Neglected Worship: What Is a Catechism?

I would venture to say that mainline, Evangelical Christianity primarily uses three methods to memorize truths from Scripture:

• Songs

• Sermons

• Some type of Bible study

At least, this was how I was brought up, singing songs of the goodness, power, grace, and mercy of God, followed by a sermon that invited the listener to repentance and greater pursuit of God, and then we would work through some kind of devotional book or extra material in Sunday school/Wednesday groups. 

These are all well and good to use, but the mainline Protestant church has largely left out a great tool that, until recently, has been one of the primary methods for learning Scriptural truths: the catechism.

What Is a Catechism?

Simply put, a catechism is a question-and-answer document that outlines the essentials of the Christian faith. First taking hold in the 4th and 5th centuries of the early church, catechesis (the use of catechisms) waxed and waned throughout the following centuries, playing a large part in the Protestant Reformation and subsequent Catholic Counter-Reformation. Catechisms played a huge part in acquainting new believers in the fundamental aspects of the faith, driving retention of new converts across the breadth of Christendom. Here's a classic entry from the Shorter Catechism of the Westminster Confession of Faith (we've quoted this many times before):

Q. 1. What is the chief end of man?
A. Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.

The Shorter Catechism goes on for a total of 107 questions in these succinct statements designed to address every fundamental aspect of the faith system many Presbyterian Reformers confessed. (And yes, there is a Longer Catechism; it has a whopping 196 questions!) Other prominent catechisms within Protestantism include the Heidelberg Catechism, Luther's Small Catechism, Keach's Catechism, and the Book of Common Prayer Catechism. Even more recently is the New City Catechism. (More on this in a bit.)

Most denominations and traditions have a catechism, but in the last 200 years or so, we've traded out catechesis for other methods. Why is that?

What Happened to Catechisms?

Relatively recently, the 19th century saw catechesis being traded out in favor of a new format: Sunday school. What started as a way to introduce more discipline into lives of working class children has now evolved into an integral component of most churches in Western Christianity. In this new format, we saw greater involvement of lay-persons teaching the body of believers, and pastors gradually spent more of their time administrating and preaching to the church. Whereas the pastor normatively taught the catechism as part of his duties, exploring the finer details of the Christian faith was partly delegated to trusted members of the congregation. 

The early Sunday schools utilized basic catechism, but as the years went by, the question-and-answer format fell to wayside in favor of "recounting Bible stories, de-emphasizing basic beliefs, practices, and ethics of the faith." 

Now, this comparison may seem to cast catechesis in a superior light to Sunday school experiences, but rest assured—each method has pros and cons respective to the other:

Catechesis Pros

Fully explores foundation of faith as a system of practice and doctrine.

Catechesis Cons

Can be difficult to digest, especially for younger members of the faith.

Sunday School Pros

Easy to understand with a methodical pace, week to week.

Sunday School Cons

Tends to stop short of exploring beyond the history of the Bible, especially in only highlighting major events/stories.

So Where Do We Go from Here?

The short answer is this: Your family and personal worship time is a great opportunity to include a catechism session. Don't throw out what you or your children learn in a faithful Sunday school session; this format is a great opportunity to see a covenant community in action, doing its best to raise the children of the church. But as we said before, catechism presents a great chance to explore the foundation of the Christian faith when it comes to essential beliefs and how to practice them. 

If the older, historical catechisms are intimidating (the wording and format can be a lot), then you should check out the New City Catechism. Originally published in 2012, it's comprised of 52 questions, which neatly fit in the calendar year as 1 question per week. Additionally, the late Timothy Keller has a great introduction to this work to make it easier to use. There's even an audio sing-along version!

So if you've never used catechism in your family, personal, or even corporate worship, try weaving this into your routine—you'll be taking part in a rich tradition that serves wonderful dividends in bolstering your faith, along with that of your family and community.

How to Get Great Guitar Tones

Time and time again, I run into a recurring problem with worship bands:

The guitar tones are often REALLY bad. 

I know this is subjective, but you’ll find that building a great guitar tone has some objective guidelines that many pros use across the industry.

Here’s the cool thing: You can learn how to do it.

Author Stephen Davis (Belmont University professor and seasoned Nashville guitarist and tech) has fantastic book that shows you exactly is shown in the title: How to Get Great Guitar Tones.

In the pages, he takes you through building rigs and the various types of guitars, amps, and effects, customizing these options for exactly the style you want. There are even audio examples, photos, and diagrams to make everything super-clear!

Be blessed 👊✌️