Rating: 
Summary: Rick Warren and Brian McLaren?!
Review: i was rather stunned to see the names of rick warren and brian mclaren on the same book cover. however, after reading the book it made perfect sense. this book does not point fingers or bash modernity or postmodernity - but allows a healthy discussion from both perspectives of what direction the emerging church is moving. i love that this book FINALLY goes beyond all the chatter about culture and postmodern theory and gives some helpful examples (but not a model) of what we in church leadership should try to do. i own virtually every book out there on postmodernism and the church, and this by far has been the most practical in giving helpful direction of stimuating ideas for our local context. i will be giving a copy to my staff as well as key volunteers.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting / Worth Reading
Review: I went back on forth about what to say after I read this book. I read it for a graduate school class in small groups & community and have some good thoughts after reading the book. The good things:
1) Dan is honest and not full of himself. He recounts what he has done in ministry and how it has morphed over the past few years.
2) He lets the reader know what is working where he is, without setting it up as a model for the rest of us in the world who might start up a ministry.
3) The emphasis on ancient / vintage worship and community is essential. As we invite people into a community and let them 'ask in' to a faith committment it is a powerful witness for the kingdom.
The 'interesting' things:
1) Why is Rick Warren featured so prominently in a book that is looking towards the future? Rick Warren's extended defense of the seeker sensitive movement seems like a monument to the past when Dan's book is squarely looking towards the future. This is not to disrespect Rick, but he was out of place in this book. It is almost like the publisher pushed Dan to have Rick in the book so he would have more 'credibility' with the modern audience - who knows, but Rick seemed really out of place.
2) I do agree with some of the other reviewers who note that while Dan is not wanting to give a model for everyone to use, the second half of his book surely could be interpreted just that way.
Overall - worth reading - Joseph Dworak
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Ideas for Reaching Younger Generations!
Review: I'm a little disappointed with some of the negative reviews here. This book does nothing to dilute Christian theology, but instead seeks to offer new methodology to meet the needs of younger generations. So many of the titles on the market today are addressed towards builders and boomers, while this book focuses more on busters and bridgers (youngest generations).
Kimball doesn't insist that everyone follow his particular methodologies here, he just offers new ideas for previously unreached people.
I recommend this book highly, especially to worship planners. The insights it gives are extremely helpful for reaching post-modern worshippers. These generations are becoming increasingly prevalent in our world today.
This volume is simply great!
Rating:
Summary: I'd give it more stars, but 5 is all they allow!
Review: In Emerging Church, Dan Kimball clearly explains the changes that have taken place in the current culture and shows how the church can respond to these changes to reach postmoderns. Without hesitation, I recommend this book to you. Dan's humble, unassuming spirit emerges in the content, the writing style and in that he invited other thinkers to interact with the book in the margins. Most of the time they agree with him or add additional insight, but other times they disagree with what he writes. (I found the margin notes helpful and stimulating.)My prayer is that God will use the information in this book to help churches around the world reach the emerging culture.
Rating:
Summary: Great Resource!
Review: Kimball provides a great resource for any wanting to explore Postmodern worship and Gen-X, but NOT wanting to stereotype according to age. Kimball provides helpful tools and models without limiting them to chronology or geography. John Jackson
PASTORPRENEUR
www.pastorpreneur.com
Rating:
Summary: Great Resource!
Review: Kimball provides a great resource for any wanting to explore Postmodern worship and Gen-X, but NOT wanting to stereotype according to age. Kimball provides helpful tools and models without limiting them to chronology or geography. John Jackson
PASTORPRENEUR
www.pastorpreneur.com
Rating: 
Summary: Vain and Light
Review: The time comes in a teen-ager's life when he redecorates his own bedroom. He hangs up flashy posters, colored lamps, stuff to be found nowhere else in the house, quite a contrast to his parents' living room. He notes with satisfaction to his parents that his friends think he's way cooler than they are.
This is what Dan Kimball is doing. He's redecorating his part of the house and telling his parents how much cooler it (and he) is. His parents are seeker-sensitive boomer churches. This explains why Rick Warren's comments printed in the margins of the book are sometimes "atta boy" and sometimes defensive. Kimball says seeker-senstive churches didn't understand intimacy, or depth, or atmosphere the way he and his friends do. Because they're cool.
Underlying the whole emergent church movement is a thick layer of vanity. The emergent church is made up of youth pastors who have spent a couple of decades proving their popularity by counting kids (Kimball is careful to point out both in his book and on his web site that his youth group had 300). They're now too cool for that too, so they're on to candles and powerpoint slides instead. Psychologically, Kimball is stunted in the same move teen-agers make developmentally in their first year of college, from an egocentric pursuit of popularity to an egocentric independence. This is what Dennis Miller is to comedy, or indy music to rock, or private coffee houses to Starbucks: too cool to conform, even though it's really just the same things again in only slightly altered packaging. One would think a group so into depth and authenticity wouldn't need so much hair gel and bleach, or their picture on the back of the book for that matter.
So let me get this straight: candles, darkness, images, spiritual theology...and you think this is a radical new church? Sounds like Catholicism to me.
Rating:
Summary: This book is a must read for all pastors and church leaders!
Review: This book is an excellent read. Thoughtful and simple in its approach. It really gets you thinking about evangelism in a whole new light. As pastors of a church, we are finding this book to be very timely and useful in our everyday ministry. There are a few things that I think are slightly over the top and a bit trendy like lighting incense and having prayer stations with all kinds of christian art. But overall, the message is right on the mark! I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is involved in christian ministry.
Rating: 
Summary: four stars---good read
Review: This is an excellent read...if you know someone who doesn't understand POMO this is the book you need to point them too. There's another book (and author) that is yet to be discovered... the book is "A Mobile Church For E.P.I.C. Times: Crossing Faith Community Borders" by Fred Peatross. Leonard Sweet wrote the Foreword and Brian McLaren and Sally Morgenthaler wrote back cover blurbs. Pick the book up here at amazon.com.
Rating:
Summary: Helps rethink strategy in reaching emerging cultures
Review: to infuse ideas on the way to reach out to people not only from the post-modern generation, but to all ages. Too often the young are dismayed by the lack of biblical principle in church, where the goals of the pastors are to have a new piano, PA or plastic flowers. In Kimball's book, he offers insights into how to design and worship in a way that attracts people to Christ in an innate way, not just in an expected two times per year visit (i.e. Xmas and Easter). I found it an honest and refreshing look at how emerging churches have potential to unite and heal and bring spiritual growth to a community. It seems clear that Kimball has gained experience through his work, and I believe that he is onto the right direction in bringing the message to the emerging culture. Kimball has some great insight on how to achieve that, based on his own struggles, thoughts, and successes.
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