Brothers of John the Steadfast, aaka (also affectionately known as) Steadfast Lutherans and BJS, is publishing an important article by the late Rev. William E. Thompson, “Catechesis: The Quiet Crisis” Concordia Theological Quarterly 56 (1992) No. 2-3: 99-121.
The series will be published in 3 parts. The first installment is here.
Part 1 is the Introduction to the article. There, the young Pastor Thompson suffered shock and disappointment concerning the state of catechesis in the congregation:
To my shock, only two out of a group of about twenty-five had been catechized with the Small Catechism. The common reference-point which I naively assumed would be there in any congregation to which I was called was not there.
Part 1 is a short read. Take about 60 seconds to sense his plunging surprise at the crisis, and wonder, how many more pastors today are we plunging into this crisis. Read Part 1 here.