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Dan was born and raised in north-eastern New Jersey. Following several years playing as the drummer in a rockabilly/punk band and living in London, Dan went to Israel for several months, where he studied the Bible on his own to see whether Christianity was a valid faith. Most of his closest friendships were with non-Christians, so he desired to be able to intelligently explain and know why Christianity was a faith which made sense.

Dan later served as a high school pastor at Santa Cruz Bible Church, working with teenagers in what became a large youth ministry for eight years. Feeling the need for a ministry and worship gathering that reflected more of the values of the emerging culture and heart of emerging generations, Dan began the Sunday night “Graceland” worship services and ministry at the church. Graceland initially started as a college ministry, but because it connected with a broader age range, developing into a “young adult” ministry, and then eventually into an alternative worship gatherings for all ages.

Dan was part of the leadership team that launched the first church plant of Santa Cruz Bible Church when Vintage Faith Church was birthed in February 2004. Dan's current role with Vintage Faith Church is primary teaching pastor and oversight of the missional aspects of the church. Dan's role also includes extending the mission of the church through writing and speaking outside the local church, and serving on the Leadership Council.

Dan has served on the editorial boards for Outreach magazine, YouthWorker Journal, and Rev magazine. He has taught classes at George Fox Evangelical Seminary, Western Seminary and Indiana Wesleyan University. He has had multiple articles published in Leadership Journal, Outreach magazine, Rev magazine, Relevant Leader and others. He currently serves at George Fox Evangelical Seminary as co-mentor in the DMin program. He speaks extensively on issues of emerging church, culture, worship and the arts, apologetics and missional leadership.

Dan has been married to Becky and they have two daughters, Katie and Claire. Dan loves rockabilly and punk music, and comic art. He drives as rusty 1966 Ford Mustang.

• EVAN 694 - The Emerging Church

• Do You Like Jesus but Not the Church?: Exploring Uncomfortable Questions about Christianity and the Church, Zondervan, forthcoming. An apologetics book which addresses the ways people in our culture have misperceptions of how Christians treat issues such as religious pluralism, homosexuality, fundamentalism and the Bible, the church and politics, and women in leadership.
  
• Listening to the Beliefs of Emerging Churches, Zondervan, 2007. Five different contributors share their varying theological beliefs and how they flesh them out in their lives and churches.
  
• They Like Jesus but not the Church, Zondervan, 2007. A book for church leaders which reflects on how the church and Christians are coming across in our culture and addresses the perceptions that the church is judgmental, political, organized religion, homophobic, arrogant towards other religions and fundamentalist in how the Bible is used.
  
• Emerging Worship: Creating Worship Gatherings for New Generations, Zondervan, 2004. Takes a look at several churches who are rethinking how churches go about their worshiping on weekends in community. Forewords by David Crowder and Sally Morgenthaler.
  
• The Emerging Church: Vintage Christianity for New Generations, Zondervan, 2003. Features commentary by Rick Warren, Brian McLaren, Howard Hendricks, Sally Morgenthaler, Chip Ingram and Mark Oestreicher.