Going deeper

When theologian Stanley Hauerwas sought to join a Methodist church in Indiana some years ago, the pastor asked him about his prior church commitments. Hauerwas admitted that he wasn't sure where or when he had last been a formal member of a congregation. The pastor replied that this showed what "a sorry churchman" Hauerwas must be. "He then told me that, before he would let me join the church, I would need to come to a class he was beginning for people like me. I dutifully and gladly did for a year." (Hauerwas recounts this story in his memoir Hannah's Child.)

It's rare for a pastor or church to lay down that kind of requirement for a prospective member, much less for a professional theologian. Most pastors are happy if they can get people to attend a handful of sessions or a one-day retreat on the church's beliefs and practices.

In this issue, Frank G. Honeycutt describes an adult catechism program that Hauerwas's pastor—and Hauerwas himself—might endorse. The class meets weekly for eight months, beginning before Advent and ending at Pentecost. Honeycutt acknowledges that only a small number of people are willing to commit to a sustained group program of biblical study, spiritual reflection, vocational discernment and mutual support, following the themes of the church year. But there can be little doubt that the experience is life-changing for those who do. And as Honeycutt suggests, the very existence of the program is likely to renew the congregation.