A Short Guide to Church

by Dean Inserra

A common claim in modern American Christianity is that you don’t have to go to church to be a Christian. The writers of the New Testament, however, would find a Christian faith separate from the church to be unrecognizable. Dean Inserra has often said to his congregation, “There is more to being a Christian than going to church, but there certainly isn’t less.” Belonging to a local church is not something made up by a Christian subculture. The local church was God’s design. It is his grand idea to display his glory and provide the avenue for his people to flourish as his missionaries to the world. When one begins to see the church as God’s plan, the mindset shifts from going to church in order to claim Christianity to seeing oneself as a participant in what God has given his people as a gift.
 
There is a purpose, design, and reason for why the church functions in the manner she does. Consistent practices that may seem as merely tradition upon first glance, are prescribed by God for his people to practice together until Christ returns. The local church, congregated together, is the Lord’s primary plan for discipleship, fellowship, and mission for the Christian life. A Short Guide to Church is not a technical treatment of ecclesiology, but rather a book to put in the hands of every prospective and current church member, to help the body of Christ, expressed locally, to see the purposes and plan of the local church for their life of faith, and why it truly is the best thing going.

160 pages, Hardcover

Published June 4, 2024

About the author

DEAN INSERRA is a graduate of Liberty University and holds a M.A. in Theological Studies from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is pursuing a D. Min. from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and is the founding pastor of City Church. He is passionate about reaching the city of Tallahassee with the Gospel, to see a worldwide impact made for Jesus. Dean is married to Krissie and they have two sons, Tommy and Ty, and one daughter, Sally Ashlyn. He likes baseball, wrestling, and the Miami Hurricanes. He believes Tom Brady is the greatest quarterback and that everyone who disagrees holds the right to be wrong.

Reviews

[Tristany Corgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

“It’s becoming increasingly common for Christians to skip church on Sundays. There are numerous reasons for this. Some are traveling on Sunday mornings, whether that be for work, for pleasure, or for their children’s sports tournaments. Others have such busy lives that they just want to sleep in and rest on their one day off from other responsibilities. Some have been hurt by a church in the past and don’t want to find a new church to attend, lest they be hurt again. And still others don’t see a need at all to go to Sunday worship services (after all, the Church isn’t a building, right?).

According to Ligonier’s The State of Theology survey in 2022, forty-four percent of professing Evangelicals do not believe that every Christian is obligated to join a local church, and fifty-six percent believe that worshipping alone or with one’s family is a valid replacement for regular church attendance. This means that about half of self-proclaimed Evangelical believers today do not believe it’s necessary for Christians to attend church regularly or become a member of a local church. This fact is both alarming and problematic, and it’s one reason why Dean Inserra wrote his newest book, A Short Guide to Church…”

Continue reading this review at: tristanycorgan.com/blog-ashortguideto...

A big thank you to Dean Inserra for sending me a copy of this book! All thoughts and opinions in this review are my own.

[Jared · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very strong outline for a new members’ class, especially for an SBC church. Was surprised it didn’t include at least a brief section on church discipline. Could have easily been included in the chapter on the Supper.

[Tom Bass · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great little book that does a wonderful job of explaining the role a healthy church plays in authentic Christanity and what it means to actually be a member of a healthy Christian church. Our culture has dumbed church membership down to a point where many church members are mere consumers there to be served, with attendance patterns that would justify calling themselves not Baptists, Presbyterian, Lutherans, or Anglicans, but rather Occasionalists. Then we wonder why we're not getting anything out of it. We need a radical return to meaningful church membership. Yes, Christ's bride, His messy, imperfect, beloved, cherished bride. This book makes the case and charts the course.

[Josh Trice · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is acts as a call to church attendance and could double as a surface-level manual on what the Church in America looks like.

[Chad Ferrell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dean does a great job helping believers understand the need for the local church and for our participation in the local church.