Copyright @ 2011 Blake Thomas Ring All Rights Reserved. the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary Has Permission to Reproduce An
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Copyright @ 2011 Blake Thomas Ring All rights reserved. The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary has permission to reproduce and disseminate this document in any form by any means for purposes chosen by the Seminary, including, without limitation, preservation or instruction. THE MINISTRY OF DAN KIMBALL: A MODEL FOR REACHING EMERGING GENERATIONS __________________ A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary __________________ In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy __________________ by Blake Thomas Ring December 2011 APPROVAL SHEET THE MINISTRY OF DAN KIMBALL: A MODEL FOR REACHING EMERGING GENERATIONS Blake Thomas Ring Read and Approved by: __________________________________________ Charles E. Lawless, Jr. (Chair) __________________________________________ Timothy K. Beougher __________________________________________ Theodore J. Cabal Date_______________________________ To Lydia, my bride, my love, my life partner TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS . vi PREFACE . vii Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION . 1 Searching for Emerging Generational Ministry Leadership . 5 Presuppositions Regarding Postmodernism’s Influence . 8 Thesis . 11 Terminology . 15 Limitations of the Study . 20 Background . 21 Methodology . 24 Outline of the Study . 25 Conclusion . 26 2. A BIOGRAPHY OF DAN KIMBALL . 27 Early Years (1960 – 1978) . 27 Colorado State University (1978 – 1982) . 29 Travels to England and Israel (1983 – 1985) . 34 Santa Cruz Bible Church (1986 – 2003) . 37 Vintage Faith Church (2004 – Present) . 51 A Leader in the Emerging Church Movement . 54 Life beyond the Emerging Church Movement . 65 iv Chapter Page Conclusion . 67 3. AN EXPLORATION OF DAN KIMBALL’S THEOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK . 69 An Evangelical Theological Classification of Kimball . 69 Kimball’s Approach to Theology . 80 Doctrinal Positions of Kimball . 91 Conclusion . 112 4. AN EXPLORATION OF DAN KIMBALL’S METHODOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK . 113 A Methodology for Emerging Generational Ministry . 113 Kimball’s Approach to Evangelism . 117 Kimball’s Approach to Discipleship . 126 Kimball’s Approach to Worship . 134 Kimball’s Approach to Preaching . 150 Conclusion . 158 5. AN ASSESSMENT OF DAN KIMBALL’S MINISTRY . 160 Weaknesses of Kimball’s Ministry . 160 Contributions of Kimball’s Ministry . 175 Conclusion . 202 6. CONCLUSION . 203 BIBLIOGRAPHY …………………………………………………………………… 209 v LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ECM Emerging Church Movement IMB International Mission Board NAMB North American Mission Board SBC Southern Baptist Convention SBTS The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary SCBC Santa Cruz Bible Church VFC Vintage Faith Church YLN Young Leaders Network vi PREFACE Though this work bears my name, I could not have completed this task without the help and support of many others. Dean Charles Lawless, my supervising professor, not only challenged me to think critically and correctly, but more importantly served as a role model in exemplifying godliness. Professors Timothy Beougher and Theodore Cabal likewise provided valuable counsel and continual encouragement. I am grateful to all three of these men for their investment in my academic development. Many others have provided me encouragement and support along the way. My colleagues in the Ph.D. program have been a great blessing, encouraging me throughout the often arduous process. They graciously endured several years of endless ramblings on all things emerging church. I am also grateful for Thom Rainer, who inspired my passion for evangelism and missions in the local church and encouraged me to pursue doctoral work. My church family at Ninth and O Baptist Church has graciously allowed me to pursue this doctorate while serving on their staff. Completion of this project would not have been feasible without their blessing, support, and flexibility. This work would also not have been possible without my family. My parents and in-laws have provided endless encouragement and prayers. I am especially grateful to my father-in-law, Professor Bill Cook, for his willingness to mentor me through the program from start to finish. I am also thankful to Dan Kimball for his willingness to work with me on this project. vii No words of thanksgiving could adequately express my gratitude to my wife, Lydia, for her sacrifice and unwavering support during this work. Her optimism, faith, and encouragement have been nothing short of heroic. During the program, God has blessed Lydia and me with three precious gifts, Will, Riley, and Emery. I am immeasurably grateful for the many nights Lydia cared for our children as Daddy studied. Finally, I am amazed and humbled by the grace of God that provided me the opportunity, the means, and the strength to complete this task. Only by His grace, and only in His power am I privileged to do anything for Him. To Him alone be the glory. Blake T. Ring Louisville, Kentucky December 2011 viii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Introduction The United States is becoming an ever increasing “post-Christian” society. According to the 2008 American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS), the percentage of self-identified Christians in the United States has fallen ten percentage points since 1990, from 86 to 76 percent.1 This study demonstrates statistically what Christian leaders have suspected for years: Christianity in America is deteriorating. Albert Mohler, president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, responded to the ARIS study in an interview with Newsweek magazine, stating, A remarkable culture-shift has taken place around us. The most basic contours of American culture have been radically altered. The so-called Judeo-Christian consensus of the last millennium has given way to a post-modern, post-Christian, post-Western cultural crisis which threatens the very heart of our culture.2 One could argue the church’s influence within the United States is diminishing and losing ground to the seemingly more attractive voice of contemporary culture.3 1“American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS) 2008 Summary Report,” American Religious Identification Survey (March 2009) [on-line]; accessed 10 March 2010; available from http://www. americanreligioussurvey-aris.org/reports/ARIS_Report_2008.pdf; Internet. 2Jon Meacham, “The End of Christian America,” Newsweek.com (13 April 2009) [on-line]; accessed 25 February 2010; available from http://www.newsweek.com/2009/04/03/the-end-of-christian- america.html; Internet. 3From 1990 to 2005, the number of church attendees remained constant (estimated fifty-two million); however, the percentage of church attendees has decreased due to the population growth in the United States. David T. Olson, The American Church in Crisis: Groundbreaking Research Based on a National Data- of over 200,000 Churches (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2008), 26. 1 Emerging generations, a designation employed by Dan Kimball to describe younger generations, view the North American church and the Bible with growing skepticism.4 If fact, only three percent of sixteen to twenty-nine-year-olds “having a good impression” of evangelicals.5 Research also reveals that despite an overall negative disposition towards organized religion, emerging generations maintain a high level of interest in spiritual matters.6 Emerging generations are not becoming less spiritual; they are simply expressing their spirituality differently. This variation in spiritual expression, as Mohler suggests, can be explained in part by the cultural shift from the modern era to the postmodern era. The church is lagging behind in its understanding of these changes and its impact on Christian ministry; consequently, the church is losing influence and becoming increasingly irrelevant to young America. Statistical findings support the assertion that the church is not effectively reaching or retaining emerging generations. Research collected in 2009 by the National Council of Churches revealed the majority of Christian denominations are in decline, 4Kimball uses the term “emerging generations” to describe those individuals, generally between the ages of eighteen and thirty-five, who have been influenced by postmodernism and are growing up in an increasingly post-Christian America. Kimball writes, “Emerging generations don’t have a basic understanding of the story of the Bible, and they don’t have one God as the predominant God to worship. Rather, they are open to all types of faiths, including new mixtures of religions.” Dan Kimball, They Like Jesus but Not the Church: Insights from Emerging Generations (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2007), 15. unChristian demonstrates through research emerging generations’ growing negative view of Christianity. David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons, unChristian: What a New Generation Thinks about Christianity and Why it Matters (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2007), 24-26. 5This study also demonstrated that 48 percent “have a neutral impression” of evangelicals, while 49 percent “have a bad impression.” Kinnaman and Lyons, unChristian, 25. 6In collaboration with Thom Rainer and Jess Rainer’s book The Millennials, LifeWay Research interviewed 1,200 Millennials, individuals born between 1980 and 2000. The research revealed a generation that identifies itself as spiritual but not highly devoted to practicing their faith in the context of organized religion. They write, “Millennials are the least religious of any generation in modern American history. Millennials are still spiritual. Three out of four Millennials say they are spiritual but not religious.”