How often do we take stock of our faith, beliefs, and convictions? For many first-world civilizations throughout the last century, Sunday morning services have become routine in believers' lives. Some find enrichment and fulfillment through their faith families, while others attend to fulfill their societal obligations.

But what happens when push comes to shove and war breaks out between our faith and our church? In this memoir, Rachel sets out to detail her experiences in the very situation and how letting go of what she tolerated allowed her to return, fully able to embrace what she once loved... the Church

The book opens with Rachel explaining her qualms with her early faith families and what led to her abandoning her church altogether. She even goes as far as to say that she left evangelical Christianity behind. The remainder is sectioned into what she calls sacraments of faith. These are the quintessential parts of faith and liturgy. She believes they are baptism, confession, holy orders, communion, confirmation, anointing of the sick, and marriage. Depending on what denomination or culture you were raised in, this list may seem all too familiar, completely unheard of, or a mixture of both. Regardless, Rachel makes it a point to explore what each sacrament meant to her and how she chose to apply it to her life.

Rachel expands on each item on her list of sacraments with personal anecdotes and epiphanies. In the first chapter of the section regarding baptism, Rachel paints a picture of water and takes a moment to reflect on its nature. How water was used to purge an evil world and bring life to a new one. How water brought Moses down the Nile into a new life the way water brings a baby out of their mother's womb into the world. In the beginning, the Spirit separated the waters above and below to make way for a new creation. It is seemingly both violent and restorative. It is death, and it is resurrection. It is shrouded in mystery despite its necessity for survival. It is powerful and calm. As it flowed from the pierced hip of Jesus, it became clear. Water is sacred, and water is holy.

The following chapters more or less follow the same formula. Rachel will provide a personal story regarding each sacrament and reference the practice with stories from the Bible. Those unfamiliar with RHE should know that she was unabashedly transparent with her faith, doubts, beliefs, unbeliefs, struggles, strengths, and convictions. To many, this seems like a great and honorable way to live one's life, and I have to agree. However, it should be noted that Rachel was a pioneer of what is now referred to as Progressive Christianity. This inclusive approach to Christianity embraces concepts like Feminism, LGBT communities, evolutionary science, and other progressive ideologies. While the vast population of Christians (especially evangelical Christians) will wholeheartedly disagree with and struggle with her work, the true meaningfulness is not in the conclusions she came to but in the process of getting there. Rachel was leaps and bounds ahead of her colleagues and ushered in a new era of breaking free from fundamentalist ideologies and strict Church liturgy that had seemingly rooted itself in holiness and ordination when it was likely mere tradition or convenience.

If predictions are correct, western civilizations are heading towards a post-Christian era. The days of calling oneself a Christian because they grew up in the South and went to grandma's church every Sunday are moving past us. Following Jesus will be an active choice and an unpopular one at that. So what does that mean for the new generation that has access to virtually anything they could ever want to know about any religion on the planet? Well, it means that tradition simply is not going to cut it anymore, at least not in its current state. "We've always done it this way" might as well be a nail in the coffin.

 Does this mean we abandon our values and beliefs and fold to the newest trendy virtue? Absolutely not. What this means is that there will be many tough questions to answer from an internet-educated generation. I expect that the supposed pillars of stone that some built their belief systems on will turn out to be pillars of sand. Much like the wheat is separated from the chaff, our hubris will be separated from our holiness.

Thankfully, the salvation of Jesus was never contingent on the accuracy and validity of our liturgy. It surpasses our thoughts on creation vs. evolution and eternal conscious torment. Rachel's search for what she believes the Church is and how it affects our lives reminded me that we are all just searching. Searching for answers, for what works, for what doesn't. Searching to know our creator and searching how to better understand Him and draw nearer each day. Our search is not always productive; sometimes, we look for the wrong places. But to know Him is to love Him, and we may find peace in knowing that during our pursuit of Him, he is pursuing us back with unbridled fury and determination.