Alan Hirsch - The Permanent Revolution: Apostolic Imagination and Practice for the 21st Century Church

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More Praise for The Permanent Revolution

The Permanent Revolution is an example of the kind of theological work that is urgently needed to equip the saints for the work of ministry apostolically, prophetically, evangelistically, pastorally, and instructively.

From the Foreword by Darrell Guder , Winters Luce Professor of Missional and Ecumenical Theology

The Permanent Revolution by Hirsch and Catchim is a timely reminder that Jesus founded a dynamic missionary movement. This is a well-researched and thoroughly engaging study of the dynamic that Jesus planted at the heart of the church and now calls us to rediscover.

Steve Addison, Australian director, Church Resource Ministries; author of Movements That the Change the World

C. S. Lewis believed the ultimate compliment you could give a book was to reread it. As I read The Permanent Revolution for the first time, already I was anticipating the opportunity to reread it! How often does that happen? I knew it would be one of those few books that would become a reference point for my entire life and ministry from then forward. Outside the New Testament, in this one mans humble opinion, The Permanent Revolution is the seminal work on apostolic ministry.

Rob Wegner, pastor, Life Mission Granger Community Church; lead catalyst, EnterMission; experience director, Future Travelers; author , Missional Moves

A very PROVOCATIVE and INFORMATIVE book! Readers are invited to give careful consideration of reclaiming the Ephesians 4:11 gifting of apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds, and teachers (APEST) as the foundational framework for exercising and structuring Christian leadership. It is an argument worth serious consideration given the problems associated with the clergy/laity dichotomy that continues to exist in so many of our churches today.

Craig Van Gelder, professor of congregational mission, Luther Seminary

Jesus has given the church everything it needs to get the job done. This statement reverberates throughout this book. There is no greater job in the world, and belief in this statement with action reflecting it will no doubt reform the western church. This truly is the capstone to all of Hirschs work. Every church leader must consider this Permanent Revolution as Jesus intended.

Tammy Dunahoo, vice president of U.S. operations/general supervisor, The Foursquare Church

Clearly, practically, and with much love for the church, Alan Hirsch and Tim Catchim redress the imbalance brought about by the exiling of the apostle, prophet, and evangelist from the leadership of the local church. There is a challenge here that must be listened to. The Permanent Revolution is a must-read for every leader who seeks to recover the apostolic heartbeat that drives the church into Gods mission.

David Fitch, B. R. Lindner Chair of Evangelical Theology, Northern Seminary; author , The End of Evangelicalism?

Hirsch and Catchim are architects of the future. Their goal is not to dismantle todays church, but to help re-engineer its future by realigning around the five-fold gifts. Every other solution currently being offered is simply a faade. Cover to cover this is a truly worthy read.

Linda Bergquist, church strategist; coauthor Church Turned Inside Out: A Guide for Designers, Refiners, and Re-Aligners

Alan Hirsch and Tim Catchim have written a book that all church leaders should read as we consider the churchs mission and movement into the twenty-first century. There is a growing, and often confusing, dialogue concerning apostolic ministry in the church, and The Permanent Revolution offers both clarity and a compelling argument. If you have a heart for sent ministry, read this book.

Ed Stetzer, president, Lifeway Research

The crisis of the Western church cannot be adequately addressed merely by working harder or smarter. We need a fresh paradigm for the church in order to frame and direct our efforts. Hirsch and Catchim contend that Ephesians 4:116 provides just such a back to the future paradigm. For too long the church has depended almost exclusively on the gifts of pastor and teacher, but now we must cultivate the full range of Christs gifts to the body. The greatest need for our day, the authors believe, is to reactivate apostolic giftedness. At stake is the success of the missional movement and the renewal of the evangelical church. This is an important book that needs to be widely read and broadly debated. But watch your toes... they will be stepped on!

David G. Dunbar, president, Biblical Theological Seminary

There is desperate need for what Alan Hirsch and Tim Catchim have designed this book to be: ... a single, comprehensive reference text promoting the ongoing role of the apostolic person in the life of the church. It is a long overdue conversation of critical importance. The stakes are high, particularly in the West. A new generation of apostolic leaders is essential if the Church is to ever regain the initiative that we have lost by ignoring this essential biblical function.

Sam Metcalf, president, Church Resource Ministries

An exhaustive exploration of the dynamics of apostolic ministry, interweaving biblical, historical, and contemporary material, presenting a persuasive argument for the recovery, recognition, and release of this neglected ministry as a crucial component in the emergence of missional churches. The Christian movement in post-Christendom needs to re-appropriate the ministries of apostles, prophets, and evangelists alongside pastors and teachers. This book offers a wealth of resources to help us.

Stuart Murray, author , Post-Christendom and The Naked Anabaptist

In matters of missionespecially in the Westthere are no simple solutions and no magic bullets. There are some key starting points and the debate about leadership is just such a point. Hirsch and Catchim have opened up the difficult issue of leadership, imagination, and gifting with no holds barred. This is a text that will inform the controversy around this issue for some time to come. If you care about leadership and mission you will want to grapple with this book.

Martin Robinson, president, Springdale College; National Director of Together in Mission

This book, written by one of the foremost missional thinkers of our day, addresses what I believe to be the most necessary and neglected of subjects in the New Testamentthe equipping gifts of Ephesians 4:11. Once again Alan Hirsch (now with the help of Tim Catchim) has opened the Pandoras box of missional inquiry so the rest of us can try and get our minds around a subject of wide consequence that will not likely settle back down. This book will be the first of its kind, but I guarantee not the last.

Neil Cole, founder, Church Multiplication Associates; author , Organic Church, Organic Leadership, Search & Rescue, Church 3.0, and Journeys to Significance

In The Permanent Revolution Alan Hirsch and Tim Catchim gift us with a weighty tome that befits the epic adventure unfolding in these days of the collapse of Christendom. Church leaders are increasingly aware that the big shift for us is to move from managing an institution to leading a movement. Our learning curve is steep. We need help in reimagining and redesigning our leadership beliefs and practices. Nothing less than reconnecting with our apostolic roots will do. This volume helps us do exactly that.

Reggie McNeal, author , The Present Future, Missional Renaissance, and Missional Communities

Copyright 2012 by Alan Hirsch and Tim Catchim. All rights reserved.