Faith: Taught or Caught? Lifelong Christian Formation 

By Rev. Lisa Jean Hoefner, Older Adult Ministries Coordinator—Discipleship Ministries

You may have heard people say that faith is more “caught” than “taught,” but can it be both? Rev. James Howell, pastor of Myers Park United Methodist Church in Charlotte, North Carolina, wrote recently:

“As church people are always learning, we’re wise to think of church as a school. We have classes, curricula, seminars, and group studies. Jesus called “disciples,” a word that means “students.”

We value facts, stories, history, names, and places, as our faith is about real things that happened in real time. The Bible is unlike most other books. We read slowly and re-read, noticing new dimensions in the story, even memorizing short segments.

Christian learning isn’t about passing a quiz or earning a degree. We learn about God; there’s mystery —not mysterious as in confusing, but the mystery of relationships, the mystery that is the mind and heart of God, which we know and never fully comprehend, the delight of learning and growing deeper and closer.

There’s a quirky kind of mastery in this lifelong quest of Christian education. The more you know about God and the things of God, the more you know of what you don’t know. We learn, and as we learn, we unearth more and better questions. We shed our childish naivete. When we dig deep in scripture and hold it close to the real and hard experiences of life and the world, we may come to be dis-illusioned – a lovely kind of learning, abandoning simplistic illusions about God, life, and the world.”

Christian education – the church as school – is an important aspect of growth in discipleship. The kind of learning that Rev. Howell describes so eloquently is usually best done in age-level classes and study groups. However, I believe the education model is insufficient for the church. The church needs to be a place of spiritual practice as well as learning, and that side of Christian formation happens best in intentional intergenerational settings.

Consider the benefits of intergenerational ministries as promoted by GenOn Ministries, an organization that helps congregations become more intentionally intergenerational.

Intergenerational churches:

• Increase a sense of belonging among all age levels.
• Create welcoming environments for all.
• Share wisdom, experience, and knowledge among all.
• Provide everyone with additional role models of Christian living.
• Bridge “silos” of ministry areas as a shared vision develops.
• Engage all ages in practices, “being” the body of Christ.

All too often, our churches are multigenerational without being truly intergenerational. It’s not enough to engage in “parallel play,” as young children do. It’s essential to the life and growth of a church that is serious about raising up Christian disciples of all ages to educate and assist all ages to be givers and receivers of one another’s gifts, intentionally embracing intergenerational formation. Vital Christian discipleship depends on both teaching and catching the faith!

Rev. Howell concludes:

“In the school of the church, we don’t just pray. We learn to pray more closely in tune with the heart of God. We don’t just do for the poor. We learn about their wounds and loves, and we befriend them.”

Is faith taught or caught? I pray we lead our congregations to embrace both!