Faster Unto Thee

Classic Catechism Seminar at General Conference Recap

I am happy to report that my seminar on the Classic Catechism went well at General Conference last week.  Attendance was 27 people, which I thought was great considering the facts that the seminar took place during a plenary session (thus no delegates were present at my seminar) and that my seminar was the last one scheduled for the week, which means General Conference attendees were tired and might have opted out.

All but four of the attendees were from Michigan, which makes sense since the conference was in Michigan.  Two others were Hispanic internationals, one an Asian international, and one missionary.  Most attendees were seniors - but not all, which is a victory in my mind considering seniors tends to care more about teaching doctrine than many younger folks. 

The material seemed to be well-received and good group discussion time was had (see picture).  The point I emphasized repeatedly was that correct doctrine, properly taught, liberates people from erroneous conceptions of God, salvation, etc. which hinders their spiritual growth.

If you care to see the seminar handout, it is available on my last post.

Classic Catechism Seminar This Thursday

As promised, here is the handout for this Thursday's seminar at General Conference in Spring Arbor, MI:Download microsoft_word_teaching_the_classic_catechism_general_conference_20.pdf

The seminar will be in the Whiteman-Gibbs Room #15 on the Spring Arbor University campus, from 2:00-3:30 p.m.  Hope to see you there!

Classic Catechism Highlighted in Light and Life Magazine

As I mentioned in a previous post, I will be holding a seminar on the Classic Catechism at General Conference  in Spring Arbor, MI this July.  Today I was happy to see that the Classic Catechism and my seminar was mentioned in the new issue (July/August 2007) of Light and Life Magazine on page 17.

My seminar will be in the Whiteman-Gibbs #15 room from 2:00-3:30 p.m.  on the campus of Spring Arbor University.  As Light and Life notes, the seminar will "overview the catechism's revised content and offer practical suggestions for using it with children, teens, new converts, ministerial candidates and more."

After I am done preparing it, I will post the handout for the seminar here on my blog.  For now, you may access a handout from a previous seminar along with posts and other documents related to the Classic Catechism by clicking on the term "Classic Catechism" on the left side of this blogsite in the CATEGORIES box.  This will bring up everything I've posted and made available so far regarding the Classic Catechism.

If you wish to order a copy, you may do so through Light and Life Communication's online bookstore here.  I will also bring copies with me to General Conference to sell on behalf of Light and Light Communications.

See you at General Conference!

Classic Catechism at General Conference of the Free Methodist Church of North America

Good news!  At General Conference  this summer (on the campus of Spring Arbor University) I have the opportunity to present the Classic Catechism  as a seminar.  My slot is Thursday, July 12, from 2:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. in the Whiteman Gibbs room #15 (location updated 5-30-07).

At this seminar I will give an overview of my extensive revisions to the Catechism plus offer teaching ideas and strategies.  If you are attending General Conference, please come by and attend the seminar.

Catechism and Africa

It has been quite a while since I have posted.  So many things derail me at times from posting every week.  But on Monday the Executive Director of Free Methodist Communications, Gerry Coates, gave me good news that actually made me want to blog again.

Gerry told me that the Free Methodist bishop of South Africa wants to have my book, Classic Catechism, translated into three African languages.  Gerry granted him permission and I assume the work is underway.

I had hoped that within the United States the Catechism would be better received, but it has not.  It seems that teaching doctrine is at an all-time low among the churches in our country, especially in the catechetical mode.  But outside of the USA, teaching by rote is still the preferred mode of instruction, so in places like Africa, South America and Asia the Classic Catechism is being put into use.

When you work on a project for an intended audience and they do not receive it enthusiastically, it can be discouraging.  I even wondered if getting it published was a good idea.  But when I heard that an unintended audience thinks it is an answer to prayer, the heart leaps.  I hope that the folks I did not have in mind when I put together the book use it for God's glory.

Isn't God surprising?

More Catechism Ideas

Pastor Deana Hayes of the Light and Life Free Methodist Church in Avon, IN has been using the Classic Catechism in their children's ministry.  A more detailed explanation is forthcoming, but here are some beginning thoughts of Light and Life FMC is making use of the Classic Catechism:

"In summary . . . we have some questions with the answers on flashcards that the children can review prior to the opening of CLC [Christian Life Club - a midweek program]. Each child has been given a Catechism book for their own study as well. The last Sunday of the month we are quizzing the children through different games each month. October was basketball. If they answered correctly they scored a basket.

We love the updated Classic Catechism at L&L!"

Deana

If you are using the Classic Catechism, please send in a summary of how you use it - for any age and in any way.  Let's share ideas!

Russ

Classic Catechism Goes International

One of my hopes for the Classic Catechism (see previous posts) was t hat it would be used internationally on the mission field. Our missionaries frequently mention the need for basic, inexepensive theological materials that are in harmony with Wesleyan doctrine.   The need is there because so little theological materials from a Wesleyan perspective are available outside of English, so our indiginous pastors and other church leaders in non-English speaking areas need a basic text that will help them become truly Free Methodist in their theology.

So I was very excited to hear that the Rev. Eric Spangler, Director of Mobilization for Free Methodist World Missions, is taking 50 copies of the Classic Catechism to India with him where he will lead a pastors' retreat.  The copies will be handed out as a free resource to the local pastors, putting in their hands what is essentially a dotrinal primer.  Hopefully, this will lead to significant use of the Classic Catechism in India and beyond.

I am also pleased to report that there is interest in translating the Classic Catechism into Spanish and possibly another language.  This would be a great help to the growing Free Methodist Church in Latin America, which also needs a basic, inexpensive doctrial primer.

So join me in celebrating what God is doing through a little green book!

To order a copy on-line: Light and Life Communications

Thoughts on Creation

For those of you who have been visiting this blog looking for the promised theological reflections on the Classic Catechism, I apologize for not posting sooner. Various things have kept me away, but I trust that I will be able to post regularly for a while.

Here are some beginning, rough thoughts  on why the doctrine of creation is such a big deal. More are to come.

Division II of the Classic Catechism covers the topic of creation, both the world in general, humankind in particular, and angels. This is a crucial section of the Catechism that lays part of the foundation for a fully-formed Christian worldview. For without a clear, biblical view of God deliberately creating the universe and all that is in it many other biblical truths have no grounding.

For one thing, if there was not a real, deliberate and purposeful creation of the world by God, humans have no accountability to God. But if our origin was directly caused by God, then we are his creatures and he is our creator; we owe our very existence to him. And as our creator, God has authority over us in all matters. Take God out of the picture with various forms of evolution and there is no one outside of ourselves to be accountable to. The biblical notion, however, that life finds its origin in God and that each person will stand before God and be judged one day has a sobering effect on how one lives. If one believes that he or she is accountable to God, then the natural questions are: “What does God expect of me? How do I please him?” These questions drive away moral relativism and push for a transcendent, universal morality based on the revealed will of God instead of whatever the current consensus of society is or whatever the opinion of individuals are. The basic understanding of accountability to God as creator must be drilled into Christians of all ages if they are to have any lasting motivation for seeking and surrendering to God’s will in all things.

For another thing, without a firm belief in a deliberate creation by God, there is no objective meaning or purpose for humankind. You just have to come up with your own answer to the questions, “What is the meaning of life?” and, “Why am I here?” and, “What is my purpose?” The problem with coming up with an answer to those questions on your own is that you are always aware that you are just making up the answer and that your answer is just one in vast sea of opinions. The human heart cries out for something more transcendent, timeless and fixed and the God-shaped hole inside longs to be filled. The Catechism affirms that the Bible reveals the answer throughout it pages in sweeping ways:

41. For what purpose was humankind created?
  To glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.

The answer is simple and powerful. God created us first to bring him glory through worship, obedience, proclamation, etc. That is to say we find meaning in honoring and promoting God in all things for he is our creator, redeemer and friend. That gives us tasks, work - something to do. But the second part is equally meaningful: we are to enjoy Him forever. Classically, this means we are to find our deepest needs met in God, to thrive as we cultivate a deep and personal relationship with God and thus live life to its fullest in God. Both parts of the answer satisfy us practically and spiritually by giving us something bigger than ourselves, even bigger than our world, to live for. This is the opposite of every secular answer to this question that seeks to find fulfillment in bettering oneself, satisfying lusts, acquiring power and countless other things. The Christian answer is that fulfillment is found in giving oneself unreservedly to God.

Our children need to know why they are here - they need to learn this concept so they will understand that life is best lived in fellowship with God.

 

 

Catechism Lesson Plan Year 1, 5th and 6th grade

Our experimental lesson breakdown for this year's 5th and 6th grade class is right here: Download microsoft_word_catechism_grades_56_teaching_plan_06_2.pdf

The original plan was to cover only section V (Salvation) of the catechism this year in the 5th and 6th grade class but there are two problems with that.  First, since we are just now beginning to systematically teach the Classic Catechism, the 5th and 6th graders have not previously studied the previous sections as childen will who go through the whole program.  Second, section V contains too little material  to fill the 26 weeks in our schedule.  So what I have done in the above document is add some materail from other sections of the catechism to lay a foundation for section V.  The material added covers a bit of creation, particularly the original state of humankind, the Fall, a bit about the Law of God and then on to section V, Salvation.  Hopefully the materaial I have added will help students understand the great need humankind has for salvation.

Questions?  Ideas?  Post a comment!

Catechism Seminar

This week I am presenting the Classic Catechism to the pastors of our conference at our annual Pastors' Resourcing Retreat.  The handout I have written for this is here: [update: see General Conference posts for a better document].

This file contains a brief history of the origin of the project and some basic teaching ideas.

To access other free resources regarding the Classic Catechism, go over to the left of this screen and click on "Classic Catechism" in the categories box.  That will bring up all related posts.  And check back from time to time as more will be added.

Please read and comment!!!