“101 Things You Might Not Have Heard in Church” began, quite simply, with a dinner conversation. After twenty years in ministry, Anthony Gifford was used to people asking questions about faith, questions that often went beyond what was said from the pulpit. One evening in 2018, over a meal with friends on Amherst Island near Kingston, Ontario, someone asked him what he thought of a local preacher. When Anthony replied that he agreed with most of what was said, his friend pressed further: “So what would you do differently?”

That question sparked the idea for this book. Anthony shared that, in every new congregation he served, he offered a course where people could ask and explore freely, which he called in this reading. His friend laughed and said he’d buy that book, so Anthony decided to write it.

Each of the 101 reflections inside is a doorway rather than a destination, short, honest starters meant to open thought and discussion, not to close them. Some challenge assumptions; others invite curiosity or wonder. Together, they form a conversation about faith that’s honest, accessible, and refreshingly alive.