About the Contributor(s): Albert J. D. Walsh is pastor of Heidelberg United Church of Christ in Hatfield, Pennsylvania, where he has held office for twelve years. Ordained in 1981, Pastor Walsh has served churches throughout the Pennsylvania Southeast Conference. Previous publications include: A Pastoral Proposal for an Evangelical Theology of Freedom; The Eucharist's Biographer; United and Uniting; and, Slices of Life, all published by Wipf & Stock.

We live in critical times, in which many have argued that the church is no longer relevant, or must be modified to meet the expressed or felt needs of those labeled "seekers," seeking alternate forms of spirituality. This same environment is pregnant with opportunities for the church to gain even greater clarity on who and why she is and what she is fundamentally about. The church is presently situated to reclaim the richness of a biblical and theological heritage with a proven historical record for meeting, not merely the "felt" but, the deepest needs of the human heart, mind, soul, and spirit. This book is an argument for the need to enrich and enlarge the identity of the individual Christian believer, by way of an educational program intended to strengthen the identity of the Christian believer in the local congregation with a greater sense of connectedness to the church catholic as well.