The conflict between an academic and a popular version of Christianity is the divide which exists between the clergy and the laity. It is his conviction that this divide threatens the “core of the church’s mission” and is a major cause of the loss of membership among the mainline Protestant churches. Jack Good has reached his judgement over a forty year period of serving as a pastor of The United Church of Christ.

It is the purpose of his book to describe and illuminate another style of faith which can bridge the divide between the academic and the popular. He calls it Progressive Christianity “which is the religion of scholars energized and refreshed until it becomes a lively faith for the masses.” He designates the pastor as the bridge over the divide and tells of his personal experience in this role.