See all of our New City Catechism resources in one page!
During 2019, We are going to go through the New City Catechism one question a week. This post is intended to introduce you to this catechism, show some of the features we’ll see, and give you some ideas for using the catechism. If you are really wondering why a Catechism or Conversational Creed is needed then you can read my previous post.
The Gospel Coalition and Redeemer Presbyterian Church have partnered together to release a series of 52 questions and answers and called it the New City Catechism. Tim Keller explains, “…we decided to
In the New City Catechism each question is designed to help us gain traction on a theological truth and each answer is worded with precision and care, helping us to accurately articulate an answer to questions like “What is prayer?” Accompanying each question is a verse or passage of Scripture that correlates with the topic as well as commentary that goes along with each question from old and new sources. For instance on question 4 about the Trinity, you get the thoughts of Puritan Pastor Richard Baxter (1615-1691) and Contemporary Pastor Kevin DeYoung (1977-).
Why this Catechism?
We choose to use the New City Catechism from the Gospel Coalition as our framework instead of the Heidelberg, Geneva, Westminster, or Baptist (Yes, there are Baptist catechisms, look it up.) because it agrees with our theological convictions as a church and addresses this robust comprehensive theological framework with modern language and rich helpful resources. Also, because it is only 52 questions and answers instead of the 107 in the Westminster Shorter and 129 in the Heidelberg. The manageable length will allow us to cover a large framework in a relatively short period of time and it won’t be quite as daunting.
New City Catechism Resources
One of my favorite things about the New City Catechism is how many resources it has surrounding it. The creators understand that people are learning differently than they used to, so while you can get the standard question and answer set on the website. You can also watch videos that we will share or go through a devotional book. However, you can also get the New City Catechism through a free mobile app (available on smartphones, tablets, etc.) that is intuitive and is rich with features. The app has everything the devotional book does with one added special feature. By enabling “Children’s Mode” you can hear sing-along versions of all 52 questions and answers that are a great means
How to Use the Catechism
Our conviction is that parents are the primary disciple-makers of their kids. However, with busy lives and stressed out parents, and so many opinions about what is best, parents sometimes get paralyzed and don’t start at all or if they do, they have guilty feelings because they aren’t doing enough. That is part of the conviction behind this simple tool.
This is a good place to get started with your family devotion time. If you’ve never done it before, call it a New Years Resolution and get started. We’ll be using some of these questions and answers as part of our corporate worship as well so your personal efforts can be connected to that of others and the church as a whole.
First things first. Download the App or bookmark the web version.
Then pick a time and place. Use what works for your family but try to keep it as consistent as possible. It doesn’t have to be a daily thing. It could be, but a weekly time with quick reminders at random times throughout the week might be more realistic for most families.
Talk around the breakfast table, on the drive to school, or as a pre-bedtime ritual. If you want to get crazy and do flashcards and drills that is great. I’d love to see it. But don’t get legalistic about it. Just treat it like a normal thing and your kids won’t know the difference.
Start by telling them what a catechism is and why you’re doing it. Something like: “We’re going to start something fun that will help us learn about God. Once a week we’re going to ask a question about God and then answer it together. We’re going to try to memorize the answer so when we ask the question again, we’ll remember it. Let’s try the first one…”
Or you can blame it on us with your older kids and say, “You know, Paradox is doing this New City Catechism and I’ve been thinking about how we could find a time to talk about God and His Word on a regular basis, and memorize truth about Him. So why don’t we try it as a family? We’ll take one question a week, answer it, and memorize the answer.”
Then read the question out loud and Let them guess what they think the answer is in their own words. Then read the answer and say it out loud together. Repetition is your friend. Then ask some follow-up questions about what they think that answer means. Questions like, “What does that mean to you?”, “How does that make you feel?”, or “What do you think about that?”
Don’t forget to take advantage of the resources that are available with the Catechism tools itself and I’m going to work to provide additional resources, follow-up questions, and provide videos, devotional thoughts, prayers and other resources here.
Our prayer is that this conversational creed would help your kids (and you) know what they believe and why they believe it, so Jesus can be made much of in