7. Forward In The Faith Of The Gospel
7
Forward in the Faith of the Gospel
The wise are always old, but the old are not always wise.1
Ralph Venning
A Biblical Vision for Spiritual Growth
The earliest practices of catechesis, as we observed in chapter 3, envisioned a faith journey that encompassed a life of spiritual progress. Particular individuals passed from being relatively uninterested in the things of God to becoming inquirers. Some of these, in turn, devoted themselves to a deliberate and sustained exposure to God’s revealed truth by formally becoming catechumens. By God’s grace, the journey of the catechumen led him or her in time to become one of the competentes—that is, candidates qualified for baptism. The newly baptized were now neophytes in the church. But this “ending” of the entry process was not an ending of the journey of faith. By God’s continued outpouring of grace in their lives these believers would continue to grow and mature as members of the faithful.
The Bible consistently affirms a vision for such progress or growth in the spiritual life. Sometimes this is portrayed as being connected to one’s natural development from childhood through adulthood. Thus we read that adult members in the faith community are specially charged with teaching the things of God to their children (Deut. 6:1–9; 11:18–21; Ps. 78:1–8; Eph. 6:4). We read as well that children and youth are to be directed toward wisdom and away from folly (Proverbs 1–9). In the New Testament, Paul sometimes crafts his instruction depending upon the ages of those to whom he is writing—one message for parents, and a different message for children (Eph. 6:1–4; Col. 3:20–21).
Christian educators, especially in recent decades, have given a good deal of attention to the matter of natural development, especially owing to the influence of developmental theorists Piaget, Kohlberg, Erikson, Fowler, and others. Such attention is generally a very wise thing, although these theorists need to be read critically and their insights adapted discerningly.2 Certainly our ministries of teaching should be as sensitive and prudent as possible in enlisting the natural abilities of our learners within the community of faith.
In terms of catechesis, wise application of developmental theory should shape our approach to both content and process. We do well, for example, to seize upon the capacity that most children have to memorize facts, lists, verses, and more. Typically this capacity seems to decrease over time, even as the capacity to engage thought more critically increases. For Spurgeon—who compiled a catechism for use in his own church based upon the Westminster Shorter Catechism and some Baptist catechisms—this presented an obvious educational guide in regard to children. Thus he counseled concerning the use of his catechism: “Those who use it in their families or classes must labour to explain the sense; but the words should be carefully learned by heart, for they will be understood better as years pass.”3.
This means that the same essential content could be used throughout one’s life but could be engaged through different processes at different stages. The Ten Words or Commandments, for example, could be introduced in a very simple form of do’s and don’ts to very young children. When they are a bit older they could be asked to commit the commandments to memory, receiving a rudimentary understanding as they do so. Throughout the long, awkward, sometimes joyful, and frequently painful journey we now call adolescence, catechists can return to these words and engage their meaning and application in ways congruent to deepening cognitive capacities. When the young people become adult learners, the educational experience will likely be more effective as it becomes more collaborative, for adults bring to the educational encounter a host of life experiences to draw upon as they continue learning the implications and applications of the Decalogue.
We have been very unwise when we have swallowed whole the criticisms lodged against having children in the church memorize things by rote. Mere memorization of items left to itself is indeed not a sufficient educational or formative experience and can degenerate into mere mumbo jumbo. But is no memorization the way forward? Surely it is not. By seizing upon our children’s God-ordained ability to commit verses, creeds, hymns, lists, and much more to memory when they are still very young, we are helping them to “fill the cupboard” of their souls. Then, when they are older, they will have resources to draw upon and enjoy.4 Along these lines, T. F. Torrance wrote:
Educational theories that insist that teachers must concentrate on drawing out (educare) the latent capacities of the child, and help him at every point to form his own judgments, without equal attention to the supply of information, are tragically mistaken. . . . [Catechetical instruction] imparts to a child at an early age long before his mental powers can grasp the meaning of it all, a considerable body of historical and doctrinal matter, and so provides him with something to think about in the years when he is developing his mental and spiritual capacities . . . it so stretches his powers that it helps him to reach beyond his grasp and then grasp beyond his former reach.5 You cannot make anything unless you have the tools with which to form and construct it . . . it is important that from the earliest the child should be trained in the rudiments of Christian doctrine, and have these built into his mind and soul, so that he has eyes to see, ears to hear, and a heart to understand the whole message of the Gospel. . . . Give him the tools at an early age, and he will fulfil to the end his discipleship in Christ.6
Natural and Spiritual Development
There is not, of course, a one-to-one correspondence between natural growth and spiritual progress. “The wise are always old, but the old are not always wise.”7 That is to say, our growth in grace is not always all that it should be. Simply having been “in Christ” for many years does not guarantee a proportional maturity in Christ. And so it was that the New Testament writers were at times compelled to rebuke believers for their lack of appropriate growth. Paul writes to the Corinthians, “But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of flesh, as infants in Christ. I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not ready” (1 Cor. 3:1–2). The writer to the Hebrews similarly rebukes his readers in this regard: “For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food” (Heb. 5:12).
It is no surprise then that the Scriptures most often speak of spiritual progress without suggesting a link to one’s natural age or development. The emphasis rather is upon the fact that all believers ought to grow up in their experience of salvation. When John addresses some of his readers as “children” or “little children,” others as “fathers,” and still others as “young men,” it is virtually certain that his terms refer to spiritual, rather than natural, levels of maturity (1 John 2:12–14).8
The following references represent but a brief sampling of the biblical concern for ongoing spiritual growth in the lives of believers:
• “Until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves” (Eph. 4:13–14).
• “And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God” (Phil. 1:9–11).
• “I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith” (Phil. 1:25).
• “Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. . . . I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us who are mature think this way” (Phil. 3:12, 15).
• “Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving” (Col. 2:6–7).
• “Train yourself for godliness” (1 Tim. 4:7).
• “Let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity”
(Heb. 6:1).
• “Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation” (1 Peter 2:2).
• “Make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge” (2 Peter 1:5).
• “But grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18).
Progress within the True Gospel
It is not just any appearance of spiritual progress that is praiseworthy. True Christian growth must—and actually only can—occur within the Faith of the Gospel. It is only the one who has fixed in his heart the assurance of God’s saving love and who possesses the hope of being with Christ and like Christ forever—a hope supplied by the Gospel alone—who grows in godliness and purity of heart (1 John 3:1–3).
Writing to the churches of Galatia, Paul focuses his indignation on how believers there were departing from the Faith of the Gospel. The trajectory of their progress, in other words, was all wrong. If they were in fact to abandon the true Gospel for a pseudo-gospel, they would surely come under the spell of unsound doctrines. Apart from the true Gospel there would be no experience of the Spirit’s life-giving power. Thus there would be no capacity to faithfully walk in the Way of the Lord. Knowing all this, Paul is unsparing in his reproofs. Here is a sampling:
• “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and turning to a different Gospel—not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the Gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a Gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed” (1:6–8).
• “O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?” (3:1–3).
• “Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods. But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world . . . ? I am afraid I have labored over you in vain” (4:8–10).
• “My little children, for whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you! I wish I could be present with you now and change my tone, for I am perplexed about you” (4:19–20).
• “You were running well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth?” (5:7).
• “If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit” (5:25).
To the Colossians Paul expresses similar concerns in more positive terms. He writes, “Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving” (Col. 2:6–7). He moves on immediately to warn them against being taken “captive by philosophy and empty deceit . . . and not according to Christ” (Col. 2:8).
Having begun our journey in the Gospel we must move on, and indeed can move on, only in that same Gospel. The righteousness that is from heaven is empowered only by the saving power of the Gospel and is by faith from first to last (Rom. 1:16–17; Phil. 3:9). Paul reminds the Philippians of the beginning of their exposure to the Gospel—“Moreover, as you Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance with the Gospel . . .” (Phil. 4:14 NIV). But they had soon become full partners in the Gospel (Phil. 1:5). And for the sake of “the faith of the Gospel” Paul urged them toward living in a manner worthy of the Gospel of Christ (Phil. 1:27).
Spiritual growth is to be expected in healthy Christians just as natural growth may be expected in all healthy humans. Where such growth in grace is lacking, loving admonition is both appropriate and necessary. True and healthy spiritual progress, for both individual believers and communities of the faithful, must take place within the Faith of the Gospel. For the Gospel alone leads to sound teaching of the Truth, imparts life-giving power through the Spirit, and thereby enables us to walk in the Way of the Lord. Therefore any movement toward a self-generated and self-absorbed vision of spiritual development is an exercise in futility and represents a deadly deviance from the glorious Gospel.
Ancient Model, Contemporary Applications
With these things in our mind we are now ready to ask questions about when, where, and how to teach what. In the course of the preceding chapters we identified a number of areas of essential Christian teaching. These included the great redemptive Story, the glorious Gospel that is both apex and summary of that Story, and three facets of the Faith that derive from the Gospel. We also explored how this teaching was historically introduced via catechetical instruction in the Creed, the Lord’s Prayer, the Decalogue, and the Gospel sacraments. We have suggested as well that the Faith of the Gospel represents the appropriate frame for Christian teaching throughout our lives. But how do we approach issues of catechetical content in light of the insights we have just been considering about Christian growth?
In the ancient catechumenate that developed between the second and fifth centuries we observe a process that typically involved multiple stages, or phases, in the journey of faith toward, into, and in Christ. Although this varied from setting to setting and the models changed somewhat over time, we suggested a possible trajectory of the journey based on the catechumenate as it came to take shape under the ministry of Augustine. In the table below we remind the reader of this model (discussed in chapter 3), focusing now especially upon the relationship between the stage of catechetical development and the primary content.
Phases of a Catechetical Journey under the Ministry of Augustine
Content Emphasis
Inquirers
Those expressing interest in the Faith
The narratio (the great redemptive Story) told in compelling fashion
Catechumens
Those newly submitted to instruction in the Faith
A long, sustained exposure, mostly in the setting of congregational worship, to biblical instruction that was both moral and doctrinal
Competentes
Those enrolled as candidates for baptism
An intense time of preparation that included prayers, fasting, moral admonition, and instruction in the Creed and the Lord’s Prayer
Neophytes
Those who have just been baptized
A first experience of the Eucharist, with instruction about the meaning and mystery of the sacraments
The faithful
Those who have been baptized believers for some time
Regular retelling of the redemptive Story, ongoing instruction in the Scriptures, primarily in the context of assembled worship
The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA)
It is typical among those who champion the idea of catechetical renewal in our day to follow in some fashion or other the ancient pattern of catechizing in successive stages or phases. We offer three examples of this before proposing in the following chapters our own vision of how the best parts of the biblically based and historically informed catechetical vision might be implemented in contemporary evangelical churches.
The first example is the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) as practiced in the Roman Catholic church. The RCIA has grown out of the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults, which was established by order of Pope John Paul II in response to calls from the Second Vatican Council for a revival of the ancient catechumenate. Since 1988, the RCIA has been mandatory among Catholic churches in the United States. The RCIA is actually a series of steps marking stages of a journey toward faith in Christ and into the full life of the Catholic church. Preceding and succeeding each step is a period of instruction. The process, as prescribed in 1988, is outlined as follows:
Outline for Christian Initiation of Adults (from the RCIA)9
• Period of evangelization and pre-catechumenate. This is a time, of no fixed duration or structure, for inquiry and introduction to Gospel values, an opportunity for the beginnings of faith.
• First step: Acceptance into the order of catechumens. This is the liturgical rite, usually celebrated on some annual date or dates, marking the beginning of the catechumenate proper, as the candidates express and the church accepts their intention to respond to God’s call to follow the way of Christ.
• Period of the catechumenate. This is a time, in duration corresponding to the progress of the individual, for the nurturing and growth of the catechumens’ faith and conversion to God; celebrations of the Word and prayers of exorcism and blessing are meant to assist the process.
• Second step: Election or enrollment of names. This is the liturgical rite, usually celebrated on the first Sunday of Lent, by which the church formally ratifies the catechumens’ readiness for the sacraments of initiation and the catechumens, now the elect, express the will to receive these sacraments.
• Period of purification and enlightenment. This is the time immediately preceding the elect’s initiation, usually the Lenten season preceding the celebration of this initiation at the Easter Vigil; it is a time of reflection, intensely centered on conversion, marked by celebration of specific scruti-nies and presentations and of the preparation rites on Holy Saturday.
• Third step: Celebration of the sacraments of initiation. This is the liturgical rite, usually integrated into the Easter Vigil, by which the elect are initiated through baptism, confirmation, and the Eucharist.
• Period of post-baptismal catechesis or mystagogy. This is the time, usually the Easter season, following the celebration of initiation, during which the newly initiated experience being fully a part of the Christian community by means of pertinent catechesis and particularly by participation with all the faithful in the Sunday eucharistic celebration.
Each step is marked by a liturgical rite celebrated in the community of faith. The various rites each are designed with prayers, songs, symbols, and ritual speech. Here is one brief example, taken from the Rite of Acceptance into the Order of Catechumens:
Celebrant—This is eternal life: to know the one true God and Jesus Christ, whom he has sent. Christ has been raised from the dead and appointed by God as the Lord of life and ruler of all things, seen and unseen.
If then, you wish to become disciples and members of his church, you must be guided to the fullness of the truth that he has revealed to us. You must learn to make the mind of Christ Jesus your own. You must strive to pattern your life on the teachings of the Gospel and so to love the Lord your God and your neighbor. For this was Christ’s command and he was its perfect example.
Is each of you ready to accept these teachings of the Gospel?
Candidate—I am.
Celebrant turns to the sponsors and the assembly and asks them in these or similar words—Sponsors, you now present these candidates to us; are you, and all who are gathered with us, ready to help these candidates find and follow Christ?
All—We are.
With hands joined, the celebrant says—Father of mercy, we thank you for these your servants. You have sought and summoned them in many ways and they have turned to seek you. You have called them today and they have answered in our presence: we praise you, Lord, and we bless you.
All sing or say—We praise you, Lord, and we bless you.
Next, the cross is traced on the forehead of the candidates. . . . The celebrant says ________, receive the cross on your forehead. It is Christ himself who now strengthens you with this sign of his love. Learn to know him and follow him.
All sing or say the following or another suitable acclamation—Glory and praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ!
Journey to Jesus
Another proposal that merits attention is laid out in a book called Journey to Jesus.10 Developed by evangelical worship theologian Robert Webber, this model is likewise based chiefly upon the pattern of the ancient catechumenate. Here is Webber’s proposal in outline:
Webber refers to his model as being built upon the ancient pattern of evangelism. His book offers a helpful description of the ancient practices of catechesis, though he avoids use of the actual term itself. As the outline above indicates, he envisions four stages of instruction with various rites of passage marking the journey. Webber also produced a series of booklets to serve as resources for each stage of instruction.11
Commitments for a Congregational Curriculum
A third model, recently proposed by Gary in a book coauthored with Steve Kang, is built around seven commitments that are intended to always be part of a congregation’s ministries of teaching and formation. The first five of these commitments may be viewed as stages, or processes, through which congregants pass while the final two are more concerned with the ethos of the church. The commitments are set forth by use of a miniature acrostic featuring the letters A–G. On the facing page is their chart that provides an overview of the model.
This table originally appears in Gary A. Parrett and S. Steve Kang, Teaching the Faith, Forming the Faithful: A Biblical Vision for Education in the Church(Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2009), chap. 13. Used by permission of InterVarsity Press, P.O. Box 1400, Downers Grove, IL 60615, www.ivpress.com.
The A–E commitments, again, represent something like phases through which believers move forward in the Faith of the Gospel. Access envisions use of a ministry such as Alpha or Christianity Explored.12 The Baptism commitment represents a formal catechetical experience to prepare candidates for baptism. The same, or similar, process can also be used for the confirmation of those baptized in infancy. Those who are established as members of the faithful are also invited to participate in this phase of instruction, from time to time, for refreshment or recollection. Commitment is a further stage of formal instruction that focuses on taking one’s part as a fully functioning member of the local church. In the Deepening commitment, a wide variety of ongoing experiences along the lines of the four commitments of Acts 2:42 is envisioned. Engagement focuses on preparing and engaging the maturing believers in various ministries of reconciliation. The final two commitments—Follow-up and Grace cultivation—are chiefly concerned with ethos. The former reminds of the continual need for pastoral care of all congregants, regardless of where they may be on their own journeys. The latter is an encouragement to set all of this in an atmosphere of grace rather than in a culture of legalism.
Conclusion
Each of these three visions for helping people move forward in the Faith, it seems to us, seeks to take seriously the thoroughly biblical notion of spiritual development. Attention to this is a vital component in catechetical ministries. In the next chapter we turn attention to two more ingredients we deem necessary for faithful and fruitful catechesis.