Kinnaman, Gary

(Gary D. Kinnaman)

PERSONAL:

Married, 1971; wife's name Marilyn; children: three. Education: Biola University, graduate; Arizona State University, M.A.; Fuller Seminary, M.A.; Western Conservative Baptist Seminary, Doctor of Ministry degree.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Mesa, AZ. Office—Word of Grace Church, 655 E. University Dr., Mesa, AZ 85203. E-mail—pennyjob@wordofgrace.org.

CAREER:

Writer, pastor, and public speaker. Word of Grace Church, Mesa, AZ, senior minister, 1982—. Frequent conference speaker and lecturer.

WRITINGS:

And Signs Shall Follow, Chosen Books (Old Tappan, NJ), 1987.

Overcoming the Dominion of Darkness, foreword by C. Peter Wagner, Chosen Books (Old Tappan, NJ), 1990.

Angels Dark and Light, Vine Books (Ann Arbor, MI), 1994.

My Companion through Grief: Comfort for Your Darkest Hours, Servant Publications (Ann Arbor, MI), 1996.

Learning to Love the One You Marry: Advice to Young Couples about Commitment, Intimacy, Sex, Money, Work, and Much More, illustrations by Rob Osborne, foreword by John Trent, Vine Books/Servant Publications (Ann Arbor, MI), 1997.

How to Overcome the Darkness: Personal Strategies for Spiritual Warfare, Chosen Books (Grand Rapids, MI), 1999.

Dumb Things Smart Christians Believe: Ten Misbeliefs That Keep Us from Experiencing God's Grace, Vine Books (Ann Arbor, MI), 1999.

(With Alfred H. Ells) Leaders That Last: How Covenant Friendships Can Help Pastors Thrive, Baker Books (Grand Rapids, MI), 2003.

The Beginner's Guide to Praise and Worship, Vine Books (Ann Arbor, MI), 2003.

(With H.B. London, Jr.) Core Friendships (audio recording), Focus on the Family (Colorado Springs, CO), 2003.

Winning Your Spiritual Battles: How to Use the Full Armor of God, Vine Books (Ann Arbor, MI), 2003.

Experiencing the Power of the Cross: How It Changes Everything, Bethany House Publishers (Minneapolis, MN), 2005.

(With Richard Jacobs) Seeing in the Dark: Getting the Facts on Depression & Finding Hope Again, Bethany House (Minneapolis, MN), 2006.

SIDELIGHTS:

Gary Kinnaman is a prolific author and the senior minister of the Word of Grace church in Mesa, Arizona, a position he has held since 1982. Active in full-time Christian ministry since 1972, Kinnaman has been instrumental in the founding and development of several churches throughout Arizona. He is a frequent speaker at conferences and gatherings, and routinely travels the world to meet and confer with other Christian ministers and religious leaders. Married and the father of three adult children, Kinnaman seeks to serve a church that ‘loves and worships God, cares for its own, and never loses its sense of mission to lead people to Christ and to change the world,’ he stated on the Word of Grace Church Web site.

Kinnaman is the author of several books that address a number of religious and spiritual topics. In Angels Dark and Light, he examines the nature of angels and their interactions with humanity. Basing his work on scriptural sources as well as material from his doctoral studies and interviews with numerous individuals, he considers angels ‘from a charismatic, evangelical Christian perspective,’ noted a Publishers Weekly reviewer. His work centers on darker angels that approach humans with evil intent. Kinnaman provides information on how to identify these dark angels, what kinds of problems they can cause, methods they use to deceive, and how to extract oneself from their malicious influence.

In Dumb Things Smart Christians Believe: Ten Misbeliefs That Keep Us from Experiencing God's Grace, Kinnaman considers ten popular ideas about God that he sees as mistaken, and not based on biblical concepts. These misbeliefs are ‘obstacles to the experience of God's love and providence,’ commented a reviewer in Publishers Weekly. Among these erroneous beliefs is the notion that God is love, so He will overlook all indiscretions and misbehavior; that God wants everyone to be happy, and so will protect believers from pain and misfortune; and that Christian belief in God is more important than treating people well or helping and nurturing the surrounding community. He encourages Christians to return to the fundamental tenets of their religion, to Bible study, and to thoughtful prayer as a means of overcoming these widespread misbeliefs. The Publishers Weekly reviewer called Kinnaman's book ‘witty and engaging,’ and a work that might offend Christians but which will also encourage them to ‘think more deeply about their faith and their behavior."

Experiencing the Power of the Cross: How It Changes Everything contains Kinnaman's exploration of the strong symbolic power of the cross in Christian belief and tradition, and how it is the ‘relational power, the interaction between us and God and between us and each other, that comes from the cross and the life of Jesus lived out among us,’ remarked Rick Stillwell in a review on the Rambling Adventures Web log. Kinnaman explores the power of faith that the cross represents, and how embracing this symbol recharges and reinforces the spiritual relationship believers have with God. He discusses what the cross means in Christian religion, how the symbolic act of taking up the cross enriches a Christian's religious experiences, and how Christians can ‘manifest the changes necessary to live a life worthy of the sacrifice given on that cross,’ commented Linda Baldwin in a review posted on Road to Romance.

As an author and minister, Kinnaman has faced numerous difficulties, but many were surprised when he publicly admitted that he suffered from depression. By doing so, he ‘made it safe for Christians to admit’ to experiencing this difficult, often misunderstood, and sometimes stigmatized psychological condition, com- mented a biographer on the Bethany House Web site. Kinnaman's book, Seeing in the Dark: Getting the Facts on Depression & Finding Hope Again, written with Richard Jacobs, a physician, helps ‘dispel faulty Christian notions that depression is a character flaw or an attention getter,’ and refutes more general concepts of depression as a solely physical or mental condition, noted a Publishers Weekly reviewer. Kinnaman and Jacobs deal compassionately with a much-misunderstood psychological disease. They make it clear that genuine depression is not simply a temporary case of the blues, and they stress that it cannot be cured by waiting for it to go away, or by denying its existence, or by just ‘cheering up.’ Both authors offer detailed accounts of their personal experiences with depression, Jacobs as the husband of a sufferer and Kinnaman as an outwardly successful and happy individual who was overcome by it. They offer readers both a physical and spiritual course for recognizing, confronting, and overcoming depression. Discussion of the nature and causes of depression coincide with information on alterations in brain chemistry that can trigger depression. They consider aspects of pharmaceutical treatment as well as behavioral modifications that can help sufferers recognize and arrest thought patterns that contribute to and exacerbate depression. Kinnaman and Jacobs also offer suggestions for response by the Christian community at large when one of their own is feeling the devastating effects of depression, and how acceptance and understanding by the community can help a depressive handle his or her condition when too overwhelmed to face it alone. The authors confront the harm that depression can cause, but also offer guidance on maintaining a hold on Christian faith while learning to cope with and overcome the affliction. Resources such as self-assessment aids, a history of pharmaceuticals used to treat depression, and case studies round out the book's offerings. An Internet Bookwatch reviewer called Seeing in the Dark a ‘vital guide to rising above neurochemical and emotional misery."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

BOOKS

Kinnaman, Gary, and Richard Jacobs, Seeing in the Dark: Getting the Facts on Depression & Finding Hope Again, Bethany House (Minneapolis, MN), 2006.

PERIODICALS

Internet Bookwatch, December, 2006, review of Seeing in the Dark.

Publishers Weekly, October 10, 1994, review of Angels Dark and Light, p. 28; July 26, 1999, review of Dumb Things Smart Christians Believe: Ten Misbeliefs That Keep Us from Experiencing God's Grace, p. 80; June 12, 2006, review of Seeing in the Dark, p. 49.

ONLINE

Bethany House Web site,http://www.bethanyhouse.com/ (October 28, 2007), biography of Gary Kinnaman.

Rambling Adventures,http://ramblingadventures.blogspot.com/ (March 26, 2005), Rick Stilwell, review of Experiencing the Power of the Cross: How It Changes Everything.

Road to Romance,http://www.roadtoromance.ca/ (March 13, 2005), Linda Baldwin, review of Experiencing the Power of the Cross.

Word of Grace Church Web site,http://www.wordofgrace.org/ (October 28, 2007), biography of Gary Kinnaman.