Activating the mDNA
Learning to practice the Forgotten Ways
If you’ve never read The Forgotten Ways by Alan Hirsch, I’d encourage you to spend the time exploring that work. It was transformative for me in 2009 when I first read it… slowly… over the course of many days… because honestly, I didn’t fully understand what I was reading.
Using the fish-in-water metaphor, it felt like I was being asked to breathe freshwater with lungs built for saltwater.
More importantly, I didn’t really know what to do with it.
I didn’t know how to begin embodying the concepts I was reading about.
That said, I had that feeling in my bones that what I was reading was going to lead me toward a different future. Fast forward fifteen years, and I now have the privilege of working inside a network that has been significantly shaped by the six elements of mDNA that Alan explores in The Forgotten Ways—elements that have shaped movements globally and historically.
Over the last decade, as I’ve encountered more and more people who have read The Forgotten Ways, I’ve noticed a consistent pattern. People resonate deeply with what they’re reading, but they’re often unsure where to start when it comes to living this out in real communities, with real people, in real places.
That gap—the space between conviction and embodiment—is what led us to create Activating the mDNA.
This seven-week cohort is for leaders who sense that renewal won’t come simply by tweaking existing systems, but by beginning new practices that activate movement. It’s an invitation to come alongside others who are exploring the same tensions (ideally with a few friends or teammates) and begin that work together.
We’ve designed this for small teams who want to pioneer new expressions of church and move beyond maintaining the status quo. This won’t just be another round of webinars. It’s a discovery- and obedience-based cohort, focused on learning how to integrate the mDNA into lived practice—not just organizational language.
If you’ve ever felt that The Forgotten Ways named something true but left you wondering what comes next, this may be a place to begin.
Register here for the upcoming Activating the mDNA Cohort beginning January 20th.