Christian Education

Journal
Article
Christian Education Journal:
Research on Educational Ministry
Catechesis, Mystagogy, 2018, Vol. 15(2) 156–170
ª The Author(s) 2018
and Pedagogy: Continuing Reprints and permission:
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DOI: 10.1177/0739891318761673
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Beverly C. Johnson-Miller
Asbury Theological Seminary, Wilmore, KY, USA

Benjamin D. Espinoza
Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA

Abstract
A renewed alignment with the church’s historic ministry of catechesis necessitates a
comprehensive understanding of the God-centered, experiential, lifelong, commu-
nal, and mission-centered nature of catechesis. Ancient church practice of educating
the affections, in contrast to post-Enlightenment intellectual indoctrination, requires
mystagogical immersion of the human heart and life in the love of God. Mystagogical
catechesis prevents the formation of superficial faith through pedagogical practices
that: recognize the liturgical nature of faith and life; engage the whole person; aim for
the heart; envision the journey; provoke wonder; and cultivate worship.

Keywords
catechesis, Christian education, liturgical formation, spiritual formation, mystagogy,
human development, educational theory, theological education, transformational
pedagogy

Introduction
In our previous article (2014) we proposed that the dominance of developmental
theory in the field of Christian education, while useful in understanding the Christian
formation process and formulating educational ministry approaches, has led to

Corresponding author:
Beverly C. Johnson-Miller, Asbury Theological Seminary, 204 N Lexington Ave, Wilmore, KY 40390,
USA.
Email: beverly.johnson-miller@asburyseminary.edu
Johnson-Miller and Espinoza 157

numerous insufficiencies in Christian education theory and practice. While we

acknowledge the strength of developmental theory in helping us understand how
humans learn, grow, and develop in the Christian life, use of developmental theory
has been overly focused on process versus substance, served as the primary theore-
tical base of Christian education, and has unnecessarily fragmented generations. We
proposed a renewed alignment with the church’s historic ministry of catechesis “not
as a replacement of developmental theory in Christian education, but to provide a
comprehensive overarching theological orientation where developmental theory can
find its rightful place in the cultivation of Christian faith” (Espinoza & Johnson-
Miller, 2014, p. 15). We demonstrated that catechesis is a biblical concept, brings the
generations together, and rightly refocuses our attention on spiritual, biblical, and
theological formation while appropriately incorporating the vital insights of devel-
opmental theory.
In this article we will expand our definition and put forward a fresh vision for
catechesis that is dynamic, God-centered (in contrast to human-growth centered),
and a life-long process of theological spiritual cultivation for the sake of divine
attentiveness (communion, meaning, consciousness, virtue, and vocation). More-
over, this article will explore ancient church mystagogy, which exemplifies the
spiritual-experiential nature of catechesis. Finally, this article will articulate several
practical suggestions for those interested in implementing a developmentally sound
and theologically rich catechetical formation process in local congregations.

Exploring Catechesis
Espinoza & Johnson-Miller (2014) argue that several elements comprise catechesis:

 Brief, elementary, word of mouth instruction

 The process of initiation into Christian community (its faith, revelation, and
vocation).
 The shaping of religious emotions and affections in the context of teaching
doctrine.
 The essential ministry of the church – passing on the teachings of Christ
throughout the ages.
 Making of disciples and educating them

While we affirm these crucial elements, there are other foundational elements
that we must explore. John Westerhoff (1982) provides perspective:

Catechesis aims to provide persons with a context for experiencing the converting and
nurturing presence of Christ day by day as they gather in the Lord’s name with other
baptized persons to confront and be confronted by God’s word and gospel, to respond
to the gift of grace, to pray for the world and church, to share God’s peace, to present
the offerings and oblations of their life and labor, to make thanksgiving for God’s
grace, break bread and share the gifts of God and thereby be nourished to love and serve
158 Christian Education Journal: Research on Educational Ministry 15(2)

the Lord. Catechesis aims to provide persons with a context for falling in love with
Christ and thereby having their eyes and ears opened to receive and hence experience
personally the gospel of God’s kingdom come. It further aims to provide a context for
persons to live in a growing and developing relationship with Christ so that they might
be a sign of God’s kingdom come. And last, it aims to provide a context for persons to
reflect and act with Christ on behalf of God’s kingdom. (p. 221)

Westerhoff’s substantial description of catechesis recognizes several elements

deserving of further exploration in this paper, namely the fact that catechesis is
God-centered as opposed to human-growth centered, experiential, lifelong, commu-
nal, and mission-oriented. Further, and of utmost importance, catechesis is immer-
sion in the love of God. We acknowledge that while developmental theory coincides
with these elements, it does not provide us with the theological or spiritual infra-
structure necessary for cultivating faithful followers of Christ (Espinoza & Johnson-
Miller, 2014).

Catechesis is God-centered in Jesus Christ

Catechesis is a God-centered process as opposed to human-growth centered. God-
centeredness, or theocentricity, in the catechetical process means that all ideas,
thoughts, practices, doctrines, and questions are centered on the character of God
as revealed in the person and work of Jesus Christ and in the text of Scripture. Christ,
as the living Word, is central to all aspects of catechetical formation as affirmed by
the first question and answer of the Heidelberg Catechism (1563):

Q: What is your only comfort in life and in death?

A. That I am not my own, but belong body and soul, in life and in death to my
faithful Savior, Jesus Christ. He has fully paid for all my sins with his precious blood,
and has set me free from the tyranny of the devil. He also watches over me in such a
way that not a hair can fall from my head without the will of my Father in heaven; in
fact, all things must work together for my salvation. Because I belong to him, Christ, by
his Holy Spirit, assures me of eternal life.

In this pastoral passage, the emphasis is completely on the person and work of
Jesus Christ, but the implications mentioned are directed at the Christian commu-
nity. Catechesis is theocentric in that the aims, purposes, and goals of the educational
process are focused entirely on the faithful proclamation of the gospel of Christ – the
living, life-transforming son of God – encountered in life and articulated in the
historic doctrines of the Christian faith. Jesus Christ is the essence, content, and
focus of catechesis.
Westerhoff writes, “Catechesis aims to provide persons with a context for falling
in love with Christ and thereby having their eyes and ears opened to receive and
hence experience personally the gospel of God’s kingdom come” (1982, p. 221).
Johnson-Miller and Espinoza 159

Thus, in providing a spiritually fortified context for persons to encounter the living
Christ, we are providing the means of Christian formation and transformation.
The theoretical constructs that underlie a living-Christ formation experience
cannot be explained through one stream of social science scholarship. While the
descriptive picture of learning and growth identified via developmental theory indi-
cates essential theoretical insights for understanding and promoting sound Christian
formation practice, social sciences cannot fully articulate a comprehensive theore-
tical rationale. Developmental theory as an essential theoretical construct does not
serve as the main theoretical basis of Christian formation as Ward (1995) has
contended. The spiritual-experiential, Christ-centered nature of Christian formation
requires theoretical groundedness in biblical theology and historic Christian
tradition.
God-centered catechesis is grounded in a multi-disciplinary biblical theology that
incorporates theological theoretical constructs of human sciences, Scripture, and
historic Christian tradition. D. Campbell Wyckoff (1959), while writing of the
central role of Scripture in Christian education theory and practices, notes:

Such an understanding of the Christian faith [the Word of God being central] is
absolutely indispensable to a theory of Christian education that is theologically worthy.
Any Christian education theory that did not make this central would be distorted and
would lack permanent value. Revelation, and the Christian faith as a witness to
revelation, are thus central in Christian education theory. (p. 98)

Though Wyckoff is writing of the centrality of Scripture in the Christian forma-

tion process, his words are nonetheless pertinent to this conversation. For Wyckoff,
basing Christian education theory on anything other than the Holy Bible will lack
guidance and sustenance. Thus a theocentric approach to Christian education
ensures that educational endeavors in both the church and the academy are
spiritually fruitful and theologically faithful. While Scripture is essential for God-
centered catechesis, the end goal of catechesis is a personal experiential life-
transforming encounter and communion with the Living Word and not intellectual
engagement with Scripture.
This is not to say that we disregard developmental theory as a complementary
theoretical framework in catechetical ministry. The case is quite the opposite. While
developmental theory may not be our primary framework for catechesis, it none-
theless helps us understand the natural ways in which human beings grow, receive,
learn, and develop through the interaction of ideas, relationships, and activities. That
being said, looking to developmental theory should be secondary and complemen-
tary to formulating theocentric catechesis. Christians enjoy the blessings of special
revelation of God in Christ made known through Scripture, a revelation that provides
the hermeneutical framework for understanding general revelation made known in
part through the social sciences (Holmes, 1977). While our primary allegiance is to
Christ in accordance with Scripture, cultivation of wholeness and maturity in Christ
160 Christian Education Journal: Research on Educational Ministry 15(2)

calls for meaningful alignment with, and the embodiment of, God’s truth wherever it
be found.
Centering educational ministry on Christ necessitates that the aims, goals, and
processes of catechesis are aligned with the person and work of Christ, the procla-
mation of Scriptural truth, and the doctrines of orthodox Christianity. Scripture and
doctrine provide narrative accounts of the person and work of Christ; conceptual
space for spiritual awareness, encounter, and growth; a language for articulating the
spiritual life; a conceptual lens for interpreting life; and a uniting of lived faith
throughout church history – past, present, and future. Christ as the beginning, end,
and center of educational ministry ensures that ministry practices are grounded in the
faithful proclamation of the gospel.
Developmental realities must not be ignored in any dimension or form of pro-
clamation because birth and growth in all aspects of Christian being are deeply and
dialectically intertwined with human development. Developmental theory is needed
to inform and guide our hermeneutical and pedagogical practices as growth in faith
and morality parallel the development of the personality. My three-year old daugh-
ter’s words that “Jesus is in my heart and in my belly button” in contrast to her
question at age twelve as to why a good God would allow evil in the world illustrates
the significance of understanding developmental theory for the sake of cultivating
Christian growth and maturity. Spiritual growth cannot be understood or nurtured
apart from human development. However, human development apart from transfor-
mational encounter with Christ does not equal or automatically result in Christian
spiritual growth.

Catechesis is a Dynamic Process

Catechesis is a dynamic process that creates space for spiritual encounter, cultiva-
tion, and transformation. Catechesis explores, engages, discusses, and wrestles with
the truths of the Christian faith and the realities of life in a dialogical dialectical
manner that is developmentally and culturally appropriate. Both catechist and cate-
chumen embark together on a spiritual journey of rich theological exploration lead-
ing to an encounter with the living God through narrative encounter, focused
conversation, critical reflection, and prayer practices in manifold forms. Unfortu-
nately, many people view catechesis as a unilateral, “banking”-oriented practice of
theological indoctrination disallowing robust discussion and experiential spiritual
engagement among those being taught.
The Reformers warned against catechesis becoming an exercise in rote memor-
ization and examination to the detriment of genuine interaction with people and
ideas. Packer and Parrett (2010) astutely explain that “Rote memorizations of cate-
chisms without a lively, interactive relationship of didactic exchange between cate-
chist and catechumens was not of course the Reformers’ intent, and warnings against
such lapses into the merely mechanical were frequently sounded” (p. 65).
Johnson-Miller and Espinoza 161

For Luther, the point of catechesis was holy living, not merely correct beliefs. He
viewed the doctrinal dimension of catechesis as foundational for a rich life of prayer.
Luther understood catechesis as the process in which believers come to embody the
spiritual life imparted to them; something to be lived out in the liturgies of one’s life.
For Martin Luther, catechism was more than a mirror to reveal sin; it “taught and
guided in what they should believe, know, do, and leave undone, according to the
Christian faith” (Harran, 1997, p. 203). Luther embraced a much broader purpose for
catechesis than many who followed, namely “as ongoing preparation for daily life”
(Harran, 1997, p. 206).
Packer and Parrett go on to suggest that “in the end, it became all too easy in too
many places for catechesis to be diminished to a mere memorization of the questions
and answers in the printed catechisms” (2010, p. 70). Due to the supposed waning of
a dynamic approach, catechesis is commonly viewed as another form of transmissive
“banking” education (Freire, 2001, p. 32). We understand from the insights of
developmental theory that the perpetuation of banking education is detrimental to
a person’s growth in the life of faith. As such, catechesis must be practiced in a way
that is dynamic – engaging heart, mind, and hands in a process of encountering God.

Catechesis is a Lifelong Process

Whereas traditional educational ministry efforts in the local church have revolved
around teaching children and youth biblical stories and moral lessons, catechesis is a
lifelong process aimed at enabling believers to grow in the life of faith throughout
their lives. Catechesis has gained the reputation as an educational necessity for
children and youth in order to attain status as a full participant in a community of
faith. In some church traditions, this is the practice. However, the tradition of church
history indicates that catechesis was a lifelong endeavor, used to educate newcomers
in the essential doctrines of the faith, and to continually provide adults and church
participants a space by which to continually encounter God. Augustine of Hippo’s
catechetical approach was a lifelong process of growing, learning, and engaging the
truths of the Christian story for the continual formation and transformation of indi-
viduals and communities.

Catechesis, Doctrine, and the Love of God

Catechesis is a process of leading others to embrace and be embraced by the love of
God. Scripture tells us that the heart, “kardia,” is the “wellspring” of life, the center
of our being and the seat of the spiritual life (Prov. 4:23). Affections, emotions,
passions, desires, sensibilities, purposes, character, and even the mind originate in
the heart (Smith 2009; 2016). The love of God cannot be embraced and lived apart
from the heart. Becoming and being Christian involves an affair of the heart with
God. “To fall in love with God is the greatest romance; to seek him the greatest
162 Christian Education Journal: Research on Educational Ministry 15(2)

adventure; to find him, the greatest human achievement” (attributed to Augustine of

Hippo).

Teaching doctrine must coincide with, and take place in a context of, shaping the affections;
aiming the heart toward the love of God.

Formation in the early church, in practice and in theory, was first and foremost a matter
of training of the affections – in a word, the education of desire. Whether it be the
telling of stories, the memorization of verses from Proverbs, or the elaborate ritual of
the catechumenate, each in its own way served to train the soul to desire the right
things, to delight in what is good and to feel anger in the face of evil (Wilken, 2004,
pp. 61–62).

Educating in faith must never be reduced to an intellectual endeavor. Christian formation

in the ancient church went beyond engaging the intellect and will, and involved an
“affair of the heart or soul” (Wilken, 2004, p. 50)

For Christians the end toward which one aspired . . . was not virtue or wisdom as such,
but cleaving to God. This could only be done, says Augustine, by “affection, desire and
love.” . . . Augustine interpreted the words of Jesus “love the Lord . . . all your heart . . . ”
to mean that “virtue” is nothing other than the perfect love of God. For that reason he
redefined the four cardinal virtues as four forms of love . . . (Wilken, 2004, p. 61)

Training the affections was the primary focus of Christian formation in the early church.
James K. A. Smith writes that our “primordial orientation to the world is not knowl-
edge, or even belief, but love.” Smith claims that what we love shapes us, makes us
who we are, and gives meaning to our lives (Smith, 2009, pp. 26–27). Smith suggests
that human beings are “first and foremost: loving, desiring, affective, liturgical
animals who for the most part don’t inhabit the world as thinkers or cognitive
machines” (p. 34). We are religious beings “because we are liturgical animals –
embodied, practicing, creatures whose love/desire is aimed at something ultimate”
(p. 40). If Smith (2009) is correct, that “our desire for the Kingdom is inscribed in
our dispositions and habits and functions quite apart from our conscious reflection”
(p. 56), then Christian education efforts must engage the heart.
In the words of C. S. Lewis, “God is the fuel the human machine is designed to
run on” (Lewis, 1952, p. 54). In the words of Augustine, “You made us for yourself
oh, God. Our hearts are restless until they rest in you.” If Lewis and Augustine are
correct, then, a Christian vision of human flourishing would be a life centered in
God. If love is the primary orientation to life, the goal of catechesis can be nothing
less than immersion of the human heart and life in the love of God.
We need catechetical practices that infuse in human hearts a God-centered vision of
human flourishing. We need Christian formation practices that immerse the human
heart and life in the love of God. But how exactly does the infusion and immersion
Johnson-Miller and Espinoza 163

happen? What actions or interventions will transform what people love and the way
they live? The catechetical practices of the ancient church provide insight.

Early Church Mystagogical Catechesis

Christian formation in the early Church stood in stark contrast to the didactic intel-
lectualized proposition-centered practices so prevalent in the post-Enlightenment
Protestant world. “Mystagogy – the experiential process of leading Christians into
the mysteries of faith – was a major aspect and culminating focus of the ancient
church catechumenate” (Johnson-Miller, 2013, p. 389). Jesus prompted the disciples
to talk about their present spiritual conflict and confusion followed by a refresher
course on the message and meaning of God’s Story, but it was in the breaking of the
bread that the disciples’ eyes were opened to the meaning of the mystery that they
had wrestled with on the road to Emmaus (Lk. 24:13-32).
David Regan (1994), in Experience the Mystery, explains the relevance of the
ancient church’s mystagogy for today:

The Christian faith journey originates in and leads into the mystery of God’s infinite
love. The five mystagogic homilies of fourth century bishop, Cyril of Jerusalem,
defined mystagogic catechesis as a life to be lived, not a doctrine to be defended . . . The
holistic, experiential and mystery centered post-baptismal process of catechesis
embraced by the church fathers and 4th century pastors united spirituality, theology,
and pastoral action. Although some aspects of the ancient church liturgical structure
continue today, the mystagogy did not survive past the 7th century. Theology became
disconnected from its unifying center under the influence of Enlightenment theory.

Mystagogy, the journey into the mystery of Christ, is central to the whole process of Christian
initiation and spiritual growth. The mystagogy which serves as the center and source of
Christian life and meaning connects potentially to all aspects of life. “The mystery of
God is not some kind of theory to be proved; it is rather, an experience to be
lived . . . God comes to man in experience. We receive God in experience. We do
not project, create, or posit God in experience. Rather we find God, already there
ahead of us in human experience” (Lane, 1981, pp. 2–3). “The mystery of God, who
gives himself in love, is the only key to the mystery of human experience. Without
genuine inner experience, changing a man or woman, he or she falls into ideology”
(Regan, 1995, p. 47). Spiritual experience empowers Christian formation and
ongoing transformation. Experiential union and communion with God in Christ is
the goal of catechesis.
Mystagogical catechesis is not mindless, but doctrine apart from spiritual expe-
rience encourages surface, egocentric, superficial, and/or schizophrenic faith; a faith
in which what we profess is divorced from what we love. Doctrinal statements
cannot be or become the mystery of Jesus Christ. Doctrinal statements are merely
164 Christian Education Journal: Research on Educational Ministry 15(2)

the language that describes the mystery. “Language does not deliver up the mys-
tery to us and using language about the mystery can never be a substitute for living
it” (Bredin, 1985/2006, p. 22). Doctrine must serve to immerse one’s heart in the
love of God. To serve any other purpose is a perversion of the gospel. Doctrine
may enrich and nurture our love affair with God; it does not replace or even
represent it. Sound doctrine supports, guides, and informs our life of love in
relationship with God but doctrinal affirmation in and of itself does not equal or
enable Christian formation.
Recovery of the mystagogy today, according to Regan, depends on respect for the
theological significance of spiritual experience as well as a unified view of faith
centered on the mystery of Christ. Pete Ward (2017) says that “knowing God is
participatory in nature” which means that “the practice of theology is sharing in the
life of God” (p. 6). Ward adds that “our sense of who we are as Christians comes out
of what we have absorbed”, and this “absorbed” theology is theology that has shifted
“from something that is external and expressed by others to something that is part of
us” (p. 16). “We absorb the knowledge of God, and in turn we find ourselves
absorbed into the life of God” (p. 17).
In 1971, Karl Rahner wrote that “the devout Christian of the future will be a ‘mystic’
who has ‘experienced’ something, or he will cease to be anything at all” (p. 15).
The re-emergence of mystagogy today coincides with the postmodern need for
holistic and embodied faith, a phenomena anticipated and articulated by Robert
Webber in his (1999) Ancient-Future Faith: Rethinking Evangelicalism for a Post-
modern World.

Indications of a postmodern worldview suggest that mystery, with its emphasis on

complexity and ambiguity, community, with its emphasis on the interrelation of all
things, and symbolic forms of communication, with an emphasis on the visual, are all
central to the new way of thinking. (p. 35)

Experience of God is both the ultimate goal and the life-transforming means of
reaching that goal.

Catechesis, Mystagogy, and Pedagogy: Implications

for Practice
If human beings are liturgical creatures whose love is aimed at something ultimate,
as Smith (2009) suggests, and mystagogic catechesis is the faith forming process
leading into the mystery of God’s infinite love, as demonstrated in ancient church
practice, then mystagogical catechesis is vital for Christian life and growth. Mysta-
gogical catechesis requires catechetical practices that align with, create space for,
and facilitate mystagogical Christian formation. The pedagogical implications for
mystagogical catechesis deserve our attention.
Johnson-Miller and Espinoza 165

Recognize the Liturgical Nature of Faith and Life

The recent works of James K. Smith (2009) have helped the Evangelical church to
move beyond the theological stigma of the word “liturgical” (which does not mean
Roman Catholic, formal-ritualistic worship, or unspiritual superficial piety) and to
recognize the liturgical nature of human BEING, that life and liturgy go hand-in-
hand. Liturgies are comprised of “habit-forming practices [that] shape our hearts and
desires . . . our imaginations and how we orient ourselves to the world” (Smith, 2009,
p. 25). These practices reflect assumptions about human flourishing that inscribe in
us our “identity and form [our] vision of the good life.” The practices give rise to “an
implicit telos, or goal of our own desires and actions” (p. 25). Christ-centered living
results from Christ-centered practices. Craig Dykstra (2005) speaks to the signifi-
cance of Christ-centered practices in the life of faith.

The practices of the Christian faith [are] habitations of the Spirit . . . they are patterns of
communal action that create openings in our lives where the grace, mercy, and presence
of God may be made known to us. They are places where the power of God is
experienced. In the end, these are not ultimately our practices but forms of participation
in the practice of God. (p. 66)

Understanding the liturgical nature of faith and life is essential for leading people
on an experiential journey into the meaning and mystery of the Christian faith.

Create Space for God

While teaching is an act of worship, and worship teaches, teaching that transforms
the liturgies of heart and life will give intentional attention to, and experience of, the
presence of the holy in the liturgy of learning. Teaching for the sake of mystagogical
catechesis will create space for God via the environment, expectations, and experi-
ential learning activities. The physical environment, pedagogical vision, and learn-
ing experiences play a major role in creating space for participants to experience the
life-transforming presence of Christ.
The physical environment matters! If you want participants to be present to the
presence of Christ, remove everything in the physical setting that would distract
from the desired focus, and only allow in the physical space materials and activities
that directly contribute to the spiritual formation purpose and goals. This means
removing clutter such as bookshelves, pictures, toys, unused overhead projectors,
unused furniture, piles of old curriculum, and so on. Any chairs or tables in the room
should be suitable for the size of participants and the activities employed. Uncom-
fortable furniture such as adult-size metal chairs for children will ensure physical
discomfort, chaos (squirming, falling on the floor, etc.), resulting in a major distrac-
tion for everyone. Place in the room items, and only the items, that clearly align with
the formational purpose and goals such as an open Bible, a cross, a candle, a picture
of Jesus (the good shepherd), fresh flowers, and so on. Natural light and other
166 Christian Education Journal: Research on Educational Ministry 15(2)

elements of natural beauty such as fresh flowers can affect the atmosphere in ways
akin to a spiritual retreat at a campsite – space set apart for communion with God.
In our teaching, we must establish expectations. Are you aiming for participants
to learn about God or deepen their relationship with God? Information or transfor-
mation? Intellectual engagement, or heart-centered whole person engagement?
Establish expectations to expect Christ’s transforming presence. Coming together
with expectant hearts seems evident in the birth of the church (Acts 1–2).
Bible information does not automatically result in meaningful Christian growth,
and the often-rushed prayers said at the beginning and end of our “lesson” time are
not likely to deepen someone’s relationship with God.

Growth in the life of faith also involves a lifelong, continuing process of encountering
and entering into the inexhaustible richness of the mystery of God and of God’s love,
ever more deeply and profoundly. Just as the process of knowing a person is never
finished or exhausted, so too the dynamic of uncovering the riches of God’s grace and
promises is unlimited. Thus we grow in the life of faith as we hear more and more of the
good news of the living gospel, understand and appropriate more profoundly its unceas-
ingly expanding meaning and significance, and dwell ever more fully on the presence
of God with us. (Dykstra, 2005, p. 38)

We need to move beyond surface or superficial spiritual engagement and make

your classroom a prayer-room. Incorporate practices that open the heart to God such
as singing, prayerful contemplation, lectio divina, and narrative (Bible stories, tes-
timonies, spiritual biographies). Rather than merely communicating information,
prayer-centered learning invites participants to be present to the presence of God
for the sake of deepening one’s experiential communion with God.

Engage the Whole Person and Aim for the Heart

The whole person is generally overlooked in catechesis and other forms of formal
Christian education in the church. “Affectivity is more or less ignored to the
advantage of the cognitive component, resulting in an arid and sterile knowledge
that does not permeate the child’s life” (Cavaletti, 1992, p. 74). According to Smith
(2009), teaching defined as “dissemination of information” assumes that “human
beings are primarily thinking things and cognitive machines” (p. 28, emphasis
added). “Education is not something that traffics primarily in abstract, disembodied
ideas; rather, education is a holistic endeavor that involves the whole person,
including our bodies, in a process of formation that aims our desires, primes our
imagination, and orients us to the world – all before we start thinking about it”
(Smith, 2009, pp. 39–40).
Thomas Groome writes about the multi-dimensional nature of our faith – believ-
ing (cognitive), trusting (affective), and doing (action) – and then raises an important
question: “If our faith includes all three dimensions, then our task as Christian
Johnson-Miller and Espinoza 167

educators is much more than teaching the ‘content’ of the faith tradition. Our task is
to ‘be’ in faith” (1980, p. 66). When pedagogy is defined as formation, however, the
mental processes of thinking and cognition arise from a “precognitive orientation
and pre-rational orientation to the world . . . shaped by very material, embodied
practices” (Smith, 2016, p. 28). In other words, teaching as a process of formation
begins with the center of our being, the “kardia”, the heart, or as Smith prefers, the
“gut”. Gut-level formational learning calls for multidimensional whole person
pedagogy.
Scripture makes clear the need for heart-centered formation:

 “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life” (Prov. 4:23);
“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matt. 6:21);
 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not unto your own under-
standing” (Prov. 3:5);
 “My son, give me your heart and let your eyes keep to my ways” (Prov.
23:26).

The heart, not the intellect, is the “center of gravity of the human person” and
“Spirit-led formation of our loves is a recalibration of the heart” (Smith, 2016, p. 22).
Teaching that aims for the heart and transforms the liturgies that people live calls for
multi-dimensional learning that requires multiple and multidimensional pedagogies.
The three modes of information processing, identified by Jerome Bruner (1960),
in which information is stored and encoded in memory, and by which human beings
construct models of their world, provide insight for multidimensional faith forma-
tion. The enactive mode of processing calls for learning via experiential, praxis
oriented, problem-solving, and active exploration. The iconic mode of processing
indicates the need for learning via visual stimulation with images such as various
forms of religious art, film, and natural beauty. The symbolic learning mode would
involve engagement through language (words and numbers), metaphorical symbols
such as parables, and visual symbols such as the Bible, cross, and communion table
(Bruner, 1960).

Envision Catechesis as a Journey

To teach is to journey with others. Mary Elizabeth Moore (2004) explains that

the word “pedagogy” comes from two Greek roots: pais (child) and pedon (ground).
The latter is related to pes (foot). These roots suggest two perspectives. As a combi-
nation of pais and agein (to lead), the word “pedagogy” is understood as the act of
leading a child. Knowledgeable people teach the young in the knowledge they need. As
a combination of pedon and agein, “pedagogy” is understood as the act of leading
people on a journey, or leading across the earth. This involves walking with people,
offering guidance when needed, and providing opportunities for people to discover new
knowledge as they need it on their journey. (Moore, 2004, p. 12)
168 Christian Education Journal: Research on Educational Ministry 15(2)

The account of Jesus with the disciples on the road to Emmaus illustrates teaching
as a journey with others. On this journey with Jesus, the disciples moved from
spiritual blindness and confusion to spiritual seeing in which their eyes were opened
to the mysteries of faith.

Cultivate Growth through Relationship

Spiritual formation requires cultivation. Cultivation involves working the soil, fos-
tering growth, and watching over something while it grows. Origen, one of the
greatest teachers of the early church, modeled teaching as cultivation:

The master had first to know and love his disciple before he could cultivate the soul of
the disciple, just as a “skilled husbandman” had first to prepare an “uncultivated field”
before it could bear fruit. To correct, reprove, exhort, and encourage, the master had to
know the habits and attitudes of the student. This Origen did by “digging deeply and
examining what is most inward, asking questions, setting forth ideas, listening to the
responses of his students.” When he found anything “unfruitful and without profit in
us,” he set about clearing the soil, turning it over, watering it, and using all his “skill
and concern” that the students might bring forth good fruit. (Wilken, 2004, p. 53)

Teaching as cultivation aims for growth and maturity, requires a close rela-
tionship between the teacher and student, and involves a process of nurture and
personal care.

Practice Worship and Invite Wonder

Worship and wonder make known, and escort us ever more deeply into, the mys-
teries of faith. Worship engages the heart, cultivates communion with God, and
transforms the liturgies we live. E. Byron Anderson (2017) describes the relationship
between worship and formation as the liturgification of faith, “a way of carrying in
brief liturgical form . . . the story as read, proclaimed, and interpreted more fully in
Scripture, sermon, and study” (p. 18). The creed, for example, put to memory by
early church catechumens, was recited regularly in worship by baptized believers, a
tradition that continues in many congregations to this day. The meaning, signifi-
cance, and directives of our faith reside in the tradition of Jesus handed forward
through worship practice (Anderson, 2017).

We practice the tradition of Jesus as we gather about Book, font, and Table, Word,
bath, and Holy Meal . . . In worship, as well as in acts of justice and care, we encounter a
story, a way of being, a life-script that nurtures, forms and socializes us into the way of
Jesus . . . What we sing, pray, and preach, the rites we enact, should help us embrace the
script of Jesus and reject the many alternatives (Anderson, 2017, pp. 25–26).
Johnson-Miller and Espinoza 169

Through worship we encounter God’s mystery, see with new eyes, and undergo
transformation into the likeness of Christ.
Mystery and majesty evoke wonder, and wonder awakens us to the presence,
beauty, and glory of God. To wonder is to behold, to observe fully, perceive, and
apprehend. Wonder allows us to contemplate the mystery of faith. According to
Cavaletti (1992), wonder leads us to become "immersed in the contemplation of
something that exceeds us" (pp. 138-139). Wonder engages the imagination and
creates space for prophetic insight and vision.

Conclusion
In this article, we have explored the contours of catechesis for use in the educational
ministry of the local church. Catechesis invites us to ponder the mysteries of Christ,
seek God with our whole hearts, and immerse ourselves in practices of worship
and wonder. In our evangelical churches, we often fail to recognize the powerful
elements that truly form and shape the people of God into the image of Christ. Our
hope is that by embracing a rich catechesis in our churches we cultivate deep love for
God and love for others.

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