Discipleship-Driven Catechesis: Knowing or Doing?

What is the difference between knowing about a subject and doing a subject?

Tim's first education love is science. He taught middle school science for several years, was an elementary science specialist, developed a Montessori-style unit in electricity and magnetism as part of his Master's Degree capstone project, and taught elementary science methods to preservice teachers. He loves to marvel at creation, figure out how things work, and experiment with the way things interact to make something new and solve problems.

Unfortunately, in a strictly standards-based environment, the focus on learning the facts of science (which are relatively straight forward to measure and test) can lead to an abundance .of subject matter experts and a lack of true practitioners- those who influence change and solve problems in a particular scientific field. It is wonderful to be knowledgeable about the way our natural world works, but the facts of science originate in taking what we can observe through our senses and experimenting and building new understandings. Students can actually learn a lot about science without ever learning how to do science.

A few years ago, Tim provided educational support to an organization called InSciEd Out, focused on bringing real-world science applications to students and teachers through the opportunity to design and implement classroom level scientific studies. While the fundamental operations of the natural law do not change, the way we understand those facts can grow and change over time. This is true science and, when rooted in fundamental realities of natural law, our faith embraces it wholeheartedly! In discipleship-driven catechesis, knowledge and application (skills or doing) can never be in competition. Well designed instruction accounts for both. One of the mistakes many educators, especially in catechesis, make is to focus extensively on one at the expense of the other. For example, students who have memorized extensive sections of the catechism or know every prayer in Latin but can't express anything about their individual relationship with Jesus. This student may stay in the Church but miss the essential gift of what it truly means to live in friendship with Jesus Christ or they may get frustrated with a standard they feel they can never meet and decide Jesus (and His Church) is not for them.

On the other extreme, we have students who vibrantly love Jesus but are disconnected from the truths and practice of the faith as the way or means. They are at risk of being pulled away from the Church the moment their scripture loving protestant college roommate points out a scripture they thinks conflicts with the practice of Catholicism. The student loves Jesus, but walks away from the Church because they weren't prepared to respond to scripture taken out of context of the Magisterium. Our goal with The Designed for Discipleship System of Evangelical Catechesis is not to eliminate the knowing for the doing, but to make sure that they remain functionally connected and properly balanced in a developmentally appropriate pedagogy that allows people of all ages to engage in ever-deepening friendship with Jesus. We know about Him and we know Him.

We know about his love and we love Him. Realistically, most individual students and families are somewhere in between the two extremes mentioned above, but sadly many programs are not. Many catechetical and school leaders have taken the declining internal engagement of recent generations and doubled down on teaching more facts and memorization. This might sound like, "More rigor!" Others reduce content to offer sporadic fun programming hoping to entice people to show up without ever really giving them a reason (Jesus!) to stay. I joking call this the "Rah, rah, VBS every day of the year!" approach. This is why, in the same way we approach the both/and of knowing and doing, we promote a both/and of quality education and authentic faith. We can't dumb down the truth (especially the truth as expressed in the eucharistic liturgy) and we need to teach it in developmentally appropriate ways as discipleship matures. We start wherever people are and walk beside them to Jesus. That is how we approach the parents who drop their kids off at faith formation and never return our phone calls about confirmation paperwork and the child who has been baptized and only been to Mass a handful of times since. It works with the kid who has played Mass with the plates and cups in the kitchen since they were three, the student with disabilities of any variety, and the moody teenager with a chip on their shoulder so big we are pretty sure we can see it.

The Designed for Discipleship System, however, is not a magic fix. Even with developmentally appropriate pedagogy, some will progress in remarkable ways and others we will watch walk into the world, trusting that the seed can endure a period of dormancy before others will take up the journey of accompaniment. Our job remains not to do the work of conversion, but to open more room for the Holy Spirit to do His. The pastor of one of our partner parishes recently called this remolding the parish into a school of discipleship! In the sciences, we all certainly benefit from those who have deep subject matter expertise with limited research and development capacity or experience. Many in health care actually fall into this category. The field of research is rightly reserved for those with a particular skill set to look into a body of knowledge, find the limitations, and propose a solution to know or do something differently. This brings me to the end of my discipleship and science analogy. The doing of discipleship is not a privilege reserved for a few with special skills or a task that requires an advance degree and years of study, it is the call for all human beings. Learning about Jesus and his Church (knowing) and living with him in friendship through prayer, sacraments, and a life of service (doing) are always moving synergistically. The more we encounter the more we want to learn. Learning more helps us encounter more deeply. Encountering more deeply moves us to learn more and invite others to learn.

"One does not 'master' the faith; rather, one enters ever more deeply into the mystery, growing in wisdom and understanding, but also in humility and wonder. The more we grow, the more we realize our need to continue learning. Maturation in the faith...deepens our reverence and increases our desire to live according to God's will. As we delve deeper into aspects of our faith, we are filled with awe that there are always new mysteries to explore." -Handbook on the Catechetical Accompaniment Process, Institute on the Catechism (USCCB, 2024)

In this model, motivation (an educational topic for another article, perhaps) becomes intrinsic. We don't have to dangle carrots and offer gimics, rewards, and special programs. Jesus is the program. He moves first, last, and always. We are his lovingly-crafted clay even as we help others enter into his sphere of influence.

Yes, we need Catholic schools with rigorous courses of instruction in theology and religion.

And...

Yes, we need opportunities for Catholic school students to engage in regular prayer, meet Jesus in the sacraments and learn how to serve others by actually serving others.

Yes, we need formation programs for children and adults in our parishes. And...

Yes, we need faith formation programs that invite entire generations into deeper encounter with Jesus. These programs must build trust and preach the gospel, provide instruction, and then point families back into the community to live lives of authentic missionary discipleship. Quality education and authentic faith. Knowing and doing. That is what leads to lifelong discipleship through friendship with Jesus.

This is The Designed for Discipleship System of Evangelical Catechesis way. It is not a new way, it is a really old way supported and influenced by real research and ongoing discovery into the way the human mind develops, grows, and learns.

He designed every cell in our bodies, and He designed them for discipleship.