Why do so many of God's followers seem to prefer their boxed-in religion over God? Listen to their rhetoric and you might wonder how a Supreme Being could be so narrow and small, so angry and unattractive. It's time to start over with an honest conversation instead of a box. If God does exist, there should be some clear indications of his being. And if humans bear God's image, as the Bible indicates, then we should be able to connect with God on some level. This book is about God, not religion. It's about questions more than watertight answers. It's about the experience of God more than it is about incontrovertible evidence that he exists. God can't be seen, but he can be found. And while he can't be fully explained, he can be known and experienced. Religious boxes have a way of blinding us to spiritual reality. So this dialogue is all God, no box. Are you ready?Editorial ReviewsFrom Publishers WeeklyWagner, a pastor and former Promise Keepers v-p, writes for those who are discovering or rediscovering God in an age when many believe he is no longer necessary. Wagner's conversational style reads like the transcript of an afternoon at a coffee shop, informally presenting attributes of God that might appeal to the modern seeker--for example, his unpredictability; his passion for peace and his love for truth, goodness and beauty. Anecdotes and illustrations come from Ted Nugent, Dana Carvey, Charles Dickens and J.S. Bach. In a mostly successful effort to avoid Christian jargon, Wagner produces a few awkward constructions, calling the cross "a contraption of death" and John Calvin "a 16-century Christ-follower." More detrimental is Wagner's appealing to the Bible as truth without establishing its credentials; for example, he asks the reader to assume that God created the world. To explain why the Bible is a better source of revelation than any other holy book, Wagner says that Scripture is "a tried and true guide to living successfully." But since his declared audience of "the undecided" can't be expected to presuppose Scripture's reliability, the book is based upon circular logic. However, its portrait of a complex, loving God who can be known experientially as well as rationally--summed up in an effective discussion of the 23rd Psalm--offers an appealing perspective. Copyright Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.Review"If you've got your bags packed and are ready to go and incarnate the gospel in this culture, think again. Better let the books in the Dialogue of Faith series rearrange what you take with you. Already this series has shown me my desperate need to unpack some baggage and repack for the challenges of tomorrow." -Leonard Sweet, author of Out of the Question...Into the Mystery"I imagine it was odd for people at the coffee shop to see me, a former nfl player, weeping as I read this manuscript. In this book, Glenn Wagner pierces the hearts and enlightens the minds of honest seekers as he warmly invites them into a conversation about God."-Derwin L. Gray, NFL veteran and founder of One Heart at a Time Ministries "In the current transition from a modern to a postmodern world, many of us are struggling to find a new way to talk about God. Glenn Wagner cuts a clear path for us to follow-affirmative relationships, understanding people in their contexts, putting ourselves into their shoes. In today's world people will respond to this kind of God-conversation."-Robert Webber, author of Ancient-Future Faith and The Younger Evangelicals