… Alan Hirsch and Rob Kelly have written Metanoia: How God Radically Transforms People, Churches, and Organizations From the Inside Out. The book is dense, somewhat technical, and not a particularly easy read—but worth the journey for the reader convinced that only a thriving church can effectively deliver Jesus to a broken world.

Hirsch and Kelly begin by inviting the reader to broaden his or her understanding of the Greek word metanoia. Typically translated “repent,” the word stands at the forefront of Jesus’ singular ministry challenge, “Repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand” (e.g., Matt 3:2, 4:17, Mark 1:15). However, the authors quote Richard Niebuhr in arguing that our common understanding of the word is inadequate. “The Christian responsibility to repent demands more than simply expressing feelings of regret for moral wrong-doing and a vague desire for reform. … it involves the recognition and rejection of various false frameworks for understanding the world itself.”

Metanoia, then, invites us to an essential and complete reframing of our understanding of the world— a personal transformation that reorders everything, including the organizations we lead. Without metanoia, the authors warn, we confine God to the limits of our understanding and love our organizations, systems, and methods to the point of idolatry. But the metanoic process, rather than “fighting to perpetuate the current state of affairs,” enables us to “redraw the maps to fit new territories,” and to “[carry] the gospel boldly into every context and every question.”

Of course, a full-orbed dismissal of what we thought we knew and a corresponding embrace of what it means to know “the mind of Christ” (1 Cor 2:16) is a challenging process. Hirsh and Kelly argue that the mind, the soul, and the will must all be brought into alignment if the whole heart is to be transformed—and that this is true not just of individuals but of the organizations we lead, as well. While no one would argue that an organization has a mind, soul, or will in the human sense, organizations certainly have ways of thinking, passions that drive them, and decisions that shape them. Just like us, the organizations we lead require a transformative process in order to halt our decline and reinvigorate our effectiveness.

Hirsch and Kelly dedicate a good portion of Metanoia to articulating multiple steps in that process. Significantly, the authors argue that the first half of the process—unlearning—is as important as the learning required in the second half. “In the Biblical way of metanoia,” they write, “the shortest way to the next mountain peak is down through the valley.” The “unlearning downcurve” involves four stages: Unravel, Uncover, Unlock, and Understand. At the bottom of the “Metanoia Journey” comes an “aha” moment that provides the foundation for moving forward and upward— “…the beginning of perceptions to come rather than the extension of perceptions gone by” (Abraham Heschel).

The upward journey involves discovering a new paradigm, building a new platform, and embracing new practices. For the organization, the paradigm corresponds to the mind and becomes the mental map by which the newly understood world is navigated. The platform (a combination of culture and structure) corresponds to the soul, shaping the ethos of the organization in ways that drive it forward. And the practices shape the will of the organization, identifying and reinforcing the kinds of actions that move the organization toward the accomplishment of its purpose. In the end, transformed individuals know the collective joy of doing the will of God together.

In short, Metanoia is a challenging read, with a depth of theory and level of detail that will require time to process. That said, this season in the life of the church demands we challenge the status quo and embrace with fresh enthusiasm the process of repentance and renewal Jesus constantly invites us into. If you’re willing to unlearn what you might now be sure of in order to learn what Jesus wants to teach you next, Metanoia might just be the catalyst you need.

BOOK REVIEWED

Hirsch, Alan and Kelly, Rob. Metanoia: How God Radically Transforms People, Churches, and Organizations From the Inside Out. Cody, WY: 100 Movements Publishing, 2023.

Kent Duncan
AGK Secretary-Treasurer