I wrote these chapters in an effort to help the many church members who have come to me for counsel from the Word of God. I found that I was covering the same material over and over again with one person after another. With that in mind, I decided to put in print the specific counsel I believed they needed and initially use that material as a handout to those with similar problems. This book is the product of that counsel and those handouts. As a result, these chapters are immensely practical. They provide specific 'how to' solutions to many serious problems. In doing that they give hope.

In 1867 the first volume of what would eventually be five books in four volumes on one word, the word (baptidzo or baptism), Inquiry into the Meaning of Baptism as Determined by Usage, was published by Dr. James W. Dale. God distinctively equipped Dr. Dale for this unique task. Dr. Dale thought precisely. He was a man of great learning-first studying law, then changing to theology and obtaining a seminary degree, and last studying medicine and becoming a physician. Law, theology, and medicine equipped Dr. Dale to think, analyze and write with a precision beyond the capacity of most men today....

While talking to a couple who had visited our church, the man said to me, "So, just what do Presbyterians believe?" What a great question-yet I did not know how to answer it. Where would I start? What points would I cover? What was he really interested in hearing? And what could I cover well in 20 minutes? That day I went home and started this book. It had to be something small, something written to interested, intelligent, laymen - not to theologians. Yet, if it did not cover the material carefully, wisely, even substantively, it would not be an adequate answer. It must not be written "down"...