We love the church.
If we didn’t, there would be no 5Q book, no website and no team working around the clock across the globe to figure out the most effective and inspiring ways to equip you to find your place in God’s story.
The reason we do what we do is out of love for the body of Christ!
That said…Houston, we have a problem.
Many are recognizing that the Church has become – let’s just say it – ineffective: reluctant in her mission and uncertain of her purpose. You may be one voice among the many who say, “There has to be more than this!” You may be feeling a deep sense of frustration because you know the Mission of God is urgent, life-giving and hyper-critical, yet you don’t see the Church stepping into the gap, racing headlong into the uncertainty and risk, courageously heralding the Great News of Christ into difficult and dark places.
Thinking about what the church isn’t won’t get us where we need to go, though. Not when what we are, what we were created to be, what we can become is so awesome! We want to help you see the body of Christ through a fresh and inspiring image.
As you dig deep in Alan’s new book, 5Q:Reactivating the Original Intelligence and Capacity of the Body of Christ, one analogy you will discover is the Church as Symphony. The new book describes the Body of Jesus in much the same terms that Mozart would describe the way he experienced music.
[bctt tweet=”#5Q describes the Body of Jesus in much the same terms that Mozart would describe the way he experienced music.”]
If the Church is supposed to be a Symphony, then why don’t we sound like it?
We feel the urgency of God’s Mission and know that we are meant to be a part of it, but we run up against church structures that seem designed to keep us out. We want to do something, but we haven’t gone to seminary and honestly don’t have any plans to. We recognize a call to action, but first have to clear it with a committee. We want to embrace the change in our neighborhood, but first need to spend a year discerning “vision.” It sure doesn’t look like this when we turn to the Bible!
Was the Acts church a one time thing? We don’t believe so.
We feel like we should be living in a time where the early chapters of Acts leap from the pages of the New Testament and land in the center of our neighborhoods.
We want to see thousands of hearts set free by the Gospel: dreams awakened, chains broken, lives transformed, disciples shaped, ministry unleashed and families reconciled.
We want to see people healed by the passing shadow of an apostle.
We want to run out of water on Baptism Sunday.
We want to hear a chorus of voices praising God for the first time.
We want a symphony!
5Q is a call to action! A way to gather the players – the musicians – and conduct them in their unique and called place because here is what we know to be true: Jesus has a Mission and everyone is a critical part of that mission. In God’s story, everyone a vital part to play.
[bctt tweet=”You are a critical part of Jesus’ Mission. In God’s story, you have a vital part to play.”]
The Church, as Alan Hirsch describes, was created to play as a Symphony; every individual instrument coming together to play one glorious piece – a Kingdom Movement. Unfortunately, as many lament, the ministry and organization of the Church has been reduced from polyphonic digital HD to an analog AM Kazoo duet. It goes without saying that that sound won’t quite rock the earth with the Thunder of Heaven.
In his new book, Hirsch describes it like this:
”We sense the need for symphony in order to renew our outworn theological paradigm, to invigorate our tired mission of the church, and to revitalize the significantly outmoded ministry of the church. We long for a new sense of wholeness that only an imaginative vision born of symphony can provide.”
The 5Q model that we are focusing on, what we have called APEST, is the way that we are working to restore the sense of symphony to the family of God.
“I believe that what I call 5Q is one of the surest ways to experience a renewed sense of symphony in our lives, ministries and organizations. In its simplest form, 5Q is the synergy of a holistic recombination of the apostolic, prophetic, evangelistic, shepherding and teaching (APEST) capacities referred to in Ephesians 4.”
If you are in Christ, you are on mission. It’s the quest, the adventure. It’s the throwing of the ring into the fires of Mordor, the closing of the time portal over the skies of New York City, the red pill. Proceed with confidence. You are a part of the Story of God and that story ends with triumph: the victory of God, the New Creation.
[bctt tweet=”You are a part of the Story of God and that story ends with triumph: the victory of God, the New Creation. #5Q”]
We believe that by returning to the five fold ministries of Ephesians, 5Q is the way we are going to nudge the Church toward that victorious ending; to relearn the power, passion and purpose of playing as a symphony.
We love the Church. We want to see the body of Christ in her fullness, her wholeness. It can’t happen without you!
Find your place in the story.
Share your voice in the symphony.
Join the 5Q movement today and order your copy of Alan’s new book today at our pre-launch price!
Click here to order 5Q: Reactivating the Original Intelligence and Capacity of the Body of Christ
If you want to discover your 5Q, you can take the personal 5Q assessment here.
How have you witnessed the Body of Christ living symphonically?
Share in the comments and join the 5Q conversation.