I finally finished The Forgotten Ways yesterday, and not 'finally' because it was horrible, but 'finally' because it was so good I had to read it slow. I spent just over a month plowing my way through it, interacting with it and taking what ended up being pages of notes.

I blogged several posts about it over on the Tomorrow's Church site, but I was really challenged by the book. I actually got to meet Alan Hirsch over this past weekend and had the chance to talk with him a little bit about the book. He said that he feels he was 'born to write this book' and that the #1 thing he hears as feedback, is that readers already feel like they knew it, but just hadn't put it all together yet. That was true for me, most of what the book is about you seemingly already know - there is this profound simplicity about it. It's like God has been stirring this inside so many and He's using Alan as the mouthpiece to package it and to be a catalyst toward change.

What I love most about the book is that it is not about some new 'church model' to subscribe to in a hope to grow a church. What he builds toward in the book is far more open ended and is more of a 'recommissioning' of the Great Commission. I highly recommend this book if you are a lover of the church, a church leader or if you are stimulated by all that is theological - it'll frustrate, challenge and inspire you.