[NQP] Will the Real Church Please Stand Up? Seven False Churches
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Is your church built on Christ—or something else entirely?
In a world of coffee-shop lobbies, concert-style worship, and feel-good messages, how do you find a church that's actually the (capital C) Church?
Join the fictional Campbell family as they navigate the overwhelming landscape of modern American Christianity, visiting congregation after congregation in search of a faithful church home. What they discover—and what you'll discover alongside them—is both sobering and clarifying.
Features of Will the Real Church Please Stand Up?:
- Leader Guide at the back of the book
- A discussion of the unity and purpose of each church
- Eight examples of common churches you’ll encounter.
- Break-out boxes discussing specific aspects of each church
Pastor and theologian Matthew Richard identifies seven "false churches": congregations that bear the name of Christ but have quietly built their identity around something else entirely. Drawing on the biblical account of the Tower of Babel, Richard exposes how human ambition, marketing savvy, and cultural accommodation can hollow out a congregation from the inside—leaving behind the appearance of church without its substance.
Grounded in Scripture and the Lutheran Confessions, Will the Real Church Please Stand Up? is the trustworthy, pastoral guide every Christian needs for finding—and remaining in—the real thing: Christ.
Praise for Will the Real Church Please Stand Up?:
“Satan would love nothing more than to lure God’s people from the truth of Jesus Christ and eternal salvation right within the walls of the visible church. John writes, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1). Dr. Richard does a masterful job of revealing the spirits in many false churches in a delightful, readable style, while always keeping the eyes of the reader fixed on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.”
— Rev. Dr. James Baneck, executive director, LCMS Pastoral Education
“Rev. Dr. Matthew Richard has done it again! He carefully paints a realistic picture of the twenty-first-century American church, where a “church shopping” family hears messages focused on things like the beauty of the buildings, social connections, serving the community, and self-improvement. What makes the Christian Church different? Christ and Him crucified. Matthew Richard candidly, yet with a pastoral heart, points us to our only hope: Christ’s gifts of forgiveness, life, and salvation. What a joy to know we have a faithful resource for all the baptized to discern how to find a faithful Christian congregation.”
—Rev. Brady Finnern, president, LCMS Minnesota North District
Now, listen to the author speak about Will the Real Church Please Stand Up? in this eight-part podcast onIssues, Etc.