Monday, February 5, 2007

A Decade of Catechising

As I come closer to entering into the pastorate, I find myself weighing the relative value of different sorts of preaching, and the effects these would have for developing a spiritually healthy congregation. I wonder for example, whether topical, expository, or doctrinal preaching is what is most needed in our day and age.

In all the years of being a Christian I was never catechised in my Church. Nor have I ever been taught in a systematic way, the whole of the Christian faith. That I had to do on my own time. Typically I have attended churches whose preaching and Bible studies were either expository or topical. But despite the wonderful possibilities inherent in both those forms of preaching, I found little to learn because what was being taught was so repetitive and shallow. It always seemed as though none of the serious questions of theology and of life were ever being addressed or even asked. That is to say, even though we would go through an entire book or epistle, and you would expect that the deep teachings of Scripture could be brought out, the preacher or teacher would typically concentrate on the same limited range of issues. We would invariably either cover the need to have faith in Christ, the fact that salvation is by grace, the need for revival, how to have successful relationships in life, etc. Or, if a Bible study or sermon was considered espeically 'in depth' it would usually involve some kind of esoteric eschatological speculation.

As I talk to Christians, even those who have belonged to faithful 'Bible-believing' churches over the course of many years, I find that there's a theological shallowness that can only spell immanent danger for the Church. What did our godly forefathers do?

One thing they did was catechise; to systematically go through the faith and practice of the Christian church in order to ensure that everyone knew what it was to believe in God, and to obey him in life, and why these were necessary.

Could it be that some people think of catechising as a 'burden'? Could it be that some people think of dogmatic theology as a body of propositions to be laboriously learned as one might do in school, rather than as the life giving message that it is? How else can one put all their faith in Christ, eschew the temptations and worries of this world, and boldly proclaim the gospel in word and deed, if we have no foundations upon which to stand? Good theology is that foundation, is it not?

Perhaps a decade of catechising would revive the churches in North America. Rather than pursue random topical and expository studies, a more directed, logical, and thorough approach to the faith is needed.

Of all the catechisms I've seen, none compares to the Heidelberg Catechism. Yes, I take exception to its insistence on infant baptism. Nonetheless, I find it to be a remarkable and reliable guide to the three symbols that every Christian should know by heart: the Apostles' Creed, the Lord's Prayer, and the Ten Commandments, all presented in a throroughly Trinitarian manner. Even though it is a Reformed document, even non-Reformed Chritians like myself can profit greatly from it. If someone were to preach that faith, systematically, rigorously, devotionally, constantly... what kind of change might be wrought in the hearts and minds of people who, perhaps, have never really seriously considered plumbing the heights and depths of our faith in Christ?

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