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Institute for Faith and Learning
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      • Dr. Bill Sterrett, Hale Endowed Chair of School Leadership
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    • Baylor Symposium on Nicaea: Creed, Culture, and Christendom
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      • Bailey Lecture Video Archive
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Baylor BU Institute for Faith and Learning Media and Resources The Christian Reflection Project Catechism
  • Faith Animating Online Education
  • Institute for Faith and Learning Video Archive
  • Baylor Symposium on Faith and Culture Video Archive
  • Bill and Roberta Bailey Family Lecture in Christian Ethics
  • Recommended Reading
  • External Resources
  • The Christian Reflection Project
    • Acedia
    • Advent Ethics
    • Aging
    • Anger
    • Apocalyptic Vision
    • Attentive Patience
    • The Book of Acts
    • Caring for Creation
    • Catechism
    • Chastity
    • Children
    • Christianity and Islam
    • Christmas and Epiphany
    • Cities and Towns
    • Cloning
    • Consumerism
    • Death
    • Disability
    • Easter
    • Food and Hunger
    • Forgiveness
    • Freedom
    • Friendship
    • Gambling Culture
    • Generosity
    • Global Wealth
    • Health
    • Heaven and Hell
    • Hospitality
    • Immigration
    • Inklings of Glory
    • Lent
    • The Letter of James
    • Marriage
    • Membership
    • Monasticism Old and New
    • Moral Landscape of Creation
    • Mysticism
    • Parables
    • Patterns of Violence
    • Peace and War
    • Pentecost
    • Pornographic Culture
    • Prayer
    • Prison
    • Prophetic Ethics
    • Racism
    • Sabbath
    • Schools in a Pluralist Culture
    • Scripture
    • Sermon on the Mount
    • Singing Our Lives
    • Sports
    • Suffering
    • Traveling Well
    • Virtual Lives
    • Vocation
    • Where Wisdom Is Found
    • Women and the Church
    • Women in the Bible
    • Work

Catechism

Catechesis transforms new believers from listeners to discoverers. This is catechism's "secret," its immense value, for the seventeenth-century poet and priest George Herbert. "At sermons, and prayers, men may sleep or wander," he wrote, "but when one is asked a question, he must discover what he is."

More appropriately, we discover whose we are. Unfortunately, writes Gary Furr, we are far more deeply initiated today by the powerful catechisms of media, American culture, and capitalism than by this ancient faith of Christians.

"To introduce new believers to the Church of Jesus Christ" through catechesis, Dan Williams notes, "is to open for them the treasures of the apostolic faith and practice--a faith much larger than any one denomination's claims upon it--sharpened and transmitted through the ages." Debra Dean Murphy explores how to introduce children to worship. John Lockhart tells how his church wrote a catechism to help adolescents frame their faith. Emilie Griffin shows how spiritual direction can offer practical guidance for Christians of all ages.

Christian Reflection is an ideal resource for discipleship training in the church. Multiple copies are available for group study at $3.00 per copy.

The study guides and lesson plans integrate Bible study, prayer, and worship to explore how the ancient church practice of catechesis can orient new believers to their roles in the drama of God's redemptive work. The guides can be used in a series or individually. You may download and reproduce them for personal or group use.

Download the entire Catechism issue and the set of six Study Guides. Or, download individual pieces by clicking the titles below.

Articles

  • "Stepping Into the Drama," by Gary Furr
  • "Considering Catechism for Suspicious Protestants," by Daniel H. Williams
  • "Introducing Children to Worship," by Debra Dean Murphy
  • "Laying Foundations of Faith," by John D. Lockhart
  • "The Teaching Power of Spiritual Direction," by Emilie Griffin

Art

  • "Illuminating the Word," by Heidi J. Hornik
    • The Saint John's Bible
    • Nativity window, Chartres Cathedral

Hymn and Worship Service 

  • "Make Us All We're Meant to Be," by Burt L. Burleson and Kurt Kaiser
  • Worship Service, by Burt L. Burleson

Inspirational Pieces

  • "Training Our Aim," by George Mason
  • "Living with Questions of Purpose," by Kyle Reese

Book Reviews

  • "Learning Life-Giving Ways of Life," by Todd Edmondson
    • Tony Jones, Soul Shaper: Exploring Spirituality and Contemplative Practices in Youth Ministry
    • Tony Jones, The Sacred Way: Spiritual Practices for Everyday Life
    • Dorothy C. Bass and Don C. Richter, eds., Way to Live: Christian Practices for Teens
    • Dorothy C. Bass, ed., Practicing Our Faith: A Way of Life for a Searching People
  • "Catechism in the Worshiping Community," by Gerald J. Mast
    • Kevin Vanhoozer, The Drama of Doctrine
    • Simon Chan, Liturgical Theology: The Church as Worshiping Community
    • Debra Dean Murphy, Teaching that Transforms: Worship as the Heart of Christian Education
    • Sara Wenger Shenk, Anabaptist Ways of Knowing: A Conversation about Tradition-Based Critical Education

Study Guides and Lesson Plans 

Download All Six Study Guides Here

  • "Stepping Into the Drama"
  • "Catechism for Suspicious Protestants"
  • "First Things First"
  • "Introducing Children to Worship"
  • "Laying Foundations for Faith"
  • "Spiritual Direction"

Institute for Faith and Learning

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Baylor BU Institute for Faith and Learning Media and Resources The Christian Reflection Project Catechism
  • About
    Back
    • Staff
    • Campus Impact
      Back
      • Dr. Bill Sterrett, Hale Endowed Chair of School Leadership
      • Dr. Holly Oxhandler, Professor, Associate Dean for Research, Diana R. Garland School of Social Work
        Back
        • Faith and Learning at Baylor
      • Dr. Larry Lyon, Vice Provost, Dean of the Graduate School
      • Dr. Min Y. Pack, Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering
      • Dr. Tom Hibbs, J. Newton Rayzor Sr. Professor of Philosophy and Dean Emeritus
    • Connect with us
  • Conferences and Symposiums
    Back
    • Baylor Symposium on Faith and Culture
      Back
      • 2026 Technology and the Human Person in the Age of AI
        Back
        • Call for Proposals
        • Invited Speakers
      • 2024 Renewing and Reimagining Institutions for the Common Good
        Back
        • Conference Schedule
        • Invited Speakers
        • Photos and Video
        • Conference Volume
      • 2023 Called Together in an Age of Discord
        Back
        • Travel Information
        • Conference Schedule
        • Featured Speakers
      • 2022 Art Seeking Understanding
        Back
        • Conference Schedule
        • Plenary and Featured Speakers
      • 2021 Living Accountably
        Back
        • Plenary and Featured Speakers
        • Video Archive
      • 2019 The Character of the University
        Back
        • Plenary and Featured Speakers
        • Video Archive
      • 2018 Stewardship of Creation
        Back
        • Featured Speakers
        • Video Archive
      • 2017 The Bible and the Reformation
        Back
        • Co-Sponsors
        • Featured Speakers and Panels
        • Video Archive
      • 2016 Higher Learning
        Back
        • Featured Speakers and Panels
        • Video Archive
      • 2015 The Spirit of Sports
        Back
        • Featured Speakers
        • Video Archive
      • 2014 Faith and Film
        Back
        • Video Archive
      • 2013 Kierkegaard: A Christian Thinker for Our Time?
        Back
        • Featured Speakers
        • Video Archive
      • 2012 Technology and Human Flourishing
        Back
        • Featured Speakers
        • Video Archive
      • 2011 Educating for Wisdom in the 21st Century University
        Back
        • Featured Speakers
        • Video Archive
      • 2010 Human Dignity and the Future of Health Care
        Back
        • Featured Speakers
        • Video Archive
      • 2009 Secularization and Revival
        Back
        • Video Archive
      • 2008 Bottom-Up Approaches to Global Poverty
      • 2007 Friendship
    • Baylor Symposium on Nicaea: Creed, Culture, and Christendom
    • Bill and Roberta Bailey Family Lecture in Christian Ethics
      Back
      • Bailey Lecture Video Archive
    • Other Conferences and Events
      Back
      • IFL@25
        Back
        • Select Pictures from IFL@25
      • 2019 LFP National Conference
        Back
        • Presenters
      • Art & Soul
      • Pruit Memorial Symposium
        Back
        • 2001 Celebrating Augustine's Confessions
        • 2002 Christianity and Economics
        • 2003 The Schooled Heart
        • 2004 Slavery, Oppression, and Prejudice
        • 2005 Global Christianity
      • Baylor University Medical Ethics Seminar
        Back
        • 2016 Medical Ethics Seminar
        • 2017 Medical Ethics Seminar
        • 2018 Medical Ethics Seminar
      • One-Time Conferences
  • Programs
    Back
    • Missio
    • Communio: A Retreat for Baylor Educators
    • Crane Scholars Program
      Back
      • Application Requirements
      • Program Activities
      • Program Leaders
      • Media
    • Conyers Scholars
    • Vocare
    • Reading Groups and Guest Speakers
    • Soundings Project
    • Forming Character in the Classroom
      Back
      • About the Program: Called to Character
      • Past Workshops
  • Events
  • Media and Resources
    Back
    • Faith Animating Online Education
      Back
      • Starting Points
      • A Christian Imagination about Online Education?
      • Cultivating Character and Online Learning
      • Additional Resources
    • Institute for Faith and Learning Video Archive
    • Baylor Symposium on Faith and Culture Video Archive
    • Bill and Roberta Bailey Family Lecture in Christian Ethics
    • Recommended Reading
    • External Resources
    • The Christian Reflection Project
      Back
      • Acedia
      • Advent Ethics
      • Aging
      • Anger
      • Apocalyptic Vision
      • Attentive Patience
      • The Book of Acts
      • Caring for Creation
      • Catechism
      • Chastity
      • Children
      • Christianity and Islam
      • Christmas and Epiphany
      • Cities and Towns
      • Cloning
      • Consumerism
      • Death
      • Disability
      • Easter
      • Food and Hunger
      • Forgiveness
      • Freedom
      • Friendship
      • Gambling Culture
      • Generosity
      • Global Wealth
      • Health
      • Heaven and Hell
      • Hospitality
      • Immigration
      • Inklings of Glory
      • Lent
      • The Letter of James
      • Marriage
      • Membership
      • Monasticism Old and New
      • Moral Landscape of Creation
      • Mysticism
      • Parables
      • Patterns of Violence
      • Peace and War
      • Pentecost
      • Pornographic Culture
      • Prayer
      • Prison
      • Prophetic Ethics
      • Racism
      • Sabbath
      • Schools in a Pluralist Culture
      • Scripture
      • Sermon on the Mount
      • Singing Our Lives
      • Sports
      • Suffering
      • Traveling Well
      • Virtual Lives
      • Vocation
      • Where Wisdom Is Found
      • Women and the Church
      • Women in the Bible
      • Work
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