Dan Kimball and the Emerging Church

Author of The Emerging Church
Foreword written Rick Warren and Brian McLaren


The Emerging Church by Dan KimballReinventing Christianity For Our Day

"The 'Emergent Church' takes the 'seeker movement' past its limitations to go where no Christian church has gone before—into inter-spirituality....

"They want to generate new thinking, new discoveries with new ways to do things. It is justified because we live in new world and we have to be futurist thinkers to survive the changes that are taking place. As Dan Kimball says 'we must rethink virtually everything we are doing in our ministries.'

"On Rick Warren's internet site Dan Kimball writes 'So, the emerging church is about a re-imagining: re-imagining our preaching, our evangelism, and our worship services. A re-imagining of new types of churches and an opportunity to be rethinking all we do because we recognize that the next generation is at stake if we don't."—Mike Oppenheimer,
Let Us Reason Ministries,
Now Ready for Prime Time Players

Dan Kimball: Lectio Divina
and the Silence

"We have neglected so many of the disciplines of the historical church [Desert Fathers], including weekly fasting, practicing the silence, and lectio divina."—Dan Kimball, The Emerging Church, page. 223

"As we spilled out into the dark night with the rest of the crowd, I felt that maybe something was happening here with the emerging culture, and we should take note. We put so much effort into designing contemporary church services that are peppy, upbeat, and cued down to the minute, but I'’d just seen a large group of young people drawn to something quite the opposite. Perhaps we should consider that there's a rising longing to seek God in the simplicity and stillness of a meditative church experience. " From Dan Kimball's article, In the Stillness

Dan Kimball and Labyrinths

A-Maze-ing-Prayer by Dan Kimball

Dan Kimball and Prayer Stations

Vintage Faith Church Promotes Prayer Stations

Dan Kimball and Youth Specialties

Emergent YS Convention 2005

Redefining Christianity

"We have the great opportunity to redefine the church to emerging generations."
—Dan Kimball,
Youth SpecialtiesYouth Worker Convention, 2002

Kimball on Henri Nouwen

"[M]any in the emerging church are drawn to more of a loose, lesser emphasis on strategic goals and a non-hierarchical approach to leadership. Much like what is emphasized in the writings of Henri Nouwen. I've read Nouwen's book, In the Name of Jesus: Reflections on Christian Leadership a dozen times. Reading that book convicts you to the inner core about motives and the heart of leadership." Dan Kimball, The Paradox of Emerging Leadership

His Own Words

"Without a doubt, the books that have made the most influence in my thinking on discipleship and spiritual formation for the emerging church are the following from Dallas Willard. Renovation of the Heart: Putting on the Character of Christ (NavPress 2002) and The Divine Conspiracy: Rediscovering Our Hidden Life in God (Harper Collins, 1998)"
Dan Kimball from his newsletter, 2002

See Dan Kimball's thoughts on the origin of the emerging church. Part 2