During the first centuries of the Christian faith, those who desired to join the church underwent a period of extended instruction in the faith, to understand the mysteries of the faith and the way of the Christian life. It was taught by others in the faith with the Scriptures available at the time. This period of instruction was necessary to become part of the Body and may have lasted for months or as long as a year, culminating on Easter Sunday with the Sacrament of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper.

Instruction in the faith was not simply a communication of facts but rather an apprenticeship necessary to live into the faith. The apprenticeship was called the catechumenate. This word should sound familiar; it shares the same root as the word catechism. As pastors, elders, and laity, we are engaged in a lifelong catechumenate; a lifelong process of building on our baptismal identity.

Prior to the Reformation, worship (the Mass) and Scripture were inaccessible to the common people. The use of Latin in worship led to the priest performing the rites of the church while the people watched, not understanding what was happening. Many priests were as ignorant as their parishioners, having purchased from the church the right to become a priest. Over time the lack of knowledge led to the rise of superstition and false teaching. Out of this the Reformation was born.

The Reformed tradition has always put heavy emphasis on the importance of education, an emphasis that goes back to the roots of the Reformation. At the same time Reformers began teaching and preaching in opposition to the church in Rome, the Bible was being translated into the language of the people and, thanks to the printing press, disseminated quickly. As the Reformation spread, there was a need to catechize those who were joining the Reform Movement.

Questions arose: In light of Scripture, what is it that we believe? What is true and false religion? The Reformation was by no means a unified movement. There were passionate disagreements between Lutherans and Reformed Christians, and both produced various catechisms and confessions, some of which are collected in our Book of Confessions.

Through the Reformation the role of the ordained clergy expanded to include preacher and teacher. Interestingly, the office we know today as Minister of Word and Sacrament was traditionally known as that of "teaching elder."

Alongside confessions and catechisms appeared other writings concerning the spiritual obligations of the minister, such as Richard Baxter's The Reformed Pastor, where he outlined the importance of catechizing his congregation for renewed faith. By "reformed," Baxter did not mean Calvinistic doctrine, but "renewed in practice."

The pastor's role today seems to be ever-expanding. New models of ministry add more and more secular roles to already-full calendars. It is vitally important that elders, both "teaching elders" and "ruling elders," reclaim the office of teacher. We need to re-catechize ourselves and the congregations we serve. We need, in a new way, to become "reformed."

Chris Weichman is Associate Pastor at East Main Presbyterian Church in Grove City, Pennsylvania.