet to rage against such a trend. But the authors of Metanoia suggest that a kind of deconstruction could be a God-led journey, leading many to a rock-bottom encounter with God, followed by a brilliant reconstruction leading them to reimagine what life as a disciple of Jesus might look like. This downward slope of deconstruction, they say, has a few phases to it.

1. Unraveling. It all begins with a “wicked problem,” which presents an “adapt or die” challenge, requiring us to engage it with our whole heart. It could be the increasing amount of polling data suggesting the Church in Western nations is in a sharp decline. It could be a stunning lack of willingness to evangelize in Asian nations or chronic syncretism with ancestral religions in Africa or Latin America. Either way, it is threatening enough to wake us up to the notion that something isn’t quite right.
2. Uncovering. As feelings of unease begin to grow, we develop a sensitivity to what the authors call, “anomalies.” These are metaphorical “glitches in the matrix.” Things that don’t seem to quite make sense, according to our stated values. We begin to notice flaws in our systems that suppress good ideas and a deep sense of lament begins to take hold.
3. Unlocking. This lament—if it is a Godly lament—leads to joy. A new freedom to explore new ideas takes hold of us. Our pride is broken and we no longer see ourselves as experts, but beginners once again, and there is a playfulness that comes with it. We dream once again of what could be.
4. Understanding. As we compare the new ideas and ways of doing things with our old paradigm, we see how flawed it is. We have a new sense of self-awareness, and begin to develop new ideas and articulate a new paradigm.

The Defining Moment. All of this leads to one, defining moment. In our most humble place of new beginnings, we meet God powerfully at our rock bottom. There is weeping and gnashing of teeth for the ways we have missed out in the past, there is jubilation and thanksgiving at the graciousness of God to meet and forgive us, and there is hopeful excitement about a brighter future.

#Reconstruction

What follows is a lengthy guide on how churches and organizations can complete their metanoiaic journey through reconstruction, a process of re-learning and building off of new ideas.

1. Paradigm. Paradigms are not just good ideas. They are ways of seeing; deep rooted values that produce meta-ideas that inform ideas that in turn lead to innovative new models of ministry. As we explore a new paradigm we essentially re-map our understanding, creating a kind of brain for our organizations and churches, producing DNA that will be integral to building something new.
2. Platform. These paradigms lead to new platforms, which the authors define as a combination of culture and structures. We build culture through our theological convictions, core values, shared vocabulary, and even what behaviors and heroes we celebrate. Structures, then, are inextricably linked to this culture, allowing it to determine how we relate to one another, use resources, and which results we evaluate.
3. Practices. The meat and potatoes of what can be seen on the outside of any church or organization is how it makes disciples. This is done most often through a set of core practices built upon the support of our platforms. They are reflections of the new paradigm and DNA, made practical in the rhythmic actions of the individuals who make up the organization. But the authors push for something more innovative, encouraging _algo_rhythms in the place of rhythms. Algorithms are similar to the core practices of an organization, but with one key distinctive: They learn from and improve themselves based on the results of their own practices.

Road Map for Movement Thinking

As an organization reconstructs based on the movemental paradigms discovered with God at its most rock-bottom place of humility, it naturally begins to perform in a more exponential way. Disciples make more disciples, churches plant more churches, and innovations lead to more innovation. The book ends with a call to continue on the path of metanoia. The authors remind us that it is not a one-time event, but rather a lifestyle of humbling ourselves and pressing into God, allowing Him to lead us on a journey of un-learning and re-learning.

Metanoia is a book many disciple makers will find helpful and challenging. On the one hand, it provides invaluable insight for anyone who’s ever trained people to make disciples that multiply, but struggled to help them un-learn old habits. But on the other hand, Metanoia reminds us that we don’t have it all figured out. Even if we’re the most successful movement catalysts in the world, it challenges us not to rest our laurels on the false assumption that we have all the answers.

If you would like to pick up a copy of Metanoia, you can check it out on Amazon or metanoia-book.com, and if you want free access to the most easy-to-use, reproducible digital tool for making disciples that multiply, check out the Waha Disciple Making Course today!