Catechism, pt. 1

By "Catechism" I'm not referring to the method of religious instruction consisting of questions and answers. Catechesis is a big part of what I'll be describing, but I'm using the term as the overall description of a method of disciple-making, which for our purposes is going to center on the form and content of the worship service. I got the term from John Williamson Nevin, who coined it to describe the antithesis of revivalism, or as he named it the system of the "Anxious Bench."

1. We trust the Holy Ghost to bring to Christ all those appointed to eternal life.

2. The call to the unbeliever is to become a worshipper of the Triune God.

3. This is a thing foreign to him as an unbeliever.

4. It is therefore to be expected that Christian worship isn't readily "accessible" to him.

5. It will become so as he is converted and instructed.

6. Both actually begin as he observes and participates as he is able.

7. It is therefore necessary that he observes worship done decently and in good order, according to God's revealed standards.

Catechism-Prolegomena

By "Catechism" I'm not referring to the method of religious instruction consisting of questions and answers. Catechesis is a big part of what I'll be describing, but I'm using the term as the overall description of a method of disciple-making, which for our purposes is going to center on the form and content of the worship service. I got the term from John Williamson Nevin, who coined it to describe the antithesis of revivalism, or as he named it the system of the "Anxious Bench."

The "system" of the Catechism consists of steady, patient instruction, not given to gimmickry and spectacle. It orients worship around the means God has given: Word and Sacrament. It does not appeal to or care about the base felt needs and desires of the people to whom it ministers. It seeks neither to thrill nor entertain.

I'll be doing what I did in the "Revivalism" series. I'll post seven theses, more thinking aloud than anything else. If it provokes discussion, great!