This is a love story with a heartbreaking backdrop: a dangerous cult group that threatens the Body of Christ and the many courageous Christian churches throughout Bangkok. Truth be told, I have never experienced any sort of cult upheaval in Thailand. But years ago I had a role in a Mark Finley evangelistic adventure in Moscow, and a violent extremist group was regularly attacking our ministers. They were angry, they were violent, they were absolutely convinced that they and only they were right, that only they had God’s blessing, that only they were going to make it to heaven. Not good. So I tried to shape this saga, “Lost in the True Church,” in response to what I witnessed during those weeks of turmoil and jeopardy.

I have always agreed with Christian writer C. S. Lewis that doctrines and the specifics of a church’s beliefs are important matters. A converted man or women ought to weigh carefully, and then join a Bible community where truth is taught, where Scripture is uplifted as the supreme authority, and where obedience is seen as the grateful fruit of our salvation. At the same time, charity towards others is a doctrine of the body of Christ, as are assurance and joy.

In this drama, Heidi Richardson sees the levers of power up close; as staffer to a U.S. Senator, she accompanies her boss on a trade mission to her childhood home of Bangkok. Her angst at traveling overseas while five months pregnant is heightened by the reality that her marriage has just gone on the rocks. Then little Claire shows up way, way early, and the fragile preemie treasure is tethered to the NICU along with Mom. Heidi’s long-dormant faith begins to recover, especially as she begins to fall in love with a devout Georgia native working at Mission Hospital. Their friendship is threatened, though, by his entanglement with a very intense and go-it-alone church called Triumphant Messiah Kingdom infecting Bangkok’s faith community with its accusations and violent rhetoric.