Alan Hirsch5Q: Reactivating the Original Intelligence and Capacity of the Body of Christ

Two questions have been rolling around my head lately: "Jesus healed the sick and raised the dead. Why isn't His Body (the Church) being like Him?" and "Our paradigm of church is not deep or broad enough to meet the more rounded, right-brained views of this new millennium. What needs to change?" 5Q answers both these questions for me.First, as Hirsch points out in the introduction, we've been trying to put this concept into our reformation-based, proclamation-focused paradigm of church. We need to unlearn in order to relearn and Hirsch has written this book to set us on our way. He lays out a new paradigm or lens through which to look at all of life, revealing God's pattern of APEST - not just in the church, but in the world at large. Some of us have long seen how the four prominent personality types overlay on APEST. I'm so glad that Hirsch addresses this, as well as using popular genre to point out the global depth of this paradigm.Next, I just asked some friends recently what a systematic theology for this post-modern age might look like. I think Hirsch has done a good job at taking a stab at it as it relates to APEST. He explains the redemptive work of Christ and how this theory is applied to all spheres of life.Having taught the five-fold ministries as a college course this last year, I felt that something was missing from our book options. This is what was missing. Similarly, a good companion book for this is Carolyn Tennant's book  .What was so fun about this book is that I've watched Hirsch work with this paradigm over the years and it is as if he said, now...does this really work? And pushed all the boundaries of sciences to discover if the paradigm actually fits. It does. Excellent work!!!

I read Alan's book very soon after its release. I have had some time to reflect on its impact. Alan has the gift of using words and images that demand your attention. As I read, I paid close attention because the vocabulary was new, some old friends had been renamed and a few functions reshuffled. My generation was taught that the five fold ministry of the church was obsolete, it was mostly two-fold. Somewhere along the way we lost more than half of our equipping arsenal. Apostles and Prophets were no longer around and Pastor and Teacher were actually the same person, because of the Granville Sharpe Rule. [Please see your Greek grammar, if you still have it.] The two-fold ministry was now Evangelists and Pastor/Teachers. This is no longer the case, pretty much the entire Evangelical world has accepted the validity of Apostles and Prophets, but they have been somewhat neutered, Apostles are "go getters who plant churches" and Prophets are around churches and suddenly tell people stuff that only they seem to know. Not much like the Apostles and Prophets the church used to have. Then the church figured out how to cast the responibility for reaching the unbeliever on the Evangelist. That left everyone else the luxury of hanging out in church and listening to sermons that somehow magically would turn you into a mature reproducing disciple, not likely. Alan blew up that monstrosity, it is monstrous because it doesn't make disciples or equip anyone. Alan has now breathed new life into a glorious passage filled with power and truth. I would recommend you take out your note book or tablet because you may want to jot down your questions. I especially liked the way in which Alan brings out the genius of God's symmetry and how all five functions can work together in balance and how the entire body then is revitalized and relevant to the needs of people in need. I would say that it unleashes much of the un and underdeveloped gifts and abilities of the entire body. I hope you are as weary as I with the church langishing in mediocrity- read it and then live it.

As a long-time fan of Alan Hirsch and his massive contributions to the theory and practice of the missional church, and having read each of his previous books, I was quick to add 5Q to the reading queue of my MEI degree program at Tabor College. In many ways, 5Q is the natural expansion of the concepts he initially develops in The Forgotten Ways and The Permanent Revolution. You might consider reading either or both of those seminal works before mining the depths of this book.The first third of the book is a comprehensive review of the fivefold gifting of Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Shepherd, Teacher from Ephesians 4 - collectively referred to as APEST - that Hirsch proposed in the earlier works reference above. In 5Q, he argues that these fivefold callings find their origin in the very nature of God and his divine purposes and find their full fullest expression in the person of Jesus. The church then, as God’s primary representative on earth, is meant to express each of these dimensions in their fullness. In the final third of the book, Hirsch makes a compelling case for using the APEST framework as the most effective tool for measuring the effectiveness of the local church.While I heartily recommend this book to avid Hirsch fans, I might encourage anyone intent on wrestling with the contents of this book to give themselves plenty of time to read, re-read and digest the material. This is one of the most densely written academic works that I’ve read from Hirsch. I found countless applications to my ministry context, especially in his chapters on transitioning to an APEST leadership model and using APEST as metrics for measuring ministry effectiveness. Although it takes some time to process the information, the investment in mining Hirsch's wisdom is well worth your time.

I bought 5Q for theological background for a strategy paper I am preparing. I've admired Alan Hirsch, for some time and 5Q does not disappoint. His arguement is rational, compelling and remorseless in pursuit of sound biblical modelling of how the church might recover it's purpose, poise and impetus. I commend 5Q to anyone seeking to explore a way to unfetter the latent talent unused in their local church.The only reason I did not give a full five stars to my review is for a tendency of Hirsch to slightly overegg the argument with a repetitive style which I personally found a bit frustrating but overall essential reading for anyone looking for a fresh approach to mission, and well worth the effort.

This book provides the framework for a renewing of the vows Christ took when chose each one of us to grow in him and, through the Holy Spirit, to become that part of the body he designed us for. The APEST framework is God breathed and powerfully shared in this book. Nothing new but the potential for a glorious reawakening. Read it and be inspired to run the straight race before you.

Like a management or self help book for Christians.Almost impossible to read due to dense text and diagrams. Lots of emphasis on 5 fold ministry following the current fashion but I didn’t find it helpful or easy to read

In 5Q, Alan develops one of the core principles of his work: in order to release a movement of disciple making disciples, we must work out how to understand, release and equip the five-fold ministry of discipleship as given to us in Ephesians 4.In the book, Alan traces the roots of the 5 apostolic, prophetic, pastoral, teaching and evangelistic functions right back through scripture, rooting them in the identity of God himself, modeled in the life of Jesus, and given to us by the Holy Spirit. Each function is explored to see how they might be outworked in the culture of business and workplace as well as within the church, as well as some practical considerations and tools on how to equip your church or organisation to 'attain the whole measure of the fullness of Christ'. If you're in any form of leadership and want to learn how to help people in your church, missional community or even workplace understand their calling and roles together, this is a must read!

I found this book a clarion call for the church to get back on track and return to a biblical model for building church. It's well written with great diagrams for us visual learners. Beware - the seeds for church building and mission of the future are contained within.