Write case studies for: $ARGUMENTS
$ARGUMENTS should include a pathway slug (reframation, metanoia, mdna, movement-intelligence, discipleship) and optionally a specific case study to develop (e.g., metanoia jerusalem-council or mdna chinese-church).
Step 1 — Load Context
- Read the voice spec:
/Users/joshuashepherd/Desktop/Dev/repos/docs/intelligence/leader-research/alan-hirsch/profile/voice-system/ALAN_HIRSCH_VOICE_AND_STYLE_PROMPT.md
- Read the existing pathway vision doc:
/Users/joshuashepherd/Desktop/Dev/repos/docs/pathways/[slug]/vision/ — check if case studies already exist
- Read existing case studies in research:
/Users/joshuashepherd/Desktop/Dev/repos/docs/knowledge/core-content/case-studies/
- Read the story index:
/Users/joshuashepherd/Desktop/Dev/repos/docs/knowledge/core-content/story-index/
Step 2 — Corpus Research
Book-to-Pathway Map
Books path: /Users/joshuashepherd/Desktop/Dev/repos/docs/books/english/[book-slug]/
| Pathway |
Where Alan Tells Case Stories |
| Reframation |
reframation (Chinese church, Celtic missionaries, Kuyper, Newbigin), the-forgotten-ways ch01–ch03 |
| Metanoia |
metanoia (Jerusalem Council, Barmen Declaration, Belhar Confession), the-forgotten-ways ch01 |
| mDNA |
the-forgotten-ways ch04–ch09 (early church, Chinese underground, SMRC, Methodist movement), on-the-verge ch04 |
| Movement Intelligence |
on-the-verge (multiple movement examples), fast-forward-to-mission, the-forgotten-ways ch06, ch09 |
| Discipleship |
untamed (SMRC stories, George & John, The Main House), disciplism, right-here-right-now |
Research Process
Search Alan's books for movement examples:
Grep: pattern="(church|movement|community|congregation)" path="/Users/joshuashepherd/Desktop/Dev/repos/docs/books/english/[book-slug]/" output_mode="content" -C=5
Identify Alan's signature case studies — he returns to these repeatedly:
- Biblical: Jerusalem Council (Acts 15), Early church (AD 100–310), Antioch church
- Historical: Chinese underground church (1949–present), Celtic missionaries (5th–7th c.), Methodist movement (Wesley), Moravian missionaries, CMA, Pentecostal revivals
- Contemporary: SMRC (South Melbourne Restoration Community, 1983–1998), Forge Network, specific church plants or movements from his consulting/speaking
- Confessional: Barmen Declaration (1934), Belhar Confession (1986)
Read the relevant passages in full — Alan embeds case studies within theological arguments, not as standalone narratives. Extract the full narrative arc.
Note specific data: dates, numbers, names, locations. Alan uses specificity (e.g., "2 million to 120 million in 60 years"). Maintain this precision.
Step 3 — Write Case Studies
Required Mix (per pathway)
- 1 Biblical — from Acts or the prophets, showing the concept in Scripture
- 1 Historical — a documented movement from church history
- 1 Contemporary (if available) — a modern movement or community. If Alan doesn't provide one, note
[content coming] with suggested candidates
Structure: Card Content (for pathway page)
Each case study appears as a card on the pathway page. The card has:
- Title: Name of the movement/event
- Context: Time, place, situation — one sentence
- Hook: 2–3 sentences that create desire to read more. Narrative, not summary. End with a tension or insight.
Structure: Full Page Content
Each card links to a dedicated page at /pathways/[slug]/case-studies/[case-slug]. The full page has:
Lead paragraph (100–150 words) — The problem or moment. Set the scene. What was at stake?
Narrative body (3–5 paragraphs, 600–1000 words total) — Tell the story through the lens of this pathway's model:
- Metanoia: Downcurve → Turning Point → Upcurve (U-Shaped Journey)
- Reframation: What frame was broken → What was seen differently → What changed
- mDNA: Which elements of Apostolic Genius were present → How they operated → What resulted
- Movement Intelligence: What movement dynamics were at work → How they multiplied → What patterns emerged
- Discipleship: How discipleship was practiced → What formation looked like → How it spread
Implications (100–150 words) — What this case study reveals about the pathway's principles. Connect back to the framework. What can we learn?
Voice for Case Studies
Case studies are narrative-heavy. Calibrate the markers:
| Marker |
Calibration |
| Christocentric Anchoring |
Embedded in the narrative — show Jesus at work, not just mentioned |
| Prophetic Intensity |
In the implications, not the narrative. Let the story do the challenging. |
| Pastoral Warmth |
Present throughout — care for the people in the story |
| Narrative Imagery |
Highest here — this IS narrative. Concrete, vivid, specific. |
| Theological Depth |
Woven into the narrative, not appended. Show how theology was lived. |
Anti-Patterns for Case Studies
- Never sanitize failure — Alan is honest about what went wrong (SMRC had three phases, including "Death to Chaos")
- Never use a case study as proof — it illustrates and illuminates, it doesn't prove
- Never genericize — keep names, dates, numbers, places specific
- Never moralize at the end — let the implications emerge from the story
Step 4 — Output
---
pathway: [slug]
section: case-studies
study_count: [number]
books_cited: [list]
case_types: [biblical, historical, contemporary]
---
## Case Study 1: [Title] — [Biblical/Historical/Contemporary]
### Card (pathway page)
- **Title:** [Name]
- **Context:** [Time, place, situation]
- **Hook:** [2–3 sentences]
### Full Page
[Lead paragraph — 100–150 words]
[Narrative body — 3–5 paragraphs]
**Implications for [Pathway Name]:** [100–150 words]
---
## Case Study 2: [Title] — [Type]
[Same structure]
---
## Case Study 3: [content coming]
*Suggested: [Description of what's needed and candidate movements/examples]*
Save to: /Users/joshuashepherd/Desktop/Dev/repos/docs/pathways/[slug]/case-studies/
1---2name: pathway-case-study3description: Research and write case studies for Alan Hirsch pathway pages. Produces 2–4 case studies per pathway — biblical, historical, and contemporary — with card-level summaries for the pathway page and full narrative pages for dedicated URLs. Draws from Alan's books, documented movements, and his research. Each case study follows the pathway's own arc (U-shape for Metanoia, reframes for Reframation, etc.).4---56Write case studies for: $ARGUMENTS78$ARGUMENTS should include a pathway slug (`reframation`, `metanoia`, `mdna`, `movement-intelligence`, `discipleship`) and optionally a specific case study to develop (e.g., `metanoia jerusalem-council` or `mdna chinese-church`).910---1112## Step 1 — Load Context13141. Read the voice spec: `/Users/joshuashepherd/Desktop/Dev/repos/docs/intelligence/leader-research/alan-hirsch/profile/voice-system/ALAN_HIRSCH_VOICE_AND_STYLE_PROMPT.md`152. Read the existing pathway vision doc: `/Users/joshuashepherd/Desktop/Dev/repos/docs/pathways/[slug]/vision/` — check if case studies already exist163. Read existing case studies in research: `/Users/joshuashepherd/Desktop/Dev/repos/docs/knowledge/core-content/case-studies/`174. Read the story index: `/Users/joshuashepherd/Desktop/Dev/repos/docs/knowledge/core-content/story-index/`1819---2021## Step 2 — Corpus Research2223### Book-to-Pathway Map2425Books path: `/Users/joshuashepherd/Desktop/Dev/repos/docs/books/english/[book-slug]/`2627| Pathway | Where Alan Tells Case Stories |28|---------|------------------------------|29| **Reframation** | `reframation` (Chinese church, Celtic missionaries, Kuyper, Newbigin), `the-forgotten-ways` ch01–ch03 |30| **Metanoia** | `metanoia` (Jerusalem Council, Barmen Declaration, Belhar Confession), `the-forgotten-ways` ch01 |31| **mDNA** | `the-forgotten-ways` ch04–ch09 (early church, Chinese underground, SMRC, Methodist movement), `on-the-verge` ch04 |32| **Movement Intelligence** | `on-the-verge` (multiple movement examples), `fast-forward-to-mission`, `the-forgotten-ways` ch06, ch09 |33| **Discipleship** | `untamed` (SMRC stories, George & John, The Main House), `disciplism`, `right-here-right-now` |3435### Research Process36371. **Search Alan's books for movement examples:**38 ```39 Grep: pattern="(church|movement|community|congregation)" path="/Users/joshuashepherd/Desktop/Dev/repos/docs/books/english/[book-slug]/" output_mode="content" -C=540 ```41422. **Identify Alan's signature case studies** — he returns to these repeatedly:43 - **Biblical:** Jerusalem Council (Acts 15), Early church (AD 100–310), Antioch church44 - **Historical:** Chinese underground church (1949–present), Celtic missionaries (5th–7th c.), Methodist movement (Wesley), Moravian missionaries, CMA, Pentecostal revivals45 - **Contemporary:** SMRC (South Melbourne Restoration Community, 1983–1998), Forge Network, specific church plants or movements from his consulting/speaking46 - **Confessional:** Barmen Declaration (1934), Belhar Confession (1986)47483. **Read the relevant passages in full** — Alan embeds case studies within theological arguments, not as standalone narratives. Extract the full narrative arc.49504. **Note specific data:** dates, numbers, names, locations. Alan uses specificity (e.g., "2 million to 120 million in 60 years"). Maintain this precision.5152---5354## Step 3 — Write Case Studies5556### Required Mix (per pathway)57- **1 Biblical** — from Acts or the prophets, showing the concept in Scripture58- **1 Historical** — a documented movement from church history59- **1 Contemporary** (if available) — a modern movement or community. If Alan doesn't provide one, note `[content coming]` with suggested candidates6061### Structure: Card Content (for pathway page)6263Each case study appears as a card on the pathway page. The card has:6465- **Title:** Name of the movement/event66- **Context:** Time, place, situation — one sentence67- **Hook:** 2–3 sentences that create desire to read more. Narrative, not summary. End with a tension or insight.6869### Structure: Full Page Content7071Each card links to a dedicated page at `/pathways/[slug]/case-studies/[case-slug]`. The full page has:72731. **Lead paragraph** (100–150 words) — The problem or moment. Set the scene. What was at stake?74752. **Narrative body** (3–5 paragraphs, 600–1000 words total) — Tell the story through the lens of this pathway's model:76 - **Metanoia:** Downcurve → Turning Point → Upcurve (U-Shaped Journey)77 - **Reframation:** What frame was broken → What was seen differently → What changed78 - **mDNA:** Which elements of Apostolic Genius were present → How they operated → What resulted79 - **Movement Intelligence:** What movement dynamics were at work → How they multiplied → What patterns emerged80 - **Discipleship:** How discipleship was practiced → What formation looked like → How it spread81823. **Implications** (100–150 words) — What this case study reveals about the pathway's principles. Connect back to the framework. What can we learn?8384### Voice for Case Studies8586Case studies are narrative-heavy. Calibrate the markers:8788| Marker | Calibration |89|--------|-------------|90| **Christocentric Anchoring** | Embedded in the narrative — show Jesus at work, not just mentioned |91| **Prophetic Intensity** | In the implications, not the narrative. Let the story do the challenging. |92| **Pastoral Warmth** | Present throughout — care for the people in the story |93| **Narrative Imagery** | Highest here — this IS narrative. Concrete, vivid, specific. |94| **Theological Depth** | Woven into the narrative, not appended. Show how theology was lived. |9596### Anti-Patterns for Case Studies97- Never sanitize failure — Alan is honest about what went wrong (SMRC had three phases, including "Death to Chaos")98- Never use a case study as proof — it illustrates and illuminates, it doesn't prove99- Never genericize — keep names, dates, numbers, places specific100- Never moralize at the end — let the implications emerge from the story101102---103104## Step 4 — Output105106```107---108pathway: [slug]109section: case-studies110study_count: [number]111books_cited: [list]112case_types: [biblical, historical, contemporary]113---114115## Case Study 1: [Title] — [Biblical/Historical/Contemporary]116117### Card (pathway page)118- **Title:** [Name]119- **Context:** [Time, place, situation]120- **Hook:** [2–3 sentences]121122### Full Page123124[Lead paragraph — 100–150 words]125126[Narrative body — 3–5 paragraphs]127128**Implications for [Pathway Name]:** [100–150 words]129130---131132## Case Study 2: [Title] — [Type]133134[Same structure]135136---137138## Case Study 3: [content coming]139140*Suggested: [Description of what's needed and candidate movements/examples]*141```142143Save to: `/Users/joshuashepherd/Desktop/Dev/repos/docs/pathways/[slug]/case-studies/`
JoshuaShepherd