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Why Churches Need Counter-Catechesis
Working among college students, I get a firsthand look into the trends that dominate the cultural landscape at any particular moment. Over the years, I’ve witnessed fashion fads like the “man bun,” wearing winter hats on top of your head and in no way covering your ears, skinny jeans, and jeans with a crazy number of holes. Popular songs by Taylor Swift or the latest Disney movie sung at random. Even slang that’s necessary for relational capital, like “that slaps,” “fire,” “that’s gas,” and hearing female students call one another “bruh.”
Some of trends items are innocuous, but many convey the subversive vibe that dominates our Western milieu. And it’s not just college students. We all engage in practices that shape who we are, how we think, and what we love. The world is catechizing us, whether we realize it or not.
In Making Disciples: Catechesis in History, Theology, and Practice, Alex Fogleman, assistant professor of theology at Trinity Anglican Seminary, is attempting to equip Christians for better catechesis. Fogleman defines catechesis as “the art of instructing new believers in the faith, with a view toward comprehensive instruction in the basic tenets of belief, spirituality, and ethics” (9).
The whole process of catechesis is about grounding believers in the fundamentals of the faith, giving us a countercultural grammar for Christian living and lifelong discipleship. This book is meant to be “a first point of entry for those seeking an apprenticeship in the craft of disciple making” (6).
Historical Disciple-Making
To some evangelical ears, the concept of catechesis may seem foreign. It’s been a mainstay among higher church traditions like Presbyterians and Lutherans, but hasn’t been a consistent feature among many Baptists or nondenominational Christians. Fogleman’s work is therefore instructive as it shows the connection of catechesis to worship and mission, and articulates the kinds of relationships, resources, and approaches that help make catechesis the center of the life of the local church.
The church has always sought to ground and build up new believers and continue to see their membership grow in the faith. In many traditions, however, activities like “evangelism, mission, small groups, Bible studies, Sunday school, [and] Alpha” have displaced the “foundational, ground-laying work that catechesis does.” These programs can be good. But Fogleman argues, “None give a basic but comprehensive introduction to the faith” (4).
For example, Fogleman writes, “Catechisms were gradually eclipsed by the use of Bible stories. Ironically, it seems that the rise of Sunday school is part of the reason that catechesis went out of fashion” (52). Rather than focusing on memorization and recitation of doctrinal questions and answers, the Sunday school movement was intended “to teach reading and literacy to children, but mainly to help them read Scripture” (52). Certainly, literacy is a noble end, but efforts toward that goal eventually displaced the traditional doctrinal focus.
Fogleman isn’t criticizing attempts at educating children or adults. He does, however, show how modern attempts differ from the catechetical approach that sustained the church for millennia. As we see a rising need for catechesis in our increasingly post-Christian culture, it may be helpful to look to earlier models of discipleship for inspiration.
Counter-Catechesis
The world is always teaching us in such a way as to conform our thoughts, affections, and wills to its intended ends. We’re being algorithmically shepherded toward worldliness, toward seeing holiness as strange and sin as normal. Christians must be aware of such forces arrayed against us, which is why we need catechesis—or, better, counter-catechesis—in the church. We need to be formed by Christ, not by the world.
As we see a rising need for catechesis in our increasingly post-Christian culture, it may be helpful to look to earlier models of discipleship for inspiration.
If we’re not attentive, the church can be awash in worldliness and not even perceive it. That’s why counter-catechesis is so important. We need to identify the world’s cultural narratives and intentionally reinforce comprehensive narratives that run counter to them. But we need to do so with grace. The sort of catechesis Fogleman proposes “moves beyond polarizing hot takes and addresses fundamental issues—Jesus Christ and his love for humanity” (85).
The good news is that what Fogleman proposes is already underway among evangelicals. For example, Trevin Wax and Thomas West have recently published The Gospel Way Catechism, where they “offer the old truths of Christianity in a way that identifies cultural narratives so they can be seen and considered . . . and finally shown only to be fulfilled in and through Jesus Christ.” It’s an attempt to name false ideologies—like inordinate emphasis on identity, freedom, and happiness—and uproot them with biblical truth. Fogleman’s academic work shows why this approach is vital for the church in our age.
Practical Guidance
Making Disciples is more theoretical than practical. Fogleman’s goal is to provide a foundation and apology for a return to catechesis. However, he also offers examples to help readers think through catechesis within their own contexts. In two brief appendixes, he outlines basic questions for beginning catechesis in a local church and a bibliography of catechetical resources that includes works ranging from Augustine’s Enchiridion to J. I. Packer’s Growing in Christ.
We’re being algorithmically shepherded toward worldliness, toward seeing holiness as strange and sin as normal.
None of his suggestions is novel. They all align with Packer’s call to evangelicals to return to a catechetical approach to discipleship. The primary need is to reshape the content and goal of the church’s discipleship approach, rather than to move to some rigid ideal for premodern worship. So Fogleman recommends having a new-believer class focused on basic doctrine and offering small group cohorts to study a catechism. Modern structures can be used for ancient methods. There’s room for flexibility, but we need to be more purposeful in our ends.
Fogleman’s overall message is clear and correct. He shows that churches need to foster believers’ faith in straightforward, systematic ways. Making Disciples provides pastors and theologically informed church leaders with an excellent framework for revitalizing their approach to discipleship in the local church.
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