The Book
In May of 2006, a small group of us were sitting in my living room talking about the challenges that come with sharing the Christian faith. The conversation had sparked when we realized that, if each of us were to take a moment and define what we meant by the word "grace", we'd have a wide range of definitions that could create multiple explanations for what it means to be, "saved by grace". I commented that, what would be really helpful, would be to start with definitions that we all understood, and then apply the traditional terms later, thus making sure we understood what was meant, rather than applying our own definitions to the worlds being used. One of the guys in the room commented, "Well, why don't you write a book?" With that, the quest that became the elemental life was born.
In the year plus that followed, I began by writing my initial draft of the book, and then took it back to the small group who, in addition to coming up with the questions at the end of each chapter, offered their comments and suggestions on each chapter's content. After their review, I went back and rewrote the chapters to produce the book before you. This is important to me because what you have isn't just my thoughts, but it's something that formed in a community setting and, as a result, invites new communities to form as a group of individuals and discuss the content. In addition, this is important to me because, what you have before you, is a living document, and I wouldn't be at all surprise if the comments and critiques you provide result in a revised edition of the book. In other words, it's not an ultimate, final word, dogmatic kind of text, rather, it's something written to help you, the reader, as you venture out on a spiritual quest and discover that amazing place where faith and life collide.
