#271 | The Gospel Way Catechism with Trevin Wax and Thomas West

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Sa. You know, catechism might seem like an old word, but it's one of the church's most ancient practices, passing down the faith.

For centuries, Christians used catechisms to ground new believers in the gospel, shape their imaginations, and form their lives in the way of Jesus. And now, in our cultural moment, we are rediscovering this ancient practice today. Because our people are being catechized. That's not a question.

We know that they are. The question is by who and by what? Because every message in our world today is shaping what we believe, what we love, and how we live.

And that's why the Gospel Way catechism is so significant. It's a fresh, faithful resource designed to help Christians of all ages be formed by the gospel story of rather than the world story.

And I'm joined today by its authors, Thomas west and Trevin Wax.

Trevin Wax, if you remember, is vice president of research and resource development at the North American Mission Board, widely known for his writing on discipleship and cultural engagement. And Thomas west, pastor of Nashville First Baptist Church, where he's leading one of the South's historic congregations and gospel centered renewal.

Together, they've brought ancient wisdom in today's world. And I'm excited to talk to them about about why catechism matters now more than ever. Gentlemen, welcome to those who serve the Lord.

Thanks for having us on. Great to see you.

Really glad to be here.

Thank you. Okay, so we're going to start off with the Fast5. Get to know you a little bit. It's been a while. So how about this one? Number one, first question.

Who would win a one on one basketball game? Trevor or Thomas?

Oh, Thomas. Have you seen our sizes?

How tall are you, Tom?

Six one.

Okay. How tall are you, Trevin?

Yeah, probably five, seven on a good day.

You know, I had Brian Fickard on once. Have you ever met Brian Fickert?

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

He's huge. He's 6 10. He's 6 10. He'S massive. I want to call him Eclipse because every time he stands in front of me, I can't see the sun.

All right, number two, you're introducing someone to your city. So here you go. Nashville hot chicken or Southern barbecue?

I mean, Thomas, you're downtown on Broadway. What's your answer to that? I have my answer.

It's hot chicken every time. And it's Prince's, not Hattie B's. Prince's is the original as well.

That's right. It's Prince's, not Hattie B's.

You know, I've never had this hot chicken.

Never. We'll get you over here. Let's.

Let's get into it. You need to try that. And don't. Just because someone else in some other city calls their hot chicken sandwich Nashville hot chicken.

Do you believe for a moment it's actually Nashville hot chicken? Let me just say.

Tell the man all of your. That's right.

Okay.

All right, question three. What's the one app you wish Christians would delete from their phones?

No. TikTok. Yeah, that's an easy one for me.

Yeah, that's assuming Christians are on TikTok.

Oh, no, they are. They are. I'm playing.

I'm playing. I'm playing. Guys, I don't know. I'm. I'm gonna. I'm gonna give you a different answer with. With all due respect, I. I think.

I think Facebook ought to log you out at a certain age. I'll just. I'll just leave it at there. I think there's an age cap.

I think you get a notice five years out, three years out, two years out, and then it's just gone.

Can there be a. Can there be a. An age requirement at some point on Facebook where. Lurking. Only. No more commenting. Like, can we just.

There we go. There we go. Your sleuthing privileges are granted. Yeah, but no longer will we hear your voice anyways.

Oh, that was unexpected.

Are we off to a good start? Is this the way it's supposed to go?

This is. This is. This is how we roll here. This is how we roll. This is how we roll. Okay, how about this one? There we go. Next question. Question 4.

If your catechism had a movie trailer voiceover, who would you want to narrate it?

Oh, man, it's Morgan Freeman. It's Morgan Freeman because we use his voice like we. We quote Invictus in the very first section. And there would be an irony to that.

That would be beautiful.

I would. I would want James Earl Jones.

Keep going.

Trevin.

No, I would want Liam Neeson. Oh. Because I want. I want the voice of Aslan. Right.

Or you've got. You've got. What is that other movie he did? I'll know you and I'll find you.

Okay.

Yeah, like, it'd be that one either.

It wasn't just one movie.

That's like.

How many has he done? Like four.

Oh, gosh.

Who knows?

Who knows? Who knows? All right, here we go. Number five. Finish the sentence. The biggest lie our culture catechizes us with today is what.

You are the center and point of all things.

Oh, yeah, yeah. About you, Thomas.

Freedom is possible, and it's just not. We're all living in service to someone or something, but freedom from all constraints simply is not an available option. It's mirage.

Hmm. That's a. Those are both good. Good. Unexpectedly good. I like that. Well, let's jump in. Let's talk about the gospel way. Catechism.

I mean, you both wrote a catechism at a time when that word feels both ancient and unfamiliar, but we know that it's being rediscovered in so many different circles. Why catechism and why now?

You know, I think. Was it the. The last time we talked, Travis? I think I did a book called the Thrill of Orthodoxy.

So the first question that you asked was similar in the sense of orthodoxy. Same kind of word. Catechism is. It's an ancient tool of discipleship that needs to be dusted off and reused. And it's.

I know for some people, it's a scary kind of word, but at the end of the day, it comes from a word that just means instruction. And it actually, even though it sounds like it's, oh, that must be. For the super Christians, it's actually meant to be super accessible.

I mean, that's the whole point of a catechism, is it's a question and answer, simple question, simple answer that you're supposed to be able to commit to memory. So the. The reason that we wanted to dust off this tool and we wanted to. To.

To do something for our contemporary age is we have tons of respect for Christians throughout the centuries who have found this to be a. A helpful way of showing what the basics of Christianity are, as opposed to whatever's going on culturally in the world.

And if you look closely, every catechism is doing that at some level. And so that's what we wanted to do for our day and age. Say, what are the cultural narratives, the worldviews, the things that.

That we as Christians need to be aware of and how does our faith, what we say we believe, how does it actually counter some of those things and make us stand out?

That's great.

Just to go a little more with it. Yeah, yeah, just to. Just to go a little more with it. You know, in catechisms were. Were written, I'd say, for two reasons.

One, to try to distill down what are the core essentials to what we believe as Christians, but in our specific tribe and our specific stance and understanding, what are these core, core ideas? The other reason was to distinguish what the faith is over and against other alternatives.

So around the time of the Reformation, we see Luther and Calvin.

Drawing out catechisms is a way to establish everyday Christians in the faith, a simple discipleship tool, but it's given to us to help us understand this is where we are as Protestants over and against where others are as Catholics. And it always had a counter element to it. So catechesis is always counter catechesis.

And what we're doing in this specific catechism is we're building on the great catechisms that have gone before us. Not looking to clear up theological heresy or theological confusion, but cultural heresy and cultural confusion.

I find that to be very comforting, especially that you're trying to do it in an accessible way. I remember when my daughter was little, she's married now.