The symbol for Christian faith is a man nailed to a wooden cross. More than lepers and mustard seeds, death is the dominant New Testament metaphor for the Christian life.

This book is about the little "d" of death that shows up in endless ways in our lives. We might never die for our witness, but our reputation certainly can. And we can all experience the death of a dream, a job, a relationship, a hoped for future. There's no need to push, shove or wait in line; everyone gets a chance to die.

When Jesus tells us to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow him, he is describing a path of death, not a path to death. By focusing on death merely as an event, we've failed to see it as a process, and thus missed or avoided its many smaller manifestations.

We think of death as and ending, rather than as the vehicle by which we experience life. Death is the means by which we walk in, and live out, the resurrected life. If it's life that you want, then consider A Million Ways to Die. You'll be on the road to resurrection, from religiosity into vital, abundant life with God.