Over the past few years, I have become more and more convinced that teaching the elements of the Christian faith need to be kept simple, especially when it comes to teaching people that are not all that well acquainted with the faith. I shouldn't be surprised to know that I am not the first to make this discovery, nor is it surprising to find that there are already those kind of resources available, especially to Christians who are of my common Lutheran thread.
Those resources? Luther's Small Catechism and Large Catechism. Over the years, I have typically led my instruction classes from the Small Catechism and the Bible, and not found it necessary to include much more. This is even more especially profound when you realize that Luther's Small Catechism is barely 30 small pages long. I'll go more into why he wrote these books and why they take the form that they do in future posts.
The thing I have really come to appreciate about the Catechisms, though, is their simplicity. Life is way too complex at times, and if we can keep things simple, that makes it much easier to understand and take in. In the Small Catechism, you get six major points of Christian teaching (doctrine) that are simply, yet deeply explained, and all in a way that can be easily memorized.
As a doctoral student, the Catechisms are going to figure prominently in my final paper. I truly believe that churches can do far worse than simply teaching people the Catechism and what it means for their Christian lives. So for a while, we'll be focusing on some of the things that we can learn, as well as looking at how we can go about teaching some of these things. As always, I will welcome your feedback, and may even follow up if I find it more helpful. Who knows, you could also be included in my major project!
Those resources? Luther's Small Catechism and Large Catechism. Over the years, I have typically led my instruction classes from the Small Catechism and the Bible, and not found it necessary to include much more. This is even more especially profound when you realize that Luther's Small Catechism is barely 30 small pages long. I'll go more into why he wrote these books and why they take the form that they do in future posts.
The thing I have really come to appreciate about the Catechisms, though, is their simplicity. Life is way too complex at times, and if we can keep things simple, that makes it much easier to understand and take in. In the Small Catechism, you get six major points of Christian teaching (doctrine) that are simply, yet deeply explained, and all in a way that can be easily memorized.
As a doctoral student, the Catechisms are going to figure prominently in my final paper. I truly believe that churches can do far worse than simply teaching people the Catechism and what it means for their Christian lives. So for a while, we'll be focusing on some of the things that we can learn, as well as looking at how we can go about teaching some of these things. As always, I will welcome your feedback, and may even follow up if I find it more helpful. Who knows, you could also be included in my major project!
I am writing my thesis about catechetical preaching. Scott we should talk.
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