Alan Hirsch and the DNA of Gospel movements : Part 6 – Organic systems
A seven-part short video series on the church
What dynamics lead to rapid, indigenous multiplication of the Gospel?
In this seven-part video series, Alan Hirsch introduces the DNA of Gospel Movements. This Missional DNA, or mDNA, is made up of six elements, each working together to bring about the advance of the gospel.
Video #6 - Organic systems
Organic descriptions of the church abound in scripture. Images such as body, field, yeast, seeds, trees and vines are plentiful. An organic or living systems approach seeks to structure the common life of an organization around the rhythms and structures that mirror life itself.
From there we can try to emulate as closely as possible this innate capacity of living systems to develop high levels of organization and adapt to varying conditions. Relating a living system approach to church connects with the idea that every group of God's people has everything within them needed to adapt and thrive in any setting.
Movements that reach exponential impact and growth all demonstrate these characteristics: they have a transformative vision of the world, they structure organically in networks, power and function are distributed to the outermost levels of the organization and therefore they can spread virally, and they are committed to reproducing and to reproducibility.
Keys to Understanding
- We believe that our message is for the healing and transformation of our world and we are obligated to deliver it.
- Our organizational structure is as simple as possible and can be easily reproduced.
- We operate in networked structures, decentralized and comprised of many different elements within a system.
- Our community has an innate capacity to reproduce, allowing for rapid multiplication, empowering mission and releasing movements.
- The approach to organization is structured around the common life of the group and the rhythms of life itself.
- The central task of leadership is to bring the various elements of the system into meaningful communication and relationship.
In his book, The Forgotten Ways, he defines the different elements of a movement, how they interact, and how we in the West can recover this ethos.
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