THE WATCHMEN’S REPORT
By Wayne J. Edwards, February 15, 2025
wnledwards@gmail.com
My Fellow Watchmen,
WHEN THE DOCTRINAL SHIFT BEGAN FOR BAPTISTS
In the early days of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), pastors and churches widely used catechisms to educate children. The founder of the first Southern Baptist seminary, James Boyce, was a passionate advocate for teaching the doctrines of grace to all believers. Boyce wrote A Brief Catechism of Bible Doctrine and encouraged families to use this catechism to teach Christian doctrine. Thirty years later, John Broadus was commissioned by the SBC Sunday School Board, to write a catechism. Broadus’ A Catechism of Bible Teaching provided questions and answers for both younger and older children.
The catechism was a significant method of Baptist instruction through the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. However, as the 20th century dawned, newer forms of education began to replace the catechism. The rise of Sunday School, the Baptist Training Union, and an emphasis on evangelism over doctrine made the catechism obsolete. The well-intended goal was to make “church” more accessible to the wider community, educate the poor and working-class children who were illiterate, reach out to those who were not yet a part of the church, and invite them to learn about Christianity. In effect, evangelism and moralism replaced the teaching of doctrine.
In Ephesians 4:11-14, the Apostle Paul said to the Lord, “Gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: that we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine.”
According to Lifeway Research, sixty-six percent of young adults who attended church regularly as teenagers stopped attending between the ages of eighteen and twenty-two. According to the Family Life Council findings in 2002, eighty-eight percent of children raised in evangelical homes leave the church at the age of eighteen, never to return. According to the most recent studies, the foundational beliefs of those 8–12-year-olds who are involved in a church are on track to abandon Christianity in record numbers – less than 2% of them have a biblical worldview. The bottom line is that our children are being raised in an environment in which the concept of absolute moral truth does not exist, even in their study of the Bible. Only 21% of today’s “Christian” teenagers believe that absolute moral truth exists.
It’s heartening to see many SBC churches reintroducing catechisms in their Sunday School classes for children and teens. However, it’s crucial that this study is not just a church activity, but a family one. Without the support and reinforcement of parents at home, children may memorize the material, but they may not fully understand how to apply these truths to their lives.
As we navigate the challenges of our times, the wisdom of Spurgeon rings true: “I am persuaded that the use of a good Catechism in all our families will safeguard against the increasing errors of the times.” Let’s not underestimate the power of this age-old tool in shaping our children’s understanding of our faith. Thank you for your continued interest and support in this important endeavor.
Pastor Wayne
Adapted from an article by Ed Willoughby – “Catechism! A Baptist Thing?