From Sampler to Sower

I don’t often use such language, but I believe that God led me to read a book recently.  I don’t usually use that kind of language, because I believe that God typically leaves the titles on my reading list to me – or at the very least I would hate to blame Him for some of the real snoozers or mindless fiction I’ve read recently.  My faith would truly be shaken, for example, if I believed that it was God’s specific will for me to read Twilight, a book I feel could fit well into either of the aforementioned categories.

But this was different.  I was standing in my favorite bookstore on the planet, the Cokesbury Store in Fishers, IN.  A title on the shelf grabbed my attention – The Vocation of the Child, edited by Patrick Brennan.   As I read the description on the jacket, especially the line that said “The Vocation of the Child seeks to understand the child as a person in his or her own right, as a member of family and community, and as a son or daughter of God who came to earth as a child,” something deep inside me stirred and I knew this was a book I needed to read.

And so today I’m starting a new series on the blog which will review the various essays which make up the book.  My plan is to tackle one essay a week, and with 15 essays, I should wrap this up sometime near the end of March.  I invite you to read along.  If you can get your hands on a copy, I urge you to do so.  I know that you can order it from Amazon.  And please, join in the discussion through the comments below.

Now, on to the first essay “The Vocation of the Child: Theological Perspectives on the Particular and Paradoxical Roles and Responsibilities of Children” by Dr. Marcia J Bunge.  Dr. Bunge is a professor of humanities and theology at Christ College, Valparaiso University’s honor college.  In this essay she pursues a well-rounded understanding of the calling of the child.

Summary

She begins by surveying the three ways in which modern Christianity tends to speak of calling or vocation.  For some it refers to one’s specific occupation or profession.  For others still it refers uniquely to the calling to pursue holy orders as pastor, priest, monk or nun.  And for still others it refers to that thing they do – even if on an unpaid basis – “to find wholeness and personal meaning and happiness (p 31).”

The problem with all three definitions, according to Bunge, is that they are too narrow.  They tend to marginalize and exclude children.  She writes “Most Christian theologians and ethicists, regardless of their particular denominations, claim that the concept of vocation, rightly understood, addresses our deepest longings for purpose and meaning in life and encompasses the totality of our lives (p 31). “  And if it really involves “the totality of our lives” then we must begin to articulate a sense of vocation that is applicable to children as well.

The Protestant Reformation especially emphasized the idea that every believer has a vocation.  There are two senses in which that word is used in such circles.  On the one hand there is the sense of the Christian’s general calling – the call to discipleship and faith.  On the other is one’s particular calling or the call to individual places of service and responsibility.

Yet despite the emphasis on the vocation of every believer, few even in protestant circles have stopped to consider the vocation of the child.  Perhaps, argues Bunge, that is because we see children as less than human.  Take for example the fact that our government assures medical insurance for almost every adult over the age of 65, and yet allows nearly 9 million children to go uninsured (at least by 2006 numbers).  Clearly children are not valued the same as adults in our society.

Because of the Protestant Reformation’s emphasis on the calling of every person (and perhaps because of the theological tradition in which she was educated and now teaches), Bunge looks to the teachings of Martin Luther, seeking a holistic understanding of childhood.  She’s looking for one which is capable of seeing children as fully human, called by God.   She explores what the Bible, Luther, and other theologians have said about the calling of children in the world in pursuit of the Vocation of the Child.

Bunge notes that Luther was firmly committed to the education and faith formation of children.  Luther stressed the responsibility of a society to educate all its children.  “In the sight of God,” he writes, “none among the outward sins so heavily burdens the world and merits such severe punishment as this very sin which we commit against the children by not educating them (From Luther’s To the Councilmen quoted by Bunge on p 37)”.  And the primary responsibility of parents, assisted by the church and the clergy, is to see to the formation of faith in their children.

But while parents have a high calling to raise their children, to what are children called?

1) To honor and respect their parents

Children are repeatedly commanded in Scripture to realize that their parents are worthy of respect and dignity, and are called to treat them accordingly.  We owe our parents a debt of gratitude for body, life and all honor, and this obligation does not end when a child reaches adulthood.

2) To obey their parents

This duty too is emphasized in Scripture which notes that obedience is not only right, it is the only way to prosper. This duty is built on the assumption that children need the instruction and example of parents because they cannot yet fully discern right from wrong. Obedience of parents then, to Luther, is a child’s greatest and noblest work next to their obedience to God.

3) To disobey their parents and other adult authorities

This may sound odd, but in reality it boils down to a question of where a child’s ultimate loyalties should lie. And in those instances when honoring God and obeying parents become competing loyalities, a child’s first duty is to God. Ezekiel 20:18-19 and Luke 21:16-17 acknowledge the possibility of such conflicts.

This aspect of the child’s vocation calls for adults to treat children with dignity and respect. We are reminded, that children too are free moral agents, fully human and created in the image of God, not some subhuman species created in the image of their parents as they await adulthood. Theologian Karl Barth reminds parents that “No human father, but God alone, is properly, truly and primarily Father. No human father is the creator of his child, the controller of its destiny or its savior from sin, guilt and death (From Church Dogmatics II/4, 245, quoted by Bunge on p 44).”

4) To fear and to love God

While the Bible clearly indicates that parents are to be honored and obeyed, God alone is worthy of fear and reverence. And in this right attitude toward God, says the Proverbs, is the heart of wisdom and the source of blessing. Furthermore, when both parents and children alike fear God, there is refuge and security (Proverbs 14:26).

5) To learn about and practice their faith

Children are called not only to learn about their faith, but to actively practice it through prayer and worship. Here too parents play a vital role. They have been called to “train a child in the way he should go (Proverbs 22:6) This means by example as well as by instruction. John Chrysostom speaks of the family as “a little church” and Bunge recognizes that “the primary agent of grace is the family, not the church (p 47).”

6) To teach adults and to be models of the faith

Bunge writes “Many Gospel passages turn upside down the common assumption held in Jesus’ time and our own that children are to be seen but not heard and that the primary role of children is to learn from and obey parents (p 47).” Whether it’s Jesus noting that the paradigm for kingdom greatness is childlike humility (Matthew 18:2-5) or Paul’s instructions to a young Timothy not only to teach the elders in his congregation, but also to set the example for them as well (1 Timothy 4:12) the Bible seems to bear out her claim.

7) To go to school and study dilligently for the future

This understanding stems from Luther’s recognition that each individual is uniquely equipped and specifically called to her place of service and responsibility in the world. God creates, calls and equips each individual to make a unique contribution to their community, and it is through study and education that these nascent gifts are discovered and honed. The duty of adults is to help students discern and develop these gifts for the good of the world.

8) To play and to be in the present

A child’s value and worth, however, are not just a “not now, only later” potentiality. Children are a valuable blessing to a community here and now.

The Bible acknowledges this in the many passages in which children are spoken of as a blessing or gift from God. It can be seen in the bubbling over of Sarah’s laughter or the promise of the angel that John would bring joy and gladness to Zechariah and Elizabeth. And as Jesus notes, it is the joy that the child brings which makes the pain of childbirth worthwhile (John 16:21).

So it’s no wonder that the prophetic visions of restoration and peace include children at play. Zechariah sees a time when “The city streets will be filled with boys and girls playing there (Zech. 8:5).” And Proverbs 8 portrays wisdom as a child in whom God delights as she plays in the world he created and brings joy to humanity.

And so it is children at play that bring life and joy to a community. Even the elderly who may not be able to play anymore as they did in their childhood can find joy in watching the children at play And as such children are not just an investment in a community’s future, they are a valuable gift here and now.

Implications

Bunge notes that such an understanding of children should have an effect on the church and her activity in the world.  It should inspire us to be strong advocates, both locally and globally, for the well-being and education of all children.  It should challenge us to strengthen our religious education and faith formation programs for children.  And as parents it should motivate us to be more intentional in the way we seek to instill in our children both knowledge about and the practice of our faith.

Reflections:

On Ministry to Families with Children

As I read Bunge’s essay, one of the first things that challenged me was the emphasis on the home as the primary place of religious instruction and faith formation.  This concept is nothing new and it is one that youth ministers around the world are thinking and writing about.  (See for example my friend, Patti Gibbon’s recent discussion on the issue.)  However, it’s one that repeatedly challenges me to re-evaluate the how’s and why’s of what I do as a youth minister.

It should also broaden our understanding of what it means to minister to young children.  Our children’s pastor, Jill Waltz, is constantly struggling to get our congregation to understand that our ministry to young children is more than just providing childcare so adults can attend services.  But could it be that sometimes, childcare is the most important thing we can do to have an impact on a child’s faith formation?

Now wait . . .

Before you start throwing rocks at me, think this through with me.

I assume we can agree that the most significant influence on the spiritual formation of children is their parents.

And I assume we can agree that if parents are going to influence their children to grow spiritually, the parents themselves must be growing spiritually.

And as anyone with children can tell you, sometimes the biggest obstacle to being free to devote our full attention to the teaching and preaching of the Word is the crying, laughing, wriggling, giggling children playing at our feet.

Therefore, from time to time, isn’t providing parents the opportunity to devote their full attention to the preaching and practice of their faith a valuable way to help them grow spiritually, so that they can in turn help their children to grow?

I see you haven’t yet put down your rocks, so let me clarify what I’m not saying.  I’m not saying that childen’s ministry should be nothing but childcare.  The optimal situation for children is not either parents or church as sources of religious education, but both parents and church partnering together to train up the child.  Thus the attitude that says “It doesn’t matter what you’re doing in children’s church, when I’m ready to leave, I’m pulling my kids out” is still unhealthy and unhelpful.

Nor am I saying that there isn’t significant spiritual value for both parents and children in families worshiping together.  I think seeing Mom and Dad worship as I colored at their feet on Sunday nights while growing was as vital to my faith formation as the years I spent in children’s church on Sunday mornings.  Hearing Mom shush me was a constant reminder that something important was going on here, even if I didn’t fully understand it.

What I am saying is that from time to time it’s important for parents to be able to step away from the children and focus on strengthening their own faith.  And I’m saying whatever our congregation can do to make those opportunities available is ministry not only to the parents, but perhaps the most effective ministry we have to their children.

On the Duty to Disobey

I found this section particularly interesting, especially given the fact that I recently taught on how to disagree with parents while still honoring them.  I wonder if we don’t do a disservice to families by not teaching about this more often.  Is the parent/child relationship distilled into “honor and obey” so often that we are portraying an overly simplistic view of parents (they are always right) and stunting our teens social development?

If there’s one thing the atrocities of our world has taught us, it’s that one vital social skill is the ability to disagree respectfully with authorities who are wrong.  “I was just following orders” has wrought too much evil in our world already.

And it’s not just war atrocities.  How many business failures could have been prevented if employees had the ability to challenge and correct the mistaken courses their bosses were setting?

It would seem that developing the ability to disagree and still honor one in authority is a vital task of adolescence, and thus one parents and pastors should be helping our children to learn.

On Helping Teens not only Learn About but also Practice Their Faith

For many years children’s and youth ministry fell under the rubric of “Christian Education.”  The goal was to teach our children about their faith so that they would have the information to become fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ.  Primary means of ministry involved Sunday school and small group discussions.  The emphasis was on curriculum.

In recent years, there has been a shift in the opposite direction.  Less time and energy has been devoted to education, and more to experience.  How do we help our teens to worship?  How can we help them experience God?  How can we get them to pray or to serve?

It would seem that the best situation, again, is not either or, but both and.  Take a look at your youth ministry.  Is it all experiential?  Is it all educational?  Or are you both teaching your teens about their faith and then giving them the opportunity to put that faith into practice.

On the Blessing of Children at Play

Bunge calls it an archaic mindset, but acknowledges that it is still alive and well today — this idea that children should be seen and not heard.  We understand that in order to have a vibrant church we need to have children, but we also understand that when there are children things get dirty, damaged or broken.  If only we could get them to sit still and not break anything . . .

If only we could get them to do that, then our church with children would be as joyless and lifeless as a church without them.

I can’t tell you how much fun I had reading the thoughts of an old youth ministry friend of mine, Tony Myles, who now finds himself pastoring a church.  In his Thanksgiving Thought for his church family he noted that the dings and scratches in their brand new church building were signs that their church was doing something right.  I couldn’t agree more.

So while we seek to help our children and youth grow up into mature responsible adults, lets also take time to rejoice in the fact that they aren’t  yet mature, responsible adults.  They need us to help instill in them responsibility and respect.  And we need them to teach us to play.  After all, that is their calling.