The author is a well-traveled and seasoned Episcopal priest who has experienced, used, thought about, and shared things seen and unseen. Here, he presents personal stories and parables. He teaches with both, and offers the long-promised "inheritance of the kingdom reserved for you since the foundation of the world", Matthew 25:34, in a no-nonsense manner: Without the fictions, "spirits", speculations and outright frauds of the hierarchical self-serving and all-too-human creations.

I select and summarize some of the ideas, with a view to understanding the "Christian" world through the informed lens of the author's midrash, or interpretations. My own summary, sadly, does little justice to the convicted pith and color of the author. The book, will make you want to engage and co-create the community of love taught by Jesus Christ. Pastor Bil refers to "agape"--the Greek term for unconditional inclusive love.

Pastor Bil begins by poking at the glowing embers of his 85 year old memory. As we gather around his fire, he tells his "faith journey". He concludes this odyssey with his arrival home in the "church of the future". [24] This section includes a full copy of a famous poem by David Keighley, the Anglican priest often invoked by the humanist Bishop Spong. Ironically here, the poem is entitled "Leaving Home".

Pastor Bil then sets a table of "food for thought", dishing up ideas on twenty selected subjects of great interest to every conscious being, starting with Creation as God - a "universe beyond human comprehension".
While flatly stating that "God is an invention of humanity", Pastor Bil professes "I do believe in the force of Creation". He references Tillich's description of that force as "the ground of all being".[28] Offered to stimulate thought, this chapter includes short sections on the Holy Ghost as "the spirit of agape", and views on the Trinity, Sin, Judgment, Atonement, Paul and the Bible, among others.

In Part II, Pastor Bil launches into historical materials which surround "the real Jesus". He notes that many Followers "still feel the presence, perhaps hear the voice, maybe even see an image of this man who was crucified some 1,800 years ago. I do." He ties this in to the explanation of "why the church is still here today". This sets the stage for the third and last Part of this book, which is entitled "Fixing the Broken Church", ending with a chapter on "Why Christianity must Change or Die".

With End-Notes, Resources, and a brilliant Index -- e.g. "action, Jesus as a verb" [wow!] -- this easy to grasp theology is also a personal study. I loved getting to know Pastor Bil in this way! ( )