"This is an ecclesiological masterpiece. Hegstad's multi-disciplinary erudition, logical acuity, and, above all, theological wisdom all come into play as he argues - very convincingly - that the church we believe in is not, and cannot be, anything other than the church we live within and experience. A complex-yet-balanced constructive, theological proposal that is a must-read for everyone interested in the church." Nicholas M. Healy, Professor of Theology and Religious Studies, St. John's University 'In this lucidly written work, which he has himself translated from Danish into English, Hegstad argues that we should dispense with a Platonically inspired idea of the invisible Church which exists above and beyond the real-life community that gathers in the name of Jesus for worship and fellowship.' Revd Dr Edward Dowler, in Church Times, 28 March 2014 "[...] this book, is something that is often lacking in contemporary studies of the Church: a union of systematic theology and empirical research. This would be a very good book, therefore, to put into the hands of those curates I met who are about to undertake a study of their local church as part of their training." Alan Billings, Theology, vol 117, issue 295, (2014) This text is a helpful work of ecclesiology, both for its formal means of argumentation as well as Hegstad's material conclusions and prescriptions. Joseph McGarry, Theological Book Review, volume 26, no 1, 2014