This book looks to theology, psychology, and sociology to answer the question: how do people actually come to embody Christian values, and what do these learnings mean for church and ministry?

"Timothy O'Connell, a compelling teacher, weds traditional moral principles to the findings of contemporary behavioral social sciences with clarity and elegance. His book should be read, studied and discussed by parish leaders as well as academicians for he has made complex research eminently accessible and has offered us immediate applications of that research to where everyday people live, gather and worship." — William J. Bausch, author of The Parish of the Next Millennium