I wish I could’ve been in the room when Ron Lee persuaded the decision makers at WaterBrook Press, a publisher that produces books for the Christian market, to offer a contract to an atheist author. Somehow, he was convincing, and WaterBrook took a chance on me. I am grateful to him for that, as well as for his support, guidance, and helping hand throughout the process. This book would not exist without him.
Production editor Laura Wright and copyeditor Melanie Knox also made insightful comments that helped me complete the final drafts.
Others also helped along the way, and while any mistakes are entirely mine, they improved the book significantly. Ana Petrovic and Manisha Sahay read through initial drafts of the manuscript and provided incredible feedback. Anne Kiraly and Rakhee Mitra had words of encouragement whenever I needed them. Keith Matusiak and Chris Prokop always provided constructive criticism and helped me shape my message. Dan Lavoie of the Daily Southtown newspaper gave me the first opportunity to voice my thoughts. Fred Edwords helped with a particularly troublesome passage, and the Internet Public Library (www.ipl.org) located a citation that was elusive for so long.
Ashley Gannon accompanied me on one of my church visits and was quick to answer many of my questions. Jacqueline Norton also came on a church trip and was there for me as many of the events in this book took place. The experience wouldn’t have been the same without her.
The entire staff and board of the Secular Student Alliance (SSA) encouraged me on this project ever since I first mentioned the idea of the eBay auction. The SSA’s executive director, August E. Brunsman IV, has served as a mentor to me for several years. He is an invaluable asset for any organization, and I am lucky to work alongside him.
Duncan Crary of the Institute for Humanist Studies also helped spread word about what I was doing and gave me a practical outline of how to make the most of my experience. I’m still following it.
Wendy Kaminer offered guidance at a point when good advice was hard to come by.
Michael Schaeffer at ICM made several calls on my behalf and later introduced me to agent Kate Lee, who made the entire process run smoothly from start to finish. It was an honor to work with them both.
I owe this whole experience to two people. Jim Henderson gave me the opportunity to take a crash course in American Christianity. I learned more than he could know from our frequent conversations. If you’d like to learn from him, too, I encourage you to read his book Evangelism Without Additives. Also, journalist Suzanne Sataline decided to bite on an oddball story and changed my life as a result. It was a pleasure getting to share my first Willow Creek experience with her.
Finally, thank you for reading the words of this atheist. I hope they will spark a discussion in your home, your church, and your community.