I spent about 45 minutes on the phone yesterday with Dr. Ron Gleason, interviewing him about the training of children in the church. Dr Gleason is pastor of Grace Presbyterian Church in Yorba Linda, California. He has quite a diverse bio, having served as a tank commander in the Army before spending 10 years in the Netherlands, studying Herman Bavinck, and serving as a pastor.
I first heard of Dr. Gleason while listening to a message he gave on Herman Bavinck (who I only recently learned of through another man's top 15 reading list of 2008 – he rated Bavinck's 4 volume theology as his #2 book of the year). While listening to the message, I was intrigued by a statement he made about catechism training in the Reformed Church of the Netherlands. Gleason said "The children in the church were trained in the catechism over five years: 3 years in the Heidelberg Catechism, 1 year in the Belgic Confession, and 1 year on the Canons of Dort, and it was primarily the responsibility of
the fathers to catechize their children." Since catechism training is so rarely utilized in today's church, I asked if he would let me interview him on the practice. Below are his responses:
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Can you tell me a little about why your church does Catechism training?
If you look at the modern church, there is a tremendous emphasis on programs. But what kind of legacy has the mega-church left us? Are people better off today because of what they learned in church, or do they have a deficient understanding of the stories of the Bible and of theology? The Dutch church was always looking for ways to bring unity between church, school, and home. Studying Catechisms helped provide that and we've followed their approach at Grace Presbyterian. This is a tool we can put in the hands of fathers and equip them to embrace their greatest responsibility of training their children to follow Jesus.
What kind of process do you follow at your Church to teach the Catechism?
The Dutch Church started teaching their children at 12 years old. Then, when they were 18 they were ready to be accepted into the church and join in communion. Our church is pushing back the starting age to 9, because of the desire we've seen in many of the children to join in communion at an earlier age. The Jewish practice seemed to be to accept a child into the community at 13, so I guess we're modeling that a bit.
How do you incorporate the parents in the Catechism training?
When we kicked off this program, I began by teaching the parents the catechism during Sunday School. I would use this time to walk them through the question for the week and give them tips for teaching the material to their kids. The parents are then expected to teach the Catechism daily and help their kids memorize all the questions. We still follow this model and find that it is very effective in allowing us to connect church and home. Initially, we also had the Elders meet with each family in their home to explain what we were doing and why. It was a big paradigm breaker for a lot of families and took some time to embrace, much like if you were to come to someone's home and say "we think you should consider home-schooling." The emotional reaction is very similar.
What material do you use to teach the Catechism?
I wrote three workbooks that we use as a basis for instruction. The material is based on a combination of the Heidelberg and Westminster shorter catechisms. I combined the two to get more emphasis on the Apostles Creed, Ten Commandments, and the Lord's Prayer. These workbooks are only available through our church right now.
What did catechism training look like in your home?
We would generally work on the catechism right before bed. That is when the kids were most attentive and willing to dig a little deeper, primarily because they wanted to put off going to bed. When they were younger, we might only spend 5 minutes on the questions, but as they aged, we noticed that they were much more eager to ask clarifying questions and to dig deeper into the meaning of the questions. I was honestly not that concerned about whether or not they understood the questions or even the words they were using. I just wanted them to memorize it, to get the information in their head, and I believed God would bear fruit from that effort later.
And how did your kids respond to the Catechisms?
Just this week my two oldest sons (39 and 37) were telling me how much they benefited from learning the catechisms. They are excited to teach their children as well. All five living children are following the Lord and growing in their love for him.
How else are the scriptures taught in your home?
Every night, at the end of dinner, we read through a passage of scripture, discuss it, then pray. We take maybe 3 minutes to read the scripture and then I just want to see if they can grasp the main points. Usually my wife chooses the book of the Bible we read. Right now we're reading through Galatians.
What else does your church offer for the youth?
We don't have a Jr. high or Sr. high program – instead we have mentoring groups. The boys are mentored by their fathers. If they do not have a father, then their grandfather, an elder in the church, or another man will agree to mentor te child. These groups meet in the homes of the elders, every other week, and primarily deal with life issues. Right now we're studying a 2 volume series by Douglas Bond (Stand Fast and Hold Fast).
But we also equip the youth by training fathers to lead devotions in the home. On Wednesday nights the men gather for a Bible study, right now we're teaching through Proverbs. I don't teach that study, I facilitate it. The men rotate on who teaches the study, and each man is required to bring copies of his teaching notes to share with the other men so that they will know how to teach the content to their family. You see the only way to really learn how to teach your family is to practice teaching. This study gives men a safe place to practice and get positive encouragement from other men.
I was very grateful to have this interview and for men like Dr. Gleason that are pushing the average church member to go deeper in their understanding of theology and the Scriptures. Maybe you have not been very satisfied with your church's approach to children's ministry. Try reading through some of the catechism links on this post and see what you think of the material. Are these the kinds of things you would like to know about God and have your kids learn as well? Have you longed for your church to be intentional to link the teaching at church with what is being taught in the home? Then maybe you should consider using the catechism approach to training your children.
On a recent FamilyLife Today radio broadcast, Pastor Dave Carder states that "40% of Christian marriages will experience an affair before the couple reaches the age of 40." This statistic made me gasp when I heard it. 40%?!?! That seems impossible. Yet the statistics also say that 50% of all couples (Christian or non-Christian) experience affairs before 40. Thus a reminder that many "Christian" marriages are not very different from the average married couple. Based on the statistics, the chances are good (or bad) that you know someone who has experienced an affair or will experience one. The radio programs are outstanding, and I highly recommend that every couple take time to listen to them. You might even consider ordering a few copies of the CD to pass along to other couples.
Part 1: Why do Affairs Happen?
Part 3: Where do Affairs Start?
FamilyLife recently aired a series of interviews with Bruce Ware, who wrote a book called Big Truths for Young Hearts: Teaching and Learning the Greatness of God. This book is a summary of the many conversations he had with his two daughters during their adolescent years. Bruce describes what he did as "co-opting" family time to do what he loved best – teaching the great and glorious truths of the Christian faith. He did this over "family discussion during dinner, late-night chats in his study, and 'daddy-daughter dates.'"
Bruce is a professor of theology at Southern Seminary in Louisville, Ky. Though he is a skilled theologian, his kids comment in the book on how adept he was at making theology relevant to young children. But of particular note is what his girls wrote in the forward of the book: "We followed our father's teaching in part because he practiced what he preached." I often wonder what the children of many parenting 'experts' would say about their parents. Here we get the author giving his daughters space to tell-all, and they give nothing but glowing praise and admiration for their father.
One of the goals of this blog is to equip you with tools for the spiritual training of your children, but all the tools in the world are worthless unless you 'practice what you preach.' Every guy reading this should be encouraged – because if a Theology Professor, one normally known for being 'dry' or 'boring' or 'irrelevant', can teach children about Jesus and still make it interesting, then the rest of us have a great chance to win at home.
You can listen to the three programs via the following links:
Introducing Your Child to God
Sandbox Theology
Helping Your Child Understand the Holy Spirit
One afternoon my wife was listening to the radio. A show about the failing economy came on and the speaker announced "I want you to think of the thing which you are most afraid." He paused. "Now – what came to mind? Was it being poor, losing a loved one, maybe cancer?" Another long pause… "If the thing you fear most was anything other than being distant in your relationship with Jesus Christ, then your priorities are out of order."
Tim Keller recently gave a talk at the Gospel Coalition Conference that focused on the issue of Idolatry (download video or audio here). He said that Salvation is putting your hope in Jesus, but Idolatry is putting your hope in anything other than Jesus. He also said that fear is Idolatry, because the thing you fear has become too high of a priority for you. So high that you become fearful when you imagine life without it. Security, respect, and truth can become gods if they are the ultimate source of your purpose and fulfillment.
Keller also commented on Martin Luther's view on the 10 Commandments. Luther saw all of the commandments as flowing out of the first one: The Lord your God is one; you should have no other God's before him. Thus if you break any of the other 9, you are breaking them because you failed to understand the first command. Why do you steal? Because the possession has become an Idol – a god above the one true God. Why do you lie? Because you value people's perception of you more than God's perception of you. These things are Idolatry.
Voddie Baucham recently gave a message at FamilyLife addressing this very issue (video of Part 1 and Part 2). He said "if you struggle with anger – getting angry at your wife. You don't have an anger problem, you have a worship problem." You get angry because you put have something else as a higher priority than worshipping and pleasing Christ. At that point, you have fallen into Idolatry.
One by one, the families made their way across the hardwood floors of the courtroom to the accusation podium. There they sought to unload all their retribution on the man that had taken their loved ones away. They were given this opportunity by the judge, setting the killer before them one last time before he was shut away in a prison for life. A fire hose of vileness and anger sprayed forth from the people that had been wronged, yet throughout the ordeal, the criminal sat with a wiry smile on his face, almost as if to say “your words are meaningless.” Near the end of the indictments, one man approached the stand with noticeably less anger on his face than those who had gone before him. He came to his place before the microphone, paused to collect himself, and said, “I want you to know, I forgive you for the things you’ve done to my family.” The hardened criminal that had taken such delight in the pain of so many could no longer hold his composure – he was reduced to a puddle of tears.
Of course, there are many other areas where forgiveness applies than just marriage. I often pray that one of the things I will do well as a parent is to be quick to seek and grant forgiveness. I want my son to know that Dad does not hold grudges, nor am I too proud to admit wrong and ask him to forgive me.
Forgiveness also extends to people you do not know or have never met – for instance, many people carry around bitterness towards political figures all of their lives. And of course, the ultimate application of this is in our relationship with God: Matthew 6.14-15, “For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”
Take some time this week to think through the concept of forgiveness. Is there someone you need to grant forgiveness? Or maybe someone from whom you need to seek forgiveness? It could be a parent that you have neglected, a child you have exasperated, a family member you’ve offended. Maybe you need to forgive a politician for spending too much of your hard earned money (unless you think they have not spent enough.) Maybe you even need to think about forgiving yourself for past mistakes and missed opportunities.
Forgiveness may seem impossible in your situation. You may say “you have no idea what I’ve been through” and you would be right – I have no concept of the pain you have experienced. However I know that Jesus, when he was hanging on the cross, prayed “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do” in Luke 23:34. If Jesus, one who was reviled without reason, can forgive, then there is hope that all of us can as well.
Today is a day of setting new goals, aspiring towards long held dreams, and setting resolutions. Below is a list of a few activities that you may want to put on your list:
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