I’m still on vacation. This is my last winter break as an undergrad. It’s nice being back in my parent’s house. I recognize that I’m teetering with all zeal on the edge of my future. It’s almost time for me to “join the ranks”, as “they” say. That said, my mind has been restless for weeks. My head is a dark and spooky hornets’ nest, buzzing and moaning with idea after idea.
This is an opportune moment for me. I will never have more free time than I do now. I’m still in the cradle, as it were. And before I shed the swaddling cloths of higher education and plunge headfirst into independent living, I could knock out certain nagging ambitions. Don’t misunderstand, I can’t wait to get out of school and start working and learning and living and cultivating. But for now, I mustn’t be wasteful. The iron’s hot and I’ve been working on my swing.
Believe it or don’t, but I have some “book” ideas in my head. They’re more like little writing projects. I feel like they’re all suppressed under the thick weight of my skull and if I can just flesh them out into words, I might be relieved by some breathless shots of clarity. It would be a huge relief to get these things off my heart.
First prospect: a catechism. Nobody panic. Catechisms have gotten a bad name among evangelicals because they smack of dead formalism and overly pious religious systems. But I’ve been listening to guys like J.I. Packer and Michael Horton who seem to believe that catechisms are essential to the vitality of the church.
When most people think of catechisms, they usually think of the Westminster or the Heidelberg or some particular Q & A invented by a more particular tradition. I think these are wonderful. But here’s my main problem with these documents: they wrote them at specific times to specific people for specific situations, none of which are entirely relevant to the context of the American Church today.
I think one of the most glaring deficiencies in our churches is a lack of the transcendent. We have grown so accustomed to banality and mediocrity in our faith that we’ve lost all sight of the biblical, dangerous, infinite Yahweh. So, I think a catechism has to be written that will extinguish indifference in the heart and ignite, in its place, an alert awareness of the sublime preeminence of God.
The other reason I feel a modern-day catechism must be written is that the pieces I’m aware of don’t address the particular needs of a postmodern people in a postmodern country. Take the Westminster Catechism, for example. It has brought me to tears and repentance many times. But it was written in the 1640s to bring the Anglican Church into greater theological unity with the Scottish Christians and the Reformed brethren in Europe during the English Civil War. That is not our situation here and now in America. We need a catechism that is contextualized for our culture and times. So, that is stirring in my heart and head and it will be pursued (Prov.14:23).
The second writing project is nothing more that a seed in my head right now. I already have a tentative title in mind. I want to organize and expound upon the wrath and justice of God in the Old and New Testaments. It’s a subject that is avoided for many reasons, fear and shame being at the top of the list. I’ve had many great conversations about the nature and necessity of wrath and fire and purging and death and how God uses them all. I feel it is a severe reality that is an essential part of the true Gospel and it must be understood if any compassion and urgency is to be felt to love the lost and share the truth of Christ.
So, that’s all that I’m up to. A couple of writing ideas and a lot of free time. Please pray for clarity and sharpening as I try to figure out what these things will look like. I love you all. Shalom.