In Essentials Unity: Reflections on the Nature and Purpose of the Church

The church would not be the church of Jesus Christ if it failed to fulfill the one mission bestowed upon it by Jesus Christ after his resurrection, namely to preach and teach the gospel. The church owes its very existence to the word and sacrament. The voice of the preacher can be heard by all. The water of baptism is visible to all. The bread and wine can be tasted by all.

The themes of this book have been the daily passions of Frederick Trost: The church's faithful worship, sound theology, fellowship of love, and mission of justice to a divided and violent world.

The writers develop their themes on the nature and purposed of the church in acknowledgement of Trost's faithful ministry in and in that church.

The authors include: Browne Barr, Victoria Barnett, Lee Barrett III, Martha Ann Baumer, Walter Brueggeman, John Burkhart, Mark Burrows, Bishop Jon Enslin, Kathryn Greene-McCreight, Reinhard Groscurth, Christa Gengel, Douglas John Hall, Kirsten Herzog, George Hunsinger, Daniel Maguire, J. Clinton McCann, Jr., Gail O'Day, Stephen Patterson, Bishop Samuel Ruiz Garcia, Max Stackhouse, John Thomas, Archbishop Rembert Weakland, Eugene Wehrli, Paul Westermeyer