Introduction

When Elizabeth Goodman first arrived at the tiny congregation that would become her home as a pastor--a congregation of about seven people in a town of just under a thousand--the longest-standing member told her that though the congregation was small, her preaching need not be.

In this collection of sermons, readers will witness a mind at work amidst a faithful congregation (whose numbers are now around thirty), mutually nurtured, and together having no small amount of fun. Meanwhile, the ramifications of the gospel in the world will sneak up and surprise.

Guided always by a spirit of play and by scripture, as it is in conversation with life, Goodman illuminates both the quiet suggestions that undo what we think we know and the startling demands that are to be both feared and desired.

This congregation has a tagline: "It''s not what you think." They are probably right.