DeGroot writes this as a member of the Disciples of Christ. He terms "Church of Christ Number of Two" to be the independent Christian Church/Church of Christ churches, when in 1955 the "Directory of the Ministry" appeared. Church of Christ number one is the churches of Christ who separated from the Disciples in 1906, the year that stream of the Stone-Campbell religious heritage was listed separately in the US religious census.

DeGroot blasts the Christian Church/Church of Christ stream as being conservative and fundamentalist. He describes division within that group, the high cost of independent missionaries and other missionary issues, and the poor quality of their bible colleges.

Whether one agrees with DeGroot or not, this book serves as a good window through which to view the perspective of one person, who likely speaks for many. The Disciples/independents split (which like the Disciples/churches of Christ split) actually took place over many years preceding the above mentioned dates. DeGroot dredges up facts, many cited from independent Christian Church/Church of Christ publications, that don't make the independents look good, yet they are a real part of the Stone-Campbell religious heritage.

In spite of the vitriol, I liked the book and take it for what it is. One man's take on an unfortunate split within a Christian religious body, which was intended to be a force for unity instead of division. Readers will need to keep in mind the conditions of the time and the feelings which were made raw by the then current-day characters. To this day, there is distrust and hard feelings in many areas between some leaders of all three branches of the American Restoration Movement.

The book does not have an index, but then again, at 50 pages, it doesn't take long to find things. ( )