The views expressed in this article are of the author only and do not necessarily represent those of the Center for Pastor Theologians.
“It is inside the Catholic Church itself, however, that the greatest care is needed.”
Augustine of Hippo, On Instructing Beginners in the Faith
Augustine of Hippo was one of the first and greatest catechists of the church. He was a pastor in a time of great conflict and schism, a time when the church was beset by external challenges and internal turmoil. And one his most important pastoral responses to the crises he faced was the work of catechesis - the instruction and formation of men and women in the truths and implications of the Christian faith. A fruit of that ministry was a catechetical handbook he wrote for his fellow pastors, On Instructing Beginners in the Faith. It’s a remarkable combination of theological conviction and practical counsel, and from that little volume I’d like to draw two implications for pastors today in our own time of turmoil - specifically the turmoil caused by abuse within the local church.
First, Augustine catechized his people into moral discernment in the local church. There are few things more energizing to a pastor than welcoming men and women into the life of the local church. When we conduct new member classes, when we introduce prospective congregants to our lay elders, there is a palpable excitement in our work. Our joy is not only in welcoming a new member into the flock; it is also in the hope of fellowship, of communion and unity within Christ’s Body for this man, woman or family. We imagine rich friendships and deep engagement unfolding for years to come. This was a joy Augustine himself knew as he led men and women into the Church through the catechetical process.
Knowing that joy does not prevent Augustine from throwing a wet blanket on the expectations of prospective Christians about life in the Body of Christ. The penultimate words of his address to those who wish to become catechumens are warnings about the dangers of life in the local church. “It is inside the Catholic Church itself, however, that the greatest care is needed, so that no one will be tempted and misled by people whom the Church carries along like chaff right up to the moment of the winnowing of the grain.”[1] Be on guard, Augustine says to the sheep coming into the fold: watch out for your fellow Christians!
Augustine’s pastoral instincts here may be counter-intuitive to us. He refrains from celebrating the joys of life in the Body. Instead, he flags its perils. “You are not unaware of the fact that many who go by the name of ‘Christian’ are actually engaged in… wicked practices.”[2] Augustine then goes on to enumerate a number of ways these catechumens should be wary of other church members. This counsel emerges from deeper convictions that he holds about the Christian life and the Church. In response to the Donatists - a purist, sectarian movement in the church - Augustine forged certain ecclesiological principles. The church was not the enclave of the morally upright; it was a hospital for sinners. But as a pastor Augustine was also attentive to the ways doctrinal correction can in fact be over-correction. And so Augustine does not simply acknowledge the co-existence of wheat and tares in the Body of Christ; he also warns the the sheep about the wolves who might live among them.
We can learn from and apply Augustine’s teaching in On Instructing Beginners in the Faith. Like Augustine, we can do more than simply warn about the dangers of the world outside the church; we can also caution about fleshly realities that persist within the church. Recent publications such as Something’s Not Right by Wade Mullen and Redeeming Power: Understanding Authority and Abuse in the Church by Diane Langberg are a model of this kind of work. They demonstrate the urgency of moral discernment within the Church. Profound damage can be done in the name of Christ when the improper use of power is wrapped in Bible passages and when abuse is perpetrated, justified, and covered up with spiritual language. Augustine invites us to catechize our congregations into discerning evil and sin within the local church, not just outside of it.
Second, Augustine catechized his people away from leader-centered faith. A second unique aspect of Augustine’s catechesis develops from the first. If Augustine’s penultimate words warn about fellow Christians in the local church, then his final words narrow his focus so as to warn about those in authority in the local church. “As for those good people who go on ahead of you or accompany you on the way to God, even in them you should not ground your hope.”[3] It may seem to us that celebrity culture presents a fresh challenge to the Church’s witness, but Augustine saw the same dynamics in his own time. Augustine understood the perennial temptation to place our trust in another person.
And so Augustine closes his counsel to catechumens with an admonition. We can and should love those who go before us in faith and who instruct us in the truth. But in the same way that in the Christian life we should not place our trust in ourselves, so too should we not place it in any other merely human being. “You can certain about God because God does not change, but when dealing with a human being, no sensible person will expect certainty.”[4] Men and women are fickle creatures and can go astray from the truth. We need the reminder to resist the temptation to put our trust in them.
Augustine’s counsel is tempered with characteristic balance and wisdom. He directs his people to trust in God, deriving his advice from fundamental theological precepts: there is no shadow of turning in the eternal and impassible God, but men and women often change both their minds and their ways. “You can be certain about God because God does not change, but, when dealing with a human being, no sensible person will expect certainty.”[5] At the same time, Augustine is careful to say that we should not overcorrect and become unduly suspicious, refusing to support and care for those who are placed in authority. When considering those who have the calling of leading in ministry Augustine asks, “How much more fervent should our love be?”[6] . Between these two poles of the limitations of human leadership and the need to encourage and care for those in authority is the central counsel: “It is one thing, however, to love a human being and another to ground one’s hope in a human being; so great is the difference between them that God commands the first and forbids the second.”[7]
Augustine’s counsel is once again fresh and timely. He understands the human heart’s longing to put its trust in something - or someone - other than the Triune God. This introductory instruction is at least as counter-intuitive as his warnings about the dangers of fellow Christians in the Church. As prospective followers of Jesus begin the process of being initiated into life in the Body of Christ, Augustine warns them about placing too much trust in the people who have been called to guide them into that faith. Beware of me, Augustine says; I just might let you down.
There are many reasons that pastors should return to the work of catechesis. Biblical literacy continues to be on the decline, and many men and women come into our congregations with little theological competency. But Augustine’s advice in Instructing Beginners in the Faith demonstrates another reason to invest our time and energies into this effort: faithful catechesis can also protect the men and women in our congregations from the pain and trauma of abuse by helping them to identify the conditions that enable it.
This resource is part of the series Not So With You: Reflections on Power, the Pastorate, and Life in the Church. Click here to explore more resources from this series.
Joey Sherrard is Associate Pastor of Discipleship at Signal Mountain Presbyterian Church in Tennessee. He received his Ph.D. in Systematic Theology from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, UK. Joey is a member of the St. John Fellowship of the Center For Pastor Theologians.
