But WHAT do we do with the Children?
Reconsidering the “problem” of
integrating infants, children, ‘tweens, and teens into organic church life
Christopher Travis Haun (cthaun[at]hotmail[dot]com)
for http://rethinker.net/ekklesia
(unfinished draft)
The question of “but what do we do
about the children?” (asked in one form or another) may be the greatest of all
the practical problems brought up when attempting to architect any church
model. Children are recognized in
conventional, post-constantinian church models as a disruptive problem. But
perhaps this “problem” is not so much a problem as it is a litmus test for how “organic”
that church model is. Perhaps this
should not be seen as a problem but as an opportunity for greater levels of reformation/restoration
away from organization and towards organism.
In the highly organized churches,
adults can drop their children off at nurseries, Sunday school rooms, or youth
groups and enjoy having some adults only time while at the same time
outsourcing the responsibility of discipleship to others. The highly organized churches know well that
the more impressive their Sunday school facilities are, the more their
potential for growth of numbers can have.
Of course children are not the problem; but perhaps our attitudes
towards children may be?
I was part of a small church that
fizzled out partially due to two child-related problems that we didn’t have the
wisdom then to fix. I have watched one
married couple who preferred house church themselves leave the house church in
favor of a large-and-organized church for the sake of their bored teenagers
wanting to be part of an exciting youth group.
Parents will sacrifice their own needs for the perceived needs of their
children of course. I’ve met one man
who has been bored to tears for years with life in his large megachurch but he
says he stays because his children really love their youth group. One of the reasons I left that house church
was, ironically, that the main teacher began focusing his teaching on his own
young children and we other adults become bored.
Before I start applying my sense of
logic and research to the matter, here’s a little appreciatory plug to Jacobsen
and Coleman in their admirable and thought-provoking book So You Don’t Want to Go to Church Anymore, chapter 9 (free online). I include it not as an answer to the
problems but as a catalyst to initiate a deep reconsideration of the topic.
Jason started to get fussy in Diane’s lap and I could see
people roll their eyes and noticed Diane had hardly eaten. John noticed
too. He got up and asked if he could take Jason for a moment and returned
to his chair with Jason cradled in his arms.
“Do you all not have children, or was I supposed to get a
sitter?” Diane asked.
Laurie jumped in. “No, he’s fine. We have lots
of kids around here, but we thought it would give us more freedom to talk if
they weren’t distracting us.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”
“Please, don’t be concerned about it. We’re glad you’re
here and glad Jason is too,” Marsha broke in. Jason had settled into
John’s arms and was mesmerized by the spoon John was using to entertain
him.
As I was trying to think of a segue into a more substantive
discussion, John spoke, “I’m not sure it’s best to look at children as
distractions. Jesus didn’t. They were drawn to him and he enjoyed
it. When others tried to chase them away, he told them not to. If
we’re not ready to receive the littlest ones in their weaknesses, we’re
probably not ready to receive each other in ours.”
“So what should we do with children?” Ben asked.
“That’s been a big issue around here.”
“Did your family get together last Easter?”
“Yes. We had a huge bash here with our relatives,
probably 50 or more.”
“When you planned for that, did anyone ask what you should
do with the kids?”
“No,” Ben chuckled. “They’re just part of the
family.”
“Why is it any different in Father’s family?”
Ben hesitated so Marsha jumped in, “Because we’re trying to
have a meeting and the children get bored. I think we should provide
something for them, as well.”
“Then maybe you shouldn’t try so hard to have a meeting.”
John said still playing with Jason.
“Be a family and let them be a part just as you do at your
family get-togethers. Include them where you can and let them be kids
together at times, too, when you’re involved in things they may find less
interesting.”
“But there’s too many just to turn them loose. It’s
hard to get people to go out with them when no one wants to miss the meeting.”
“Who said anything about turning them loose? Love
them. Include them as significant parts of the family however you
can. Let me ask you a question. Do you usually eat together?”
“We often do. We think it is part of sharing the
Lord’s Table.”
“Do you have a kid’s table when you do?”
I sensed this wasn’t going to be good, but the other folks
had no idea how differently John thinks. “Of course we do, doesn’t
everyone?”
“Well, actually no. Eating together is one of the
simplest things a family does together. If you’re already dividing up by
then, you’re missing something extraordinary. Mix it up, and don’t have
families sitting together. Sit down with a child that is not your own and
get to know what makes them tick. What do they enjoy? How is school
going? Or grab some blocks and hit the floor with a two year old.
“And if you have them with you for singing or sharing,
don’t have your own child on your lap where you’ll struggle with them to make
it look like they’re participating. Get someone else’s child on your lap
and make it playful for them. Do you realize the most significant factor
in helping a child thrive in the culture is for them to have caring
relationships with adults who are not their relatives? The best gift you
can give each other’s kids is the same gift you can give each other—the gift of
friendship. And if the kids go out to enjoy some time together, don’t
send people out to do childcare. Think of it as an opportunity for a
couple of you to build relationships with a significant part of your
group—whether they’re toddlers or teenagers.”
“But since they’re not in a Sunday school class, how will
they get instruction?” Marsha asked.
Before he could answer Laurie leaned across me and opened
her arms offering to take Jason. “Haven’t you had that one long enough?”
she asked pleading.
With a kiss on Jason’s forehead and a smile he gave him up
to Laurie and then picked up his fork. “How old are your children,
Marsha?”
“Ten, seven and three.”
“If you have something you want to share with them, do
it. But don’t think that is the best way they learn.” At that he
grabbed a fork and held it up. “Do you remember teaching your children to
use a fork?”
“Not exactly….”
“But they all use one, I assume. Did you send them to
fork school, or have a Powerpoint presentation on the make-up and use of a
fork?” People laughed. “It sounds silly, doesn’t it? But as
long as we think of this life in Christ as knowledge to acquire instead of
living in him, we’ll do all kinds of foolish things. Your children know
how to use a fork, but that’s because they learned it in life. As they
got old enough you probably put the fork in their hands, but held on so they
wouldn’t poke their eye out. You helped them guide it to their mouth and
when you grew confident they wouldn’t hurt themselves, you let them do it on
their own. Embracing the life of Jesus is a lot more like learning to use that
fork than it is sitting in meetings. Children will learn the truth
as you help them learn to live it.”
I was surprised when Roary spoke up since he’s one of the
quietest men in our group. “I love what you’re saying about the
kids. I’ve never thought of them that way. But you’re talking about
something bigger than that, aren’t you?”
“You’re right, Roary. What I’m saying will also
affect how you deal with each other. If you really want to learn how to
share Jesus’ life together, it would be easier to think of that less as a
meeting you attend and more as a family you love.”
“I like that. We’d focus more on our relationships
than our activities.” Ben offered.
Let’s be noble Bereans and revisit
the New Testament to find answers for the questions we may be asking about how
to incorporate children into church life.
Acts 20
7On the first day of the week we came together to break bread. Paul spoke
to the people and, because he intended to leave the next day, kept on talking
until midnight. 8There were many lamps in the upstairs room where we were
meeting. 9Seated in a window was a young man named Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep as Paul
talked on and on. When he was sound asleep, he fell to the ground from
the third story and was picked up dead. 10Paul went down, threw himself on the young man and put his
arms around him. "Don't be alarmed," he said. "He's alive!"
11Then he went upstairs again and broke bread and ate. After talking until
daylight, he left. 12The people took the young man home alive and were greatly
comforted.
Eutychus was a “young man.” We don’t know his actual age. I'm guessing that it could mean anything
between thirteen and twenty-five years of age.
But we see a difference between “the people” and “the young man.” We can presume that this house church met
around 7pm on a Saturday night (which for them by Jewish reckoning would be the
beginning of the first day of the week), ate their supper together, and
listened to Paul all night long.
Perhaps Eutychus’ inability to stay awake as long as the adults suggests
he was in his early teens. They probably
didn’t normally stay awake all night.
They probably only stayed up so late listening to Paul because he was
only in town for a short time. All we
can say for sure is that a “young man” was among the group of adults. So perhaps it is normal for youngsters to be
integrated into the adults. (But just
don’t let them sit in third story windows please!)
Acts 21
"3After sighting Cyprus and passing to the south of it, we sailed on
to Syria. We landed at Tyre, where our ship was to unload its cargo. 4Finding
the disciples there, we stayed with them seven days. Through the Spirit they
urged Paul not to go on to Jerusalem. 5But when our time was up, we left and
continued on our way. All
the disciples and their wives and children accompanied us out of the city, and
there on the beach we knelt to pray. 6After saying good-by to each
other, we went aboard the ship, and they returned home."
Here in Acts 21 we see the church
assembled on a sandy beach near the harbor.
It is interesting that it wasn’t just the men (“the disciples”) who
gathered there but also “their wives and children.” The disciples, the wives of the disciples,
and the children of the disciples all went with Paul and Luke to the beach for
a send-off and prayer. Clearly the men
did not tell their wives, "Hey, honey, keep the kids here at home while we
go off to the beach to send Paul and Luke off."
In American culture we suffer from
tremendous fragmentation and fracture in our family life. In Tyre the disciples had a more organic view
of family. It was natural that if a man
was going to go somewhere and do something important his wife and kids would go
with him. We're not told what they did.
Perhaps the wives took care of the children while all the men kneeled in the
sand and prayed? Or perhaps many of the wives knelt and prayed too? Perhaps the
children ran around the beach collecting shells and building sand castles? Perhaps some of the children knelt and
prayed too. This guessing goes beyond
what is written.
All I can really take from it with
confidence is that when the men of the church assemble together their wives and
children should be with them. It may be true that the assembling of disciples
is primary focused on men meeting with men. But before I'm accused of being
overly patriarchal here, let me also be quick to tie in the corollary: a man
and his wife and his children are one unit. If a disciple meets with other
disciples in the name of Christ, it is natural and normal for his wife and
children to be part of that... part of him.
In the book House Church; Simple Strategic Scriptural (edited by Steve Atkerson
of ntrf.org), chapter 7 is titled "Children in Church." One paragraph in particular seems to
encapsulate their approach:
"The Scripture doesn't say much
on handling children when believers gather. But I can't imagine that the
believers back then didn't have children. I imagine not much was ever said,
because the early Christians didn't make such a big deal about the issue. The
churches were in the home; families lived in homes; children met with the
church in the home."
Ephesians 6
Ephesians
6:1-4 (New International Version)
Children, obey your
parents in the Lord, for this is right. "Honor your father and
mother"—which is the first commandment with a promise— "that it may
go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth."
Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the
training and instruction of the Lord.
Ephesians
6:1-4 (New King James Version)
Children, obey your
parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother,”
which is the first commandment with promise: “that it may be well with you
and you may live long on the earth.” And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the
training and admonition of the Lord.
Colossians
3:20-21 (New International Version)
Children, obey your parents in
everything, for this pleases the Lord. Fathers, do not embitter your children,
or they will become discouraged.
Colossians
3:20-21 (New King James Version)
Children, obey your parents in
all things, for this is well pleasing to the Lord. Fathers, do not provoke your
children, lest they become discouraged.
According to Ephesians 6, who is
responsible for discipling children?
Who has the responsibility and privilege? Is it the youth pastor? Is it the Sunday School teacher? Is it the teacher at the private Christian
school? It is up to the father first
and foremost (and to the mother secondarily) to ensure that the children are
brought up in a way that trains them and teaches them the way of Christ.
When Moses gave God’s law to
Israel, it was not the responsibility of the fathers to outsource the training
of the Lord’s will to his children but for he himself to do it. The father (and the mother) are to teach
their children in many ways, according to Deuteronomy.
Deuteronomy 4:
9 Only be careful, and watch yourselves
closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them
slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after
them.
Deuteronomy 6:
4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the
LORD is one. a
5 Love
the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your
strength. 6 These commandments that I give you
today are to be upon your hearts. 7 Impress
them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk
along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and
bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write
them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.
Deuteronomy 11:
16 Be careful, or you will be enticed to
turn away and worship other gods and bow down to them. 17 Then
the LORD’s anger will burn against you, and he will shut the heavens so that it
will not rain and the ground will yield no produce, and you will soon perish
from the good land the LORD is giving you. 18 Fix these words of mine in your hearts
and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 19 Teach them to your children, talking
about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie
down and when you get up. 20 Write
them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates,
21 so
that your days and the days of your children may be many in the land that the
LORD swore to give your forefathers, as many as the days that the heavens are
above the earth.
Deuteronomy 32:
45 When Moses finished reciting all these
words to all Israel, 46 he said to them, “Take to heart all the
words I have solemnly declared to you this day, so that you may command your children to obey carefully
all the words of this law. 47 They are not just idle words for
you—they are your life.
I think in Ephesians 6 and
Deuteronomy we have a large part of our answer about “what to do with the
children.”
In my vision for organic,
relational, family-style, New-testament style church, every man is a pastor, a
leader, a shepherd, an elder, an overseer of his own family. When we men come together as a church, we
are to strengthen one another in such a way that every man can better be the
pastor of his own family. Every home of
every Christian should be a church.
Every man is the prophet and priest and king in his own family. If a man is not able to train up his children
in the training, instruction, and admonition of the Lord on his own, we
brothers need to focus our efforts on strengthening that man so that he can
strengthen his own children.
To be a proper organic
family-styled church, we need to recover the proper, biblical, Hebrew view of
family first. Indeed the leaders of the
church are supposed to be chosen based on how well they have first done with
their own family:
1Here is a trustworthy saying: If
anyone sets his heart on being an overseer, he desires a noble task. 2Now the overseer must be above reproach, the
husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable,
able to teach, 3not given to
drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. 4He must manage his own family
well and see that his children obey him with proper respect. 5(If anyone does not know how to manage his
own family, how can he take care of God's church?)
If we men do not understand the
value of family, we have no business attempting to take any leadership roles in
the church. The converse is true too: we
who seek to return to a purer form of church life must begin with straightening
out our own families.
Why did God invent marriage? Because he was seeking godly children.
. . . the LORD is acting as the witness between you and the
wife of your youth, because you have broken faith with her, though she is your
partner, the wife of your marriage covenant.
Has not the LORD made them one? In flesh and spirit they are his. And why one? Because he was
seeking godly offspring. So guard yourself in your spirit, and do not
break faith with the wife of your youth.
"I hate divorce," says the LORD God of Israel, "and I
hate a man's covering himself with violence as well as with his garment,"
says the LORD Almighty. So guard yourself in your spirit, and do not
break faith.
What was a big part of the
repentance the Lord demanded of Israel when he and John the Baptist and the
apostles were preaching repentance for coming of the kingdom of God? One crucial facet of that repentance was to
turn the hearts of the fathers to their children!
Malachi
4
5
"See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful
day of the LORD comes. 6 He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children,
and the hearts of the children to their fathers; or else I will come and
strike the land with a curse."
8Once when Zechariah's division
was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, 9he was chosen by lot, according to the
custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10And when the
time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying
outside. 11Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him,
standing at the right side of the altar of incense. 12When Zechariah saw him, he was
startled and was gripped with fear. 13But
the angel said to him: "Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been
heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the
name John. 14He
will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, 15for he will
be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented
drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth.[b] 16Many of the people of Israel
will he bring back to the Lord their God. 17And he will go on before the Lord, in
the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their
children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a
people prepared for the Lord."
Ultimately we men need to be
focused on our children more than we need to be focused upon one another. My first answer then to the question of what
Fathers should do about their children is to give them focus all week long
every day of every week of every year to train them, disciple them, show them,
teach them the Way of our Lord Jesus Christ.
But on Sunday mornings when the brothers meet as a church, we should
focus on one another in a way that enables us to better focus upon our
children.
This type of church life is not
in the least bit deprecating to children.
The luckiest children in the world are those who have fathers (and
mothers) who have repented in the way the Lord wants.
This chapter speaks about several men
speaking in the assembly of the church and sets up the guideline in verse 40
that "everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way." This could be used to argue that children
need to be kept quiet and/or kept out of the way of the operation of the Spirit
among the gifted men. Paul also makes
it painfully clear here that women should be silent in the churches:
As in all the congregations of the saints, 34women should remain silent in the
churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the Law
says. 35If they want to inquire
about something, they should ask their own husbands at home; for it is
disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church.
If women are to be silent—and I think
this topic deserves much deeper investigation--while the Spirit works through
the speaking gifts given to the men of the synerxomai, it is an obvious logical
corollary that children are also to be kept quiet. But here we see a very important angle on the
same thing that has already been said. Based
on this passage it could be argued that the meeting of the brothers as a church
is mainly for the Holy Spirit to work through men upon one another. Men in the church of Corinth did not listen
passively to one man deliver a sermon.
There was a chance for no less than two or three men to speak (or
perhaps every man) and for men to ask questions of one another. Men were encouraged to ask questions of
clarification of one another but women were apparently not allowed to ask
questions of men in the church. Women
were apparently permitted to pray and even to prophecy in the church meeting
(according to 1 Cor 11) but they were not encouraged to ask questions in the
meeting. But instead of getting hung up here on the thorny
question of women being silent in the churches, please focus instead on the
fact that the women were encouraged to ask questions of their husband at
home. This again supports the notion
that the husband-father of the home is the one who is responsible for answering
his wife’s questions. And if true for the wife, how
much more true for the children of that family? The husband is arguably supposed the
pastor, the teacher, the priest, representative, head, etc. of his wife and his
children. This is not a radical
statement; just an ignored and forgotten and suppressed one.
We men need to be able to effectively
disciple and lead our wives and our children.
If we cannot disciple our wives and children, then perhaps that is the
first order of business for us men: to
get serious about discipleship so that we become serious disciples and
eventually—perhaps within three years—can begin making disciples among the
members of our own households.
====to be continued=====
I am reminded that houses in first
century Palestine that would have been used by the church for meeting would
typically have an "upper room" (usually a guest room) on the flat
roof of the house and an enclosed courtyard below. The ancient village of Qatzrin of Galilee,
for example, has been excavated and reconstructed. Having a two story home with a paved
courtyard built between different rooms or different homes of an extended
family complex was not uncommon in the first century among Jews or even among
Romans. The church may have met in the
outdoor courtyard (where the cooking was usually done) for their table-based
fellowship or they may have met in the upper room. The young children could
conceivably play in the confines of the courtyard while the adults
fellowshipped from above.
This Spanish style courtyard may not
be the best example but it may carry over some of the Mediterranean style to
our minds.
Another point worthy of mention is
that children in that day and place were probably far more trained,
disciplined, self-controlled, and respectful than the vast majority of children
in the homes of English-speaking families here in the 21st century. Child
training and discipline is definitely not one of the fortes of modern culture.
Based on this, I believe that it
would have been far easier to integrate the children into the assembly of the
adults. Modern Americans, for example, have come to NEED nurseries and sunday
schools and youth programs in their churches because they have long lost the
biblical truths that parents must train their children to be obedient and
controlled.
When I meditation on Ephesians 6,
however, I am inclined to think that integrating the children into the assembly
of adult disciples is not important. Let the little children play in the
courtyard or playground while the adults (and young adults if they are
inclined).
"1Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.
2"Honor your father and mother. . . 4Fathers, do not exasperate your
children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the
Lord."
Paul seems to think that it is the
responsibility of the believing father to train his children in the
"training and instruction" (or "teaching and admonition")
of the Lord. It is not the responsibility of the Sunday School teacher or youth
pastor. Surprisingly, the responsibility is not even put on the mother. It is
put on the father. Seems like this is worthy to meditate upon.
Part of my house church vision is
that of eradicating the bifurcation of Christian men into clergy and laity. I
share that vision but take it a step further: I believe every man is to be the
shepherd/pastor, elder, head, and spiritual leader of his own family. I'd love
to see men take this role, train up their own children to be godly, such that
in a way every Christian household becomes a house church of sorts. And then
when a few adults assemble together to break bread together, no man would be
higher than another man in rank or power. The adults excercise their gifts
together, ministering to one another, building each other up. The focus of the
adult meeting should be adults to adults, i think. My best guess is that the
meeting should not be focused on the children. (This is not to say that some
focus may not be given to them of course... perhaps someone could deliver a
parable or bible story and lesson aimed at the children.) Then the fathers can
focus on their own children at home.
Bar mitzvah age suggests a
lesson? Go back to the synagogue precedent?
What about just having all the adults
sit in a circle and let all the infants play on the floor in that circle?
What about the imperative that “but
all must be done in a fitting and orderly way?”
What about the question of mothers
nursing their children in the assembly of the local church? Interesting question.
If the children are getting bored,
could it be that the teaching is just simply boring? I’m going to challenge whether “teaching” is
something that should necessarily bore children and focus on adults. Jesus taught in parables often. Paul and Stephen taught by telling
stories. Perhaps our methods of
teaching need to be reconsidered.
Perhaps instead of reading out of a theology book we should relearn the
art of storytelling. The Bible its self
is one large story book. Why not make
teaching into storytelling and what adult and what child would not enjoy
learning the stories of Adam and Eve, Noah, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Jacob, Joseph and Potifer and Pharoah, Moses and
Israel, Saul and David and Solomon, Jeremiah, Daniel, John the Baptizer,
Jesus, the Apostles and the early
church?
If we treat children more like adults
in terms of expecting them to listen and think, won’t that serve them well in
later life?
The problem of discipline. Discipline of children by parents seems to be
an almost lost art. Every generation is
brattier and brattier. Perhaps
disciplined and trained children are not a problem but undisciplined children
are. Therefore perhaps church life should
be about teaching parents to get their children under control rather than some doctrine
of less practical and immediate value. Instead of studying the doctrine of the
trinity, why not study what the OT and NT say about the role of fathers and
mothers and parents and families? Study
what Proverbs has to say about “the rod.”
And/or start a Titus 2 study
where the older women teach the younger women how to properly care for their
husbands and children. What do you
think? Is it more important for the
fathers in a church to learn about some obscure doctrine such as end-times
prophecy or for them to learn about how they should raise their children? Consider 1
Timothy 5:4 -- But if a widow has
children or grandchildren, these should learn first of all to put their
religion into practice by caring for their own family and so repaying their
parents and grandparents, for this is pleasing to God.
1 Corinthians
7:14 (New International Version)
14For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified
through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her
believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they
are holy.
76.
1
Thessalonians 2:7
As apostles of Christ we could have been a burden to you, but we were gentle
among you, like a mother caring for her little children.
1
Thessalonians 2:6-8 (in Context) 1
Thessalonians 2 (Whole Chapter)
77.
1
Thessalonians 2:11
For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children,
1
Thessalonians 2:10-12 (in Context) 1
Thessalonians 2 (Whole Chapter)
78.
1
Timothy 3:4
He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect.
1
Timothy 3:3-5 (in Context) 1
Timothy 3 (Whole Chapter)
79.
1
Timothy 3:12
A deacon must be the husband of but one wife and must manage his children and his household well.
1
Timothy 3:11-13 (in Context) 1
Timothy 3 (Whole Chapter)
80.
1
Timothy 5:4
But if a widow has children or grandchildren, these should learn first
of all to put their religion into practice by caring for their own family and
so repaying their parents and grandparents, for this is pleasing to God.
1
Timothy 5:3-5 (in Context) 1
Timothy 5 (Whole Chapter)
81.
1
Timothy 5:10
and is well known for her good deeds, such as bringing up children,
showing hospitality, washing the feet of the saints, helping those in trouble
and devoting herself to all kinds of good deeds.
1
Timothy 5:9-11 (in Context) 1
Timothy 5 (Whole Chapter)
82.
1
Timothy 5:14
So I counsel younger widows to marry, to have children, to manage their
homes and to give the enemy no opportunity for slander.
1
Timothy 5:13-15 (in Context) 1
Timothy 5 (Whole Chapter)
83.
Titus
1:6
An elder must be blameless, the husband of but one wife, a man whose children
believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient.
Titus
1:5-7 (in Context) Titus
1 (Whole Chapter)
84.
Titus
2:4
Then they can train the
younger women to love their husbands and children,
Titus
2:3-5 (in Context) Titus
2 (Whole Chapter)
There are basically four options to
consider:
1. ADULT FOCUS - Gear the entire church meeting
exclusively for adults and, as for the children, . . .
a. let the children play supervised in
the distance where they can not bother the adults
b. force the children to remain with the
adults and endure silently (like the Puritans did)
c. dismiss the children to something
resembling Sunday school
2. SPLIT FOCUS - Partition the church
meeting for a short time devoted to the children’s minds and then dismiss them
to either endure silently, play in the distance, or go onto something
approximating a Sunday school class.
3. BLENDED FOCUS - Try to find a balance
where children and adults can be integrated into the same group and where both
children and adults can remain engaged and challenged.
4. CHILD FOCUS - Focus on the children’s
minds and allow the adults to become bored
But before exploring these options,