This is a book about a new beginning. After 20 years of teaching and preaching with the churches of Christ in West Virginia, Andrew Burns left the tradition and found a new home in the Orthodox Church. In these pages, you will read about the issues with which he struggled, the solutions he found, and the reasoning he went through that eventually led him away from the churches of Christ. This is neither is a condemnation of the churches of Christ nor an apology for Orthodox Christianity. Instead, it is Burns' offering to those struggling with their faith that and they who suspect there may be more to Christian faith than they previously thought.

"Andrew Burns shares his journey from the Church of Christ to the discovery of Christ himself. Actually, you can find in any church, no matter what their designation, those who are more aligned with their party than with Christ. Many are born into their religion, like Rachel who stole her father's gods (Genesis 31:19). Religion then replaces a relationship with Christ. This is Andrew's story.

Andrew's context is the most conservative wing of the Churches of Christ. Usually these groups heavily emphasize conformity to a set ritual and find security in not being like "the denominations." He likens his experience to floating in a current that can carry one to being either "closer to God, or further from the truth." (p. 14) Some settle in to float, ignoring the reality of where they are going. Andrew did not ignore that reality - in recognizing it, he paid a price, but also found a treasure! As he writes early on (p. 15), "there is no solution but Jesus, no decision but to follow him, and no hope but the resurrection."

I am also a member of the Church of Christ - just not the more conservative wing - which Andrew describes as "anti." I am also a member of the "church of Christ," that is, the universal church. In the Churches of Christ, there are some 60 divisions. Most, if not all, of these fractures are a result of an insistence on conforming to external ritual. I have my own history of the personal struggle of moving from "ritual to reality." This is why I can highly recommend this book to you.

Andrew's testimony in this book exalts Christ and exposes the idols of the human heart. Something of value can be found in every chapter."

Jim Woodell, Executive Director

John 3:17 Ministry for Women with Addictions

Newport, AR 72112