Faith | We are commissioned to ‘catechize’ the next generation

Leaning back in folding metal chairs, encircled in our pastor’s study (circa 1977), my brother and I also find ourselves leaning into borderline boredom with fellow peers in a class called “catechism.”

The old pastor (who, looking back, was probably younger than I am now), was not exactly a barrel-of-laughs. But he loved the gospel, he loved the Bible, he loved truth. And in his own humble way, he determined to teach diligently, generationally, and repeatedly, old truths from an old book, that flowed from The Book that reveals a Person who saves the world.

Literally.

The call to “catechize” is nothing new. In fact, perhaps precisely because catechesis is not new, a sentiment emerges that makes the practice seem passé, if not worse.

Many today, maybe even you, may imagine that the purpose of catechism is to indoctrinate captive children into archaic, even Pharisaic, teachings that create arrogant little legalists. Alas, what right-headed parent (or church) would want to participate in that?

Granted, that is a good question—one that requires a good answer.

To the point: providing a good “question and answer” is the very format that a catechism follows.

My own church, for example, makes use of the Heidelberg Catechism, published in 1563. In its formal “Q & A,” a reader finds, without question, that questioning itself is part of the learning process. In turn, the ordered inquiry expects answers filled with actual content. In this case, the summary answers flow from teachings set forth in the Bible.

“What is your only comfort in life and in death?” “What is true faith?” “Where does that faith come from?” “How are you right with God?”

Got good answers?

More broadly, catechism can be understood as any activity that provides “instruction.”

Even during the seemingly informal activities of life, God’s people are called to teach and instruct their children diligently (Deuteronomy 6:1-9). Viewed this way, catechesis is not simply a duty; it is practically a disposition, a way of life.

The Lord’s commission, too, sets forth a compellingly comprehensive call to teach everything he has commanded (Matthew 28:18-20). Within the context of covenant, the content of learning becomes quite exhaustive, if not at times, exhausting, as the faith once delivered is faithfully passed down to the next generation (2 Timothy 1:3-14).

Until Jesus returns, the discipleship process necessarily engages a lifetime of learning, often taking on the form of asking questions and seeking answers from God’s Word. All along the way, old truths serve to transform new hearts and inform maturing minds. Accordingly, the application of formal catechesis manifests both a formidable process and a formative process.

As author and pastor Kevin De Young has aptly noted, “The chief theological task now facing the Western church is not to reinvent or to be relevant but to remember.”

Perhaps ironically, I don’t exactly remember what our catechism class required regarding memorization; but I do suspect that learning by rote, and “knowing by heart,” not only share overlap, but also, spill over into active faith, as the Lord directs.

After all, the Lord himself can be seen as the Great Catechist. Through his Word and his Spirit, He both faithfully instructs the naïve and disciples the nations. And thankfully, to this day, the Q&A continues, and the children of God grow outwardly, inwardly, and deeply.

Yes, even decades after the metal chairs find themselves folded up, and the students become the teachers, all good answers must reveal and embrace the same Savior whose name is Jesus Christ (Acts 4:12).