This book offers a sober, honest, and candid assessment of the changing realities that a "mainline" church denomination has been facing and addressing in the last few decades, and more so, in the last few years, when "mainline decline" resulted in all kinds of reality checks - dwindling church attendance and the concomitant decline in church revenue; an aging congregation and hand-wringing about bringing in younger members; the reality of how "monochromatically" white the church was despite all kinds of efforts to increase "diversity"; clergy retirements and "burn out"; challenges that feeder seminaries were facing; negotiating complex rules of procedure within a large bureaucratic structure of the national church that was reflected at the regional and synodical levels. This book offers a lot to consider for those interested in the sociology of religion and religious institutions since there is a forward thrust that draws from the realities of the past and present in indicating implications for the future while "there is still life." while "there is still life."while "there is still life."while "there is still life.".