Leader’s guide · 11 weeks
Leader’s guide: Orthodoxy (For Teens)
Using this guide with a class? See Ochorus for schools or homeschool families
This guide takes your group through “Orthodoxy (For Teens)” in eleven weeks, one chapter a week. It retells G. K. Chesterton’s 1908 book, in which a famously funny, argumentative writer explains how he set out to work out his own beliefs and found he had arrived at the old Christian faith. It is not a list of proofs but a story of discovery, full of fairy tales, paradoxes and jokes. It is written for teens aged about 13 to 18 and suits a youth group, a homeschool or a small group, and it is especially good for teens who are starting to ask what they really believe and why.
Each session takes about 30 to 40 minutes. Open by saying the memory verse together (3 minutes). Read the chapter, either aloud together or beforehand at home (8–10 minutes). Talk through the chapter’s three questions, which come with answers to help you (10 minutes). Do the activity (10 minutes). Then close by praying the chapter’s prayer, or one of your own (2 minutes).
To prepare, read the chapter yourself and look over the activity; most weeks need only paper and pens, and a couple go better outdoors. Chesterton loves an argument, so let your group push back and ask hard questions; the book is on the side of honest thinking. Two themes need a gentle touch. Chesterton went through a very dark time as a young man, and chapter 2 uses his old-fashioned language about madness to talk about thoughts that go round in circles; be clear that he is not mocking anyone with a mental illness, and make sure anyone whose thoughts are often dark or anxious knows they can talk to you, a parent, a school counsellor or a doctor. Chapter 6 mentions God’s commands about sexual purity briefly; keep that talk general and respectful.
Week 1 — The Man Who Discovered England
G. K. Chesterton, born in London in 1874, came through a very dark time as a young art student, held on by “a thin thread of thanks,” and slowly found his way to Christianity. When critics complained he never said what he believed, he wrote Orthodoxy, beginning with a sailor who lands on what he thinks is a new island and finds it is England. Chesterton admits he tried to found a heresy of his own and discovered it was orthodoxy, and says we all need both wonder and welcome. The big idea: thinking hard for yourself can lead you home to the old Christian faith.
“Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls.” — Jeremiah 6:16 (KJV)
Memory verse
Thus says the LORD: “Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls.”
Jeremiah 6:16
Talk together
Why did Chesterton write Orthodoxy?
Because critics complained that he criticised other people’s beliefs without saying what he believed himself.
What is the story of the man in the yacht?
A sailor miscalculates his course and “discovers” what he thinks is a new island, which turns out to be England.
What did Chesterton discover when he tried to invent his own beliefs?
That the philosophy he had worked out for himself was orthodoxy, the old Christian faith.
Activity
Discovering England
You will need: Paper and pens
- Ask everyone to write down three things they believe about life that they feel they have worked out for themselves.
- In pairs, swap lists and talk about where each belief might have come from.
- As a group, pick two or three of the beliefs and look for whether the Bible says anything about them.
- Talk about Chesterton’s sailor: what is good about discovering that something “new” is actually very old?
Week 2 — Thinking in Circles
Chesterton argues that it is not imagination that traps people but a kind of over-thinking that shrinks the world into a small, tight circle, like someone sure everyone is plotting against them, who has “lost everything except his reason.” The cure, he says, is not more argument but a bigger world of humour, love, ordinary experience and mystery, since “as long as you have mystery you have health.” The chapter stresses that he is not mocking mental illness, and urges anyone whose thoughts go round in dark or anxious circles to talk to someone they trust. The big idea: we don’t have to understand everything about God to trust him.
“Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.” — Proverbs 3:5 (KJV)
Memory verse
Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.
Proverbs 3:5
Talk together
What does Chesterton say the over-thinker has lost?
Not his reason, but everything except his reason.
What is the difference between the poet and the logician, according to Chesterton?
The poet tries to get his head into the heavens; the logician tries to get the heavens into his head, and it is his head that splits.
What does Chesterton say keeps people healthy in their thinking?
Mystery: having one foot on earth and one in fairyland, and caring more for truth than for consistency.
Activity
Breaking the Circle
You will need: Paper and pens
- Read out the chapter’s example: you decide a friend hates you, and every message, look or silence seems to prove it.
- As a group, list the facts that the “circle” leaves out, such as the friend simply being busy.
- Brainstorm “bigger world” things that help break a loop of thoughts, such as going outside, talking to a friend, laughing or praying.
- Remind everyone that if their thoughts often go round in dark or anxious circles, they can talk to you or another trusted adult.
Week 3 — Humble About the Wrong Thing
Chesterton notices that people are often very sure about themselves and very unsure about truth, which he calls “humility in the wrong place.” A person was meant to be doubtful about himself but undoubting about the truth, and he says this has been exactly reversed, making it hard even to think. The healthy way is to be humble about ourselves, since we can be wrong and need God and others, but bold about what God has said. The big idea: be humble about yourself and confident about the truth.
“Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.” — Proverbs 3:7 (KJV)
Memory verse
Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD, and turn away from evil.
Proverbs 3:7
Talk together
What does Chesterton mean by “humility in the wrong place”?
People are humble about truth, doubting whether anything is really true, but proud and confident about themselves.
What should we be doubtful about, and what should we be sure of?
We should be doubtful about ourselves, but undoubting about the truth.
Why does Chesterton think doubting all truth makes thinking hard?
Because if nothing is really true there is nothing to think about; the sceptic doubts whether he can even learn.
Activity
Humble or Bold?
You will need: Slips of paper and pens
- Write some popular sayings on slips, such as “Believe in yourself”, “Follow your heart”, “There’s no such thing as truth” and “Who’s to say what’s right?”
- Read each one out and decide as a group whether it puts humility in the right place or the wrong place.
- Talk about what it would look like to be both humble and bold at school or among friends.
- Have each person write down one truth about God they can be sure of.
Week 4 — What Fairy Tales Know
Chesterton says his first and last philosophy came from fairy tales: Jack teaches that proud giants should be beaten, Cinderella echoes Mary’s song about God lifting the humble, and Beauty and the Beast teaches “that a thing must be loved before it is loveable.” Above all, fairy tales taught him to see the world with wonder, since apples growing on trees did not have to happen. He also calls tradition “the democracy of the dead,” giving a vote to our ancestors. The big idea: becoming like a child includes learning to wonder again.
“Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.” — Matthew 18:3 (KJV)
Memory verse
Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 18:3
Talk together
What lesson does Chesterton draw from Beauty and the Beast?
That a thing must be loved before it is lovable.
Why does Chesterton say ordinary things like apples falling are amazing?
Because they did not have to happen; we can imagine the world working differently, so its patterns are wonders and gifts.
What does Chesterton mean by “the democracy of the dead”?
Tradition: giving a vote to the wisdom of people who lived before us, not just those who happen to be alive now.
Activity
What Fairy Tales Know
You will need: Paper and pens
- As a group, name some well-known fairy tales and the lesson each one teaches.
- Talk about Chesterton’s favourite lesson, that a thing must be loved before it is lovable, and how it describes the way God loves us.
- Have everyone choose one ordinary thing, such as rain, an apple or their own hand, and write three sentences describing it as if they were seeing it for the first time.
- Invite a few people to read theirs aloud, and thank God together for one of the things described.
Week 5 — Do It Again
People often assume that nature’s repetition shows it is a dead machine, but Chesterton points out that children love repetition because they are full of life, and shout “Do it again!” Perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony, saying every morning “Do it again” to the sun and making every daisy separately without tiring, because “our Father is younger than we.” This led Chesterton to say that if the world involves magic, perhaps it involves a magician, and if life is a story, there is a storyteller. The big idea: you are not an accident in a machine but a character in a story written by a Storyteller who loves what he has made.
“The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.” — Psalm 19:1 (KJV)
Memory verse
The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
Psalm 19:1
Talk together
Why do children love repetition, according to Chesterton?
Because they are full of life and vitality, not because they are dull.
What does Chesterton imagine God saying to the sun every morning?
“Do it again.”
What did Chesterton conclude from seeing life as a story?
If there is a story, there is a storyteller; if the world involves magic, perhaps it involves a magician.
Activity
Do It Again
You will need: Bibles, and an outdoor space if possible
- If you can, step outside and look at the sky together for a minute in silence.
- Read Psalm 19:1–6 aloud.
- Go round the group and have each person name one thing in creation that God keeps on making, like sunrises, waves or leaves.
- Talk about the difference between seeing the world as a machine and seeing it as a story with a Storyteller.
- Close by thanking God together for the things named.
Week 6 — The One Small “If”
Chesterton calls a pattern in fairy tales “the Doctrine of Conditional Joy”: you may have a palace or a ball if you keep one small condition, so “all the dizzy and colossal things conceded depend upon one small thing withheld.” Complaining about the condition misses how great the gift is, just as God told Adam he could freely eat from every tree except one. The chapter applies this to God’s commands, which protect our joy rather than spoil it, and says we thank God for good things partly by enjoying them with humility and restraint. The big idea: God’s “no” serves a much bigger “yes”.
“And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it.” — Genesis 2:16–17 (KJV)
Memory verse
And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
Genesis 2:16–17
Talk together
What is the “Doctrine of Conditional Joy”?
In fairy tales, huge good gifts depend on one small condition or thing withheld.
How does the garden of Eden show the same pattern?
God said they could eat freely from every tree except one; one small “no” inside an enormous “yes”.
What does Chesterton say is the right way to thank God for good things?
To enjoy them with humility and restraint, for example by not taking too much.
Activity
The Gift Around the If
You will need: Paper and pens
- Draw a big circle on a sheet and a very small circle inside it.
- As a group, choose one of God’s commands, such as honesty or rest, and write it in the small circle.
- Fill the big circle with all the good gifts and freedoms that command protects.
- Repeat with one or two more commands in small groups, then share what you found.
- Ask everyone to think privately about a command they find hard, and what “yes” it might be protecting.
Week 7 — Loving What Isn’t Lovable Yet
Chesterton says the right attitude to the world is not that of a reviewer but of loyalty, like someone who loves a run-down place so much that it begins to rise and become beautiful. This mirrors the gospel, since God loved us while we were still sinners, and his love changes us. Christianity also solved a puzzle for him, how to love the world without trusting it, because God made the world good but is separate from it and the world is broken. The big idea: love things before they are lovable, so that they can become better.
“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” — Romans 5:8 (KJV)
Memory verse
But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5:8
Talk together
Why did Chesterton think neither optimists nor pessimists had it right?
Because the right attitude is like loyal love, which loves something enough to want to improve it, not just to judge it good or bad.
What changes a run-down place, according to Chesterton?
Someone loving it without any earthly reason.
How does Christianity help us love the world without being worldly?
God made the world good, so we can love it, but he is separate from it and it is broken, so we do not worship or trust it completely.
Activity
Love It Into Shape
You will need: Paper and pens
- Ask the group to name places or groups they belong to that are not perfect, such as a class, team, street or church.
- Choose one together and list honestly what is wrong with it.
- Then list practical ways someone who loved it could help make it better.
- Ask each person to pick one action they will take this week for a place or group of their own, without waiting for it to deserve it.
Week 8 — The Odd Shape
Reading books that attacked Christianity, Chesterton noticed that critics accused it of opposite faults: too gloomy and too cheerful, too timid and too violent. He realised that perhaps Christianity was not the odd shape but the critics were, and that it keeps “furious opposites” both at full strength, as in “one can hardly think too little of one’s self” and “too much of one’s soul.” Courage, a desire to live shown as a readiness to die, and love, which pardons the unpardonable, are further examples, and Jesus said the same: whoever loses his life for his sake will find it. The big idea: Christianity may look too much of one thing and too much of its opposite because it is the right shape.
“For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.” — Matthew 16:25 (KJV)
Memory verse
For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
Matthew 16:25
Talk together
What strange thing did Chesterton notice about critics of Christianity?
They attacked it for opposite faults at the same time, such as being too gloomy and too cheerful.
What did Chesterton conclude from this?
That perhaps Christianity was the right shape and the critics were the odd shape.
Why does Chesterton call courage a paradox?
Because it is a strong desire to live that shows itself as a readiness to die.
Activity
The Right Shape
You will need: Paper and pens
- As a group, list criticisms of Christianity you have heard.
- For each, try to think of someone who criticises it for the opposite reason, as Chesterton did.
- Talk about Chesterton’s conclusion: what if Christianity is not the odd shape after all?
- Finish by listing paradoxes in Jesus’ teaching, such as losing your life to find it, and talk about one of them.
Week 9 — The White Post
Chesterton says a white post left alone soon becomes a black post, so “if you want the old white post you must have a new white post,” constantly repainted. Friendships, prayer and fairness all fade without steady care, which is why Christianity keeps calling people back to the good again and again. He adds that real progress needs a fixed picture of what “better” means, and Christianity gives one in Jesus himself. The big idea: good things need daily renewal, not neglect.
“And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind.” — Romans 12:2 (KJV)
Memory verse
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
Romans 12:2
Talk together
What happens to a white post that is left alone?
It soon becomes a black post.
What does Chesterton mean by “if you want the old white post you must have a new white post”?
To keep good things good, you must keep renewing them; leaving them alone lets them decay.
Why does real progress need a fixed idea of what is good?
Because if your idea of good keeps changing, you can never tell whether you are getting better.
Activity
Repainting the Post
You will need: Paper and pens
- Draw a row of posts on a sheet, from bright white to dark grey.
- As a group, list good things in a teen’s life that fade without care, such as friendships, prayer, honesty and kindness at home.
- Talk about what “repainting” each one might look like in practice.
- Ask everyone to write privately one post in their own life that is going grey and one action to repaint it this week.
Week 10 — The Heavenly Chariot
Chesterton rejects the idea that orthodoxy is dull and safe, saying “It is always easy to let the age have its head; the difficult thing is to keep one’s own.” There are endless angles at which one falls but only one at which one stands, and he pictures the faith as a heavenly chariot thundering through the ages, “the wild truth reeling but erect.” Its rules, like a river’s banks, give room for good things to run wild. The big idea: keeping the faith is not boring but the adventure of a lifetime.
“Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.” — Jude 3 (KJV)
Memory verse
Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.
Jude 3
Talk together
What did Chesterton say is easy, and what is difficult?
It is easy to let the age have its head; the difficult thing is to keep one’s own.
How does Chesterton picture orthodoxy through history?
As a heavenly chariot flying thundering through the ages, the dull heresies sprawling, the wild truth reeling but upright.
What did Chesterton find was the chief aim of Christianity’s order?
To give room for good things to run wild.
Activity
Keeping Your Head
You will need: Paper and pens
- As a group, list popular ideas or trends that teens feel pressure to agree with, keeping it respectful.
- Pick one and compare it carefully with something Jesus taught.
- Talk about Chesterton’s picture of the chariot: why is staying upright more exciting than falling over?
- In pairs, practise how you might kindly but firmly disagree with a popular idea, then swap roles.
Week 11 — The Gigantic Secret
Chesterton ends with children playing safely on a cliff-top island until the walls are knocked down and they huddle afraid in the middle, saying Christian teachings are “the walls of a playground.” He jokes that saints had the power of levity as well as levitation, since “Angels can fly because they can take themselves lightly.” His secret is that pagan joy was on the surface with sadness beneath, while Christian sorrow is on the surface with joy at the centre, and he wonders whether the one thing Jesus hid was his mirth. The big idea: at the centre of the universe is not a cold machine but a God of overflowing joy.
“Neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the LORD is your strength.” — Nehemiah 8:10 (KJV)
Memory verse
Do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.
Nehemiah 8:10
Talk together
What does the story of the children on the island teach?
That walls can make play possible; without them the children huddled in fear and stopped singing, so Christian teaching can be the walls of a playground.
Why does Chesterton say angels can fly?
Because they can take themselves lightly.
What is “the gigantic secret of the Christian”?
Joy.
Activity
The Gigantic Secret
You will need: Paper and pens
- Read out Chesterton’s picture of the children on the island and talk about what the walls make possible.
- Talk about the line “Angels can fly because they can take themselves lightly” and how pride makes us heavy.
- Have each person write down three things that bring them real joy, and share one if they wish.
- Look back over the eleven weeks and invite everyone to name the idea from Chesterton that stuck with them most.