Recently, I have stumbled upon a question I often ask when people ask me what I do for a living and I tell them I am a pastor.
“Are you a church person?”
The question gets the conversation onto spiritual things without being too personal too quick. I have noticed an interesting thing about the responses. They nearly always say something along the lines of, “I used to be, but I am not anymore.” I ask them why. They have never said that they read Richard Dawkins and he persuaded them of the reasonableness of atheism. What they say is that they used to go to church, but the people irritated them.
They people were not very loving, not very kind… they were pseudo-Christians, and the church was a pseudo-church.
It seems these churches and these Christians have done more to harm the advancement of the gospel than anything else I know.

If Satan can’t get us to stay away from church, he’ll do the next best thing: he’ll lure us into one that looks and sounds like the real thing—but isn’t. It sings songs, quotes verses, smiles in the foyer—but underneath, there’s no life. No transformation. No fruit.
And people can smell the difference.
They walk in, looking for hope… and walk out disappointed. Not because Jesus failed them. But because His people did.
Jesus said it plainly: “You have a reputation for being alive, but you are dead” (Revelation 3:1). That’s what I mean by pseudo-church.
This book is a wake-up call.
Not a rage-filled rant. Not a bitter critique. A loving, passionate plea for us to become the kind of Church Jesus envisioned—a Church full of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
A Church where people grow, not just attend.
A Church where sin is confronted, grace is lavished, the Spirit is present, and Jesus is the King—not just the mascot.

This is not about tearing down the Church. It’s about rebuilding what Jesus already died for. It’s about trading the shadows for substance, the activity for abiding, the hollow for the holy.
And here's what gives me hope: God has always worked with broken people and broken churches. He doesn’t need a perfect building—just a willing heart.
If you’re hungry for something real, if you’ve grown weary of playing church, if you’ve wondered why so many churches feel spiritually asleep, you’re not alone. You’re not crazy. And you're not without hope.
This book is for you.
Let’s talk about what it means to stop doing church… and start being the Church.