I have had the privilege of receiving a pre-publication review copy of Children In Church Nurturing hearts of worship by Curt and Sandra Lovelace. This is a quick read for parents and even our 11 year old has read and gleaned from the pages of this book. You will be left with lots to ponder and prayerfully consider after reading Children In Church.
I highly recommend this book for couples before deciding to have children so that they can get on the same page, but it’s not too late to read the book with children already in the home. The scripture used throughout the book is immensely encouraging and backs up the authors views: a great reminder of how faithful our God is to His children, the Lord sees us through to the end when we follow His leading and direction.
The Lovelaces share the truth of how “others” may see us and how we may be viewed for having our children in church with us. The authors are very adept at using scripture, they do not rely on opinions or feelings, but on the inerrant word of God.
It’s REFRESHING to read a parenting book that is not full of emotional and self-esteem fluff, spiritual parenting is hard work in today‘s world. When we parent our children using God‘s Word, it may bring discomfort through conviction and the authors address how to handle this with prayer and discussion.
The Lovelaces provide advice on bring your children into church services, they share practical, tried and true tips to guide your family in enjoying worship together.
Must read pages..........
Page 29
“Are those without children beside them willing to grant charity to parents who are in the process of training their children? Are parents with children willing to grant compassion to those who need quieter surroundings?” Something to really ponder in the scope of this topic of children in the church.
Page 35 “Parents who are serious before the Lord about worshipping together in the corporate setting must understand that moving toward that goal will entail commitment, diligence, wisdom, strength, courage, determination, discipline, effort, energy, and so much more.” The authors emulate the essence of the challenges you may face stay the course and you reap the harvest.
Page 49 “Their primary goal was to present the character of Christ in this new setting…..” How to prepare kids for different social situations.
Page 61 Chapter on preparations, I’m not even going to share a quote from this chapter because you need to get the book and read it for yourself! WOW! I found that I was very lacking in this area and was very convicted of things that I do in my own life that are keeping me from being prepared for worship on Sunday mornings. An example from my own life is that we tend to stay up late on Saturday night as a family and then we are tired and grumpy on Sunday mornings as we get ready for church. If you could only read a single chapter in Children in Church, it should be chapter 5, it will transform your entire families view of worship.
Page 73
The chapter on supplies is invaluable!!
Page 113The chapter on conflicts has wonderful encouragement for when the going gets tough, we have to remember that Satan does not want our kids to grow spiritually and he will fight us tooth and nail in raising our children for the Lord. Once again Lovelace points us to God’s word for answers and guidance. Praise the Lord for an author of a modern day parenting book that uses scripture to enlighten us in our parenting journey.
Page 120 “Thus, parents who are making their way along this journey will do well to go before the Lord to see what He might reveal to them about their own attitudes, actions, expectations, and judgments.”
Children in Church
has it all folks, guidance for every step of the way in bring your children together with you as a family to worship. I highly recommend reading through the book with a highlighter and marking up the pages, because you will want to refer back to the timeless biblical truths contained within its pages.
I know from personal experience that prayer is the number one need in the area of Children in Church. We began praying about this several years ago, just my husband and I, never once mentioned it to our child. One day a few years ago our son told us that he wanted to come to worship service to hear pastor preach, we told him to pray about it and we would revisit the topic again. He came to us again and said he was ready, we reminded him that there would be no going back and forth to children’s church for the fun stuff: parties, outings, etc. He said that he was ready. We survived the looks, comments, the whispers and phone calls that we and our son received regarding our not following the rules. We are a couple of years out now and have never looked back. The conversations that we have after church regarding pastors preaching are so enlightening, before we would ask, “What did you do in class today?” We would get a one or two word answer, now we get a commentary. Needless to say having our child in church has blessed us beyond measure.
This book is a must read for lay people as well as pastors and church workers. All I can say is WOW! Children in Church has a powerful question for parents, “Why are we separating out the children from the main worship service?” Is this separation hindering spiritual growth in our families?
Head on over to http://childreninchurch.com/order/ and order a copy, get one for your pastor and your best friend at church. This is a must read.
Thank you so much, Moe! We loved this book so much we had to publish it!
ReplyDeleteWe'd like to invite you and your readers to friend Children in Church on Facebook, too, to join the conversation about including our children in worship: http://facebook.com/childreninchurch.
Hal & Melanie Young,
Publishers
Great Waters Press
Excellent - I will be purchasing this book. Our son is almost 15, so it doesn't apply to us as much; but it is something I would like to have a copy of to share with others. Many comment on how well he has always behaved in church services - I'm like "well, he has been sitting through them since he was 18 months old". At last, a resource to pass on that agrees!
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean, our son is 11, I'm thinking about and praying for my grandchildren (if the Lord should bless us in that manner). This book is a wonderful resource for kids to read too along with parents. It was easily understood by our son and gave him a lot of aha moments without having mom or dad even broach the subject matter, that in itself is yet another blessing from this book.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your insight.
Moe
You don't state if the author refers to a particular religion. I think this is a universal subject and that children should be a part of all religious services. I grew up attending catholic church. I went to public school and attended religion class on Saturday mornings. My parents and the kids went to all Sunday church services together, and the couple that were mid-week for holy days too. There was no Sunday school. There was no crying room for infants. People of all ages attended all church services. I know there are other Christian religions that may view that kids don't belong in church. I liken the view of the page 29 quote with kids riding airplanes. Some adults would prefer a flight with no kids and others are more accepting. But hey, the airline charges the same fee for all seats on the plane. A body is a body to their business. To Christ, you are a believer and show devotion, or you are not. I think all are welcome in the house of God. To bar anyone of any age (or even of another religion) from the home of Christ, is almost committing a crime against God and needs to spend time in prayer.
ReplyDeleteI have always felt that Children's Church is such a failure for our children. To shuffle the children into a separate service just never seemed right to me. It sounds like this book could help with techniques of staying in the service and dealing with other adults.
ReplyDeleteCharity Bellville
Thank you for highlighting this book.
ReplyDeleteI was especially challenged by the pg 29 quote.
There are many times that a child will be making too much noise for us to hear what is being said from the pulpit, but God knows what He wants us to hear and He will make sure we hear it!
It will make me think about how I can help those parents with children - do I take a crying child out of the sanctuary for the parents or do I leave the parent to work it through, for example.
If this is just one challenge in this book, it sounds like great reading!
Moe, thank you for this review of Children In Church.
ReplyDeleteI was especially challenged by the Pg 29 quote, which you highlighted.
Often, children make enough noise - through crying or just talking - that the rest of us cannot hear what is being preached. However, God knows and He will ensure we hear what He wants us to hear! And learn!
If that is just one quote, then I can imaging that it will be a rewarding and thought-provoking read, not to just those who have children and are training them up but to the rest of us as well.
Thanks!
We are members of the LCMS and have always had our children in church with us. That is actually the norm in the 3-4 Lutheran churches I have attended in my life. In fact, when I was a kid, the pastor told my mom that he would rather have 5 kids (the number in our family) crying in the pew than happy at home :) I <3 that attitude. Anyway, I think the best way to train kids to behave at church is to start from the beginning! I would be noisy and inattentive too if I had spent several years 'playing church' in the other room before being forced to sit still and be quiet for an hour or more each Sunday. We have always had Sunday School for children AND adults either after or before the worship service. It works for us.
ReplyDeleteMoe, you make me want to read this book!! Thanks for posting the review...I am going to contact our library right now!!! Carrie :)
ReplyDeleteMoe I know the commitment to Christ your family lives and grows by. Thank you for reading this book and sharing what you have discovered. Thank you for your shining examples! KA
ReplyDeleteKA,
ReplyDeleteYou are a blessing to me, thank you for your comments.
Moe
Carrie,
ReplyDeleteYou need another book to read don't you! lol. I have such a long list that I need to read.
But you will get a lot of out the Children In Church book and a lot that you can pass on to encourage others with younger children.
Moe