To live life to the fullest, all of us must continue to evolve. For the Reverend Dr. William Aulenbach, a Progressive Christian and former clergyman, evolving means questioning, changing, growing, and transforming.

How to Make Love (the Agape Kind) with Jesus is a guide to doing all of these. This book will help you examine your beliefs–where they came from, whether they are still applicable today, how they have changed over the years–and decide what new directions you might want to pursue. Inside, you’ll learn about agape, the highest form of love; the trouble with the resurrection stories; the power of the resurrection as a metaphor; what situation ethics is and how to use it; and much more.

The book includes a workbook in which you can evaluate where you are in the wide spectrum of Progressive Christianity. By moving through this process, you can challenge your current thinking and open up new possibilities. The workbook also includes lists of suggested readings that can help guide you on your spiritual journey.

Reviews

“Bil Aulenbach demonstrates how agape love enables the spirit of resurrection in the lives of people around us, when people who have been destroyed come back and overcome the forces that destroyed them.”  —Rev. Ken Wyant, retired UCC pastor, Biblical scholar, and member of Irvine United Congregational Church 

“This little book explores the essential concept of agape love and its relationship to self, life, and spirituality. It may even create an opportunity for the thoughts and religious teachings you follow to be a source of further inquiry and investigation. This level of critical thinking is something each person and our world would greatly benefit from as we navigate the uncharted waters of the future.” —Gretchen Cawley, MA, child care director 

“Christianity has become Cross-Tianity, and this book does not require that you leave your brain outside. Traditional Christianity no longer works and is not reflective of the teachings of the historical Jesus.”  —Dr. Eduardo Jesús Arismendi-Pardi, Professor Emeritus of Mathematics; seminarian/MDiv student, International Theological Seminary; and member of UCC Abundant Peace Church 

“In my midnineties, I find myself in a continual search for God in a scientific world. This book gives us a road map for continuing to grow in our own personal spiritual journey and also contains exciting ideas for the future of the institutional church.”  —Joan Thompson, MA, retired senior center director

About the Author

The Reverend Dr. William H. Aulenbach served as an Episcopal clergyman, pastor, and teacher for several decades. After receiving his master of theology from the Church Divinity School of the Pacific in Berkeley, California, he spent fifteen years in the Diocese of Hawai’i, where he was a rector, a vicar to a Hawaiian congregation, a youth minister to more than 2,500 teen- agers, and the founder of a drug clinic, coffeehouse, and runaway shelter. He then returned to California, where he worked in the Diocese of Los Angeles for thirty years as a volunteer or a poorly paid assistant to a rector.

He is the author of several books, including What’s Love Got to Do with It?, How to Get to Heaven without Going to Church, and Cramming for the Finals.

He and his wife, Anne, have three daughters and live in Southern California.

For more information about Bil and his books or to sign up to receive his thought-provoking blog, please visit his website, PeaceLoveJoyHope dot com.

The book is also available in Paperback here.