“A good subtitle for this book would be ‘Everything You Wish You Knew About Being Mennonite Before You Became Mennonite.’ The breadth and pithy nature of this book is a good primer to some of the generally held conventions within the Mennonite world. It would be an interesting discussion peace for a theology class, especially around the topic of whether we make our faith too complicated.

“It’s hard to decide what the most important part of this book would be. The theological, historical, and biblical resources are essential to who Mennonites are, and indeed are where a lot of the most important differences between Mennonites and the rest of Christendom lie. But the cultural aspects, for good or bad, have taken on equally important stature in some congregations.

“This book serves many roles. It is entertaining, presented in a casual and accessible style. Like sitting around during a potluck and just shooting the breeze. It is also a celebration and cautionary tale about culture. We rightly should celebrate our history and our customs; potlucks, four part signing, etc. But at the same time we can lose sight of how our faith has shaped these customs. In addition, these customs can become a barrier to reaching those outside our exclusive club. This book also provides a good introduction to many of the theological issues that Mennonites find important.

“Ethnic Mennonites will find this book illuminating and perhaps even kind of funny at times. For others, it is a good, back of the envelope, version of what all those people are talking about in church every Sunday and a bit of where it came from.”