Once again, I am ceding this article to my colleagues in the field, Dr. Tim and Heidi Indahl. They have exciting news–and we are honored to excerpt their new book, The Proactive Catechist! Enjoy! — Susan Windley-Daoust
Hello, Mark 5:19 Project readers!
We have been busy this summer crafting a simple collection of teaching tips and techniques to support the implementation of evangelical catechesis. It’s super-short, sweet, and–we believe–incredibly helpful in setting the tone for a faith-filled year of learning together.
Rather than pull together a lengthy rationale for why you might want to purchase a copy, we are going to leave you with the following excerpt adapted from the text and let the book speak for itself. In addition to purchasing print or digital copies on Amazon (link), discounted bulk copies (catechist gifts, anyone?) are also available by contacting he***@*********************ip.org . — Tim and Heidi Indahl
Sharing Jesus with a new generation of students is exciting and important work, but it might also feel a tad overwhelming. Especially if you are new to teaching or new to sharing your faith with others. How will you know what to teach? How to teach? What will you do when kids act up?
Listen carefully: you do not have to be a professionally trained teacher to make an effective catechist. The Proactive Catechist was written to help you smash your fears and set you and your students up for success this year. This book is about confidence, pure and simple. We wrote it for every burned out faith formation director and exhausted catechist that has pulled us aside after an event on the edge of tears, afraid to give voice to their situation. (No, you are not the only one!)
Directors are exhausted from catechist turnover. Catechists don’t know if they can come back one more year due to behavior problems. Both are frustrated with disengaged parents and students. They do the same things year after year and don’t see or feel the needle moving.
A catechist’s job is not to learn the intricate details of educational theory, but to radically commit to helping students deepen their knowledge, skills, and experience in the life of discipleship. The techniques in this book will help you prepare yourself with the basics.
The Proactive Catechist will help catechists teach the way student brains want to learn while remaining rooted in a relationship with Jesus. It’s all solidly backed in the fields of neuroscience, educational psychology, and instructional design but we aren’t going to wear you down with a bunch of research to wade through. Think practical and active, not theoretical.
We are unapologetically staunch in the belief that quality education and authentic faith belong in the same sentence. We know the Creator designed every single cell in our bodies and created them to work together in specific ways. We know He calls us to discipleship. Why would working with the design of the brain do anything but help us be better disciples?
As catechesis and faith formation “experts” we believe wholeheartedly that this is about helping students know and love Jesus better so they can live in friendship with Him and serve Him for the rest of their lives. Otherwise, what’s the point?
For example–we have a young hunting dog and directing his energy into productive tasks isn’t only about responding negatively every time he misbehaves, it is also about shaping the behaviors we want to see from him in advance. He doesn’t always get it right on any given day, but he learns more easily when we have routines and commands that help us all communicate and know what to expect.
We had to learn to be proactive dog owners just like you have to learn to be a proactive catechist. Or rather, you don’t have to, but decades of experience tells us that this will go better if you do. Being a proactive catechist helps build routines and language to communicate and help everyone know what to expect. Will this eliminate every frustration and solve every behavior problem? Absolutely not, but it will substantially improve things.
The proactive catechist does three simple, brain-smart things:
- Starts With Prayer
- Builds Predictable Routines
- Focuses On Connection
Being a proactive catechist increases how well your students are able to focus and learn. That will help them build a much deeper relationship with Jesus. Let’s never forget that Jesus is a much higher good than a lack of behavior issues. The good news is dedicating yourself to these three things will help you with both.
In each of the chapters of The Proactive Catechist you will find a short description, example, or explanation of the technique, followed by practical action items. Not every idea will apply or appeal to every reader. That’s ok. Start with the ones that make you feel a little excited inside. Those are the ones that naturally resonate with your existing gifts and talents and make the best starting point. You haven’t been called to teach like us or the catechist in the next room. You’ve been called to teach like you.
After touching on all three steps, we share a few personal stories about our first “teaching” experiences and early experience training others in the art of teaching. If you are skeptical about our claims about how possible this is, go ahead and skip ahead to read those first.
Finally, we included a collection of lists in the back that will be helpful to you as a catechist. We call it the Useful Appendix. These lists provide extra guidance as you figure out this proactive catechist thing. We put them in one place so that they are easy to reference back to without cluttering up the rest of the text.
In the end, our best advice to new catechists is this- refuse to compromise on either quality education or authentic faith. They belong together and are essential to nurturing hearts and minds on fire for Jesus and His church.
Heidi and Tim Indahl work with catechists, faith formation directors, and Catholic schools. You can learn more about their work at Designed for Discipleship.
