As the years increase, so does my gratitude and appreciation for the many congregations where I have been privileged to pitch my tent on my sojourn of faith and ministry. I only wish that the resources I have found through family systems, the Center for Congregational Health, and the Alban Institute had been mine to share with the earlier congregations. I am not the same person or minister I was when I first assumed pastoral responsibilities. However, this is always the way life - even the life of faith - works. We can only be who we are and where we are. I'm grateful I'm not still there. Colleagues and friends continue to enrich my life and contribute greatly to my ongoing development both personally and professionally. Their encouragement and support have led to this second publishing endeavor. This book is dedicated to my two sons, Mark and Michael. They have continued to exhibit the qualities of integrity and hard work, doing what they believe they are called to do regardless of how it turns out. Their high principles and ethical behavior continue to convince me that my wife and I must have done something right We certainly don't take credit for their achievements but recognize they have come a long way in mastering the art of letting go as I have tried to describe it in this book.

What was anticipated to be "the Christian Century" certainly did not live up to that lofty expectation. To the contrary, it has led us into a new century with more uncertainties, questions, doubts, and anxieties than we ever could have imagined. Whatever happened to "Don't worry, be happy"? Simply put: there are now many more reasons to worry than to be happy (however one defines happiness). Stress, anxiety, apprehension, worry, fear - whatever else you want to add to the list - appear to be major ingredients in a life gone global. Our concerns are no longer local, regional, or even national. The fluttering wings of a butterfly any place in the world can cause a powerful wind of destruction right in our own neighborhood.

This book contains many reflections from my experiences with various congregations with whom I have worked over the past fifty-plus years. As the years have increased so has my appreciation for the significant contribution all of these congregations have made to my life and my ministry. I list all of them with gratitude and appreciation - perhaps especially for the difficult times that I often found a way to make more difficult. These times usually provided the opportunities for the most learning. Why is it we only recognize this after the fact? Well, such is life, but may it always be as Paul admonishes: in everything...with thanksgiving (Phil. 4:6)