People often asked me what I was going to do with my MA in Theology. I told them I had no idea but that, at the very least, it would give me new tools to use in my writing. Has it ever. Today as I launch the first book that I’ve co-written with my icktank partner, Leann Luchinger, I’m grateful that we are able to use what we’ve learned——and the particular gifts of language and messaging each of us already had——to help remove some very significant obstacles that stand in the way of people and the Living God. Let’s face it: a lot of church language just makes you want to cringe——even if you’re a church goer. So it is also for these that we write: for the people of faith who need to go deeper and wider in their understanding so that they may help others go deeper and wider, too. And finally, we address the manifold forms of behavior and speech that have abused Jesus’s words and, in doing so, forced them to carry so much social, political and doctrinal baggage that people can hardly hear them anymore as instruments of Grace.

We hope this book helps begin any number of healthy conversations. And this is where you can help me. If anything about this subject interests you I hope you will buy a copy, read some or all of the 12 short chapters, and then let me know what you think——either here, on amazon, on Facebook, in person. If you’re part of a small group at church, consider using it for a study. If you don’t know anything about anything about Jesus and want to know more, let me know——I’ll try to connect you with some good people in your area who can come along side you as you grow. If you’ve learned anything from this book that is useful to your experience in the human condition, I hope you’ll pass it on.

If nothing else, I pray that we may all come away from this book with an awareness of how to use these words more thoughtfully, accurately, and, always, with in the Spirit of truth.