Brian McLaren has written a most thought provoking book and is asking for a collective response from the church to help find solutions. He acknowledges the fact that we have in the church, "something real and something wrong". He is challenging the church to a kind of faith deeper than mere beliefs. In modern language he is asking the church universal, "are we there yet"? He says we need a new kind of reformation, not like Martin Luther who said, "here I stand" which so often typifies our creedal positions and we become stagnated in them. Sometimes, so much that we will kill anyone who diverges from the official clerical positions ie, "The Inquisitions". So McLaren says we should adopt a new posture,not "here we stand", but, "here we go". The point being, we move forward in truth and understanding and try to express it in our age and in our circumstances. He is making this point so we will not be restricted by "hierarchal constraints". He talks about the early church, the church of the middle ages, and the church of today and how each representation and expression of the church became a quagmire of theologies,creedal positions, and ecclesiastical authority. This has tended to stifle new interpretations and new inquiries into the nature of Christ and the meaning and effect of redemption and the kingdom of God in us and in the world around us. Although many will disagree with some of his assumptions and conclusions, it is well worth the readers time to ponder and consider his premises. He brings to our attention the diversity of the church at large in teachings, emphasis and interpretations of the scriptures and points out it has always been that way. The early church took many forms and broke off into many groups with various leaders emphasizing points and ways of thought that was not accepted by the others. He boldly asks the question, "what if the christian faith is supposed to exist in a variety of forms"? In other words, what if we sometimes differ in our opinions and conclusions, it can never stop the activity of the Holy Spirit in the hearts and minds of those who believe. The book is replete with scripture and presents a lot of truth.