Pastor’s Corner August 2004

The following was published in our monthly newsletter, the Redeemer Report.

In the sermon of July 11, I challenged each family to begin studying doctrine more intentionally. My suggestion was to teach your small children the Children’s Catechism and older children the Westminster Shorter Catechism. As you instruct your children, you also will begin to learn bible doctrine.

Knowing doctrine is essential to the life and effectiveness of the Church. Catechism (from the Greek word catechesis) is simply instruction in the basic doctrines of the Christian faith. Instead of replacing or supplanting the role of the Bible in Christian education, catechism ideally serves as the basis for it. For the practice of catechism, as properly understood, is the Christian equivalent of looking at the box top of a model car before putting the hundreds of pieces together. It is very important to look at the big picture and have it clearly in mind, so that we do not bog down in details, or get endlessly sidetracked by some unimportant or irrelevant issue.

The theological categories given to us through catechism, help us to make sense out of the myriad of details found in the Scriptures themselves. Catechism serves as a guide to better understanding Scripture-keeping in mind that creeds, confessions and catechisms are authoritative only in so far as they faithfully reflect the teaching of the Bible. This means that the use of catechisms, which correctly summarize biblical teaching, does not negate or remove the role of the Bible. Instead, these same creeds, confessions and catechisms, as summary statements of what the Holy Scriptures themselves teach about a particular doctrine, should serve as a kind of spring-board to more effective Bible study. When this is the case, these confessions, creeds and catechisms are invaluable tools to help us learn about the important themes and doctrines that are in Scripture.

On the book table there are copies of both the Children’s Catechism and the Westminster Shorter Catechism. If you don’t already have one or both of these, take them, they are for you to use. Catechism will strengthen you, your children, our church and increase our effectiveness in being agents of transformation in our culture for Christ!

In the Lamb,
Pastor Tony Felich