Teach and Preach the Catechism
Painting a CRC Future: Part 6
The high standard that the CRC’s Vision upholds requires a strong commitment from its members. In order to instill, build up, and grow this high standard, our expectations and practices for education also need to be high.
Last week we discussed the first reason why the CRC had traditionally withheld so many of its young church members as they grew up. Key to this retention was the CRC’s commitment to separate Reformed Christian education.
The CRC’s retention of members in the 80s was remarkable not only because many denominations were not experiencing similar growth, but also because the CRC’s Worldview was/is so counter-cultural.
Kids don’t just grow up and soak in Comprehensive Conservative Calvinism from the world around them! Many of the teachings run contrary to our sinful human nature and the desires of modern culture. Instead, these things need to be explicitly taught.
They need to be taught well. Our young people need to be marinated in Reformed Theology, and separate Christian education creates the space and teachers who can do this profoundly important work.
And this teaching shouldn’t be limited to the school!
While parents and the school will arguably be the most effective due to the sheer volume of time they get with the students, the church has a key teaching role as well.
And, like Christian education, this church teaching needs to be distinctly Reformed.
The second major structural element in CRC perseverance is Catechetical Teaching.
For the CRC pastor, Catechetical Teaching, “keeps high the intellectual level of CRC preaching because ministers must wrestle with the full range of rather weighty theological issues from total depravity, to theories of the atonement, to questions of the extent of grace.”
Use of the Heidelberg Catechism
Bouma begins by recognizing the primacy that the Heidelberg Catechism has traditionally held among the 3 Forms of Unity in the practices of the CRCNA. The fact that the Heidelberg has been divided into 52 Lord’s Days speaks to the historic expectation that the Catechism was expected to be preached and taught every week.
“This requirement and practice has a tremendous impact on CRC preaching.” says Bouma. “First of all, it provides each minister, regardless of talent or inclination with a program for preaching. His search for weekly sermon topics is guided and informed by the necessity of a regular progression through the catechism. Preaching in the CRC must be theologically grounded. Moreover, it is to be grounded in a document that is familiar to his congregation, a community which is also familiar with accepted patterns of interpreting the Catechism. A CRC minister knows this and is forced to be theologically disciplined in his preaching. Congregations know what topics to expect and know how they have been treated by other ministers. They will speculate as to how a new minister will handle a particular question. Their expectations for sermon quality and delivery are high.”
Then Bouma gives another benefit which I think has proved prophetic, given the two current realities that the modern CRC 1. has much fewer evening services with fewer catechetical sermons even among those who retain the evening service, and 2. has an unfortunate number of pastors and elders who have developed their own “idiosyncratic theologies”. Bouma says,
“Secondly, the requirement and expectation that sermons be expositions of the Heidelberg Catechism curbs the tendency of preachers to develop their own idiosyncratic theologies or topics of interest. Sermons are serious treatments of theological topics not entertaining discussions of current events, or a recent trip the minister has taken. […] This rule means that the minister is confronted with the theological system of the CRC each week and he must produce a sermon which is both grounded in that system and relevant to his congregation. On the one hand he is prevented from slipping into mere relevance, popular commentary, and potential heresy; on the other hand he and through him a CRC congregation is given practice and expertise in relating the CRC meaning system to everyday life.”
The third effect Bouma describes is that preaching the catechism,
“provides a continuing example of Reformed patterns of Biblical interpretation. The Reformed tradition has always been a creedal tradition as opposed to a literal Biblicist tradition or a liberal free thinking tradition. The creeds are the accepted guides to and patterns of Biblical interpretation. Each week the member of the CRC sees and example of relating Bible and creed to life. It is the job of the preacher to make the connection between Bible and creed and life a vital and living connection.”
These catechetical sermons are not the only source. For its history, the CRC has also emphasized teaching the catechism directly to young adults. Churches were expected to teach catechism classes at least once a week to their students.
As a high school Bible teacher, I experience firsthand that our young adults are eager to learn and discuss the deeper, complicated truths of the Christian faith. They want to know that our belief system can hold up to scrutiny and rigor. They want to know that what they believe is worth their time and energy and commitment. They want something worthwhile to live for.
The high expectations of catechism classes give our students the meat of our faith, beyond the simple milk. Bouma writes, “it is not uncommon to hear rather intent serious theological discussions occurring among groups of junior and senior high school students”.
I will argue that the modern move to include the Belgic Confessions and the Canons of Dort is a positive move, not a negative one.
Certainly, the Heidelberg has its own unique gifts and strengths that we cherish. And too the Heidelberg has enough rich theology that we could spend decades without exhausting its treasures… nevertheless, just as we teach the HC, so too we should be teaching all 3 of our 3 Forms of Unity.
And so, the Use of Catechetical Teaching is given as the second key structural component of retention in the CRCNA.