Schaeffer also gives a criticism of the Religious Right that I personally wish had been written years ago, and one that today's Democratic strategists would be well advised to read. He advocates a more to the center on the part of both extremes that to many will come as a breath of fresh air. And he gives a description of Fundamentalism that reminds me a lot of my childhood: "Fundamentalists never can just disagree. The person they fall out with is not only on the wrong side of an issue; they are on the wrong side of God."

But I think the most telling aspect of the book, and the part that Christians especially should be paying attention to, deals with the reasons that Frank left the ministry and, ultimately, abandoned the faith of his youth. We see the dangers in being so focused on our own ministry that we neglect our kids' needs. We see the importance of spending time with family, no matter how important your work is to you. I noticed a continuing theme of solitude throughout the book; the idea that he was left alone by his parents, ignored and left to himself. We see as well the fallout of pushing someone into something for which they're not really prepared. Frank Schaeffer moved into ministry because it was the family business. He left because he realized that it wasn't his business, or his calling. That's something that we can all learn from — religious or not.

I've always been a casual admirer of Francis Schaeffer, though not to the extent that many of my fellow evangelicals are. I've read and enjoyed his "Big Three" (The God Who Is There, Escape From Reason, and He Is There and He Is Not Silent), which were among the required reading in seminary. But I've come to appreciate Frank even more, for the lessons we can learn from him, and for his ability to hold a mirror up to evangelical Christianity and show us where we're really falling short.