Results 1 - 6 of 6
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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | Babies and young children a distraction? | Bible general Archive 1 | kalos | 7246 | ||
For many adults it is more of a distraction than a blessing to have little children and babies in the sanctuary during church. Both prayon and charis have provided excellent observations and insight into this question. How does my church handle little babies during church? Very carefully. :-) How does my church handle children ages 0 through 18? By isolating them from the adults and providing a service or activity intended soley for youth and children at *every* service. I agree with the logic of and need for placing infants and toddlers in the church nursery to provide a break for both mothers and innocent bystanders during Sunday morning or other services. But I have a real problem when in every service people are segregated and isolated according to which age group they belong in. There are some good arguments for allowing, say, school age children to sit WITH THEIR FAMLIES during services. I have merely presented my thoughts on the subject. It is not my place to dictate to others how they ought to handle this problem or what their policy should be. That is up to the judgment of each individual congregation or, in an authoritarian church, it is up to the judgment of the pastor, who in many cases, is the sole governing authority in the local church. (Let's not get into that, shall we?) |
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2 | Babies and young children a distraction? | Bible general Archive 1 | charis | 7250 | ||
Dear JVH0212, Very good point! I agree with you that children should sit with their parents. I did not mention that in my reply to Nolan's question. After the 3 year nursery incarceration, er, time period, children are in the service with their family. Believe me, those first few weeks are uncomfortable for the kids, the parents, and all the innocent bystanders :-) However, the kids do settle down to be (fairly) responsible members of the congregation after a few 'encouragements'on their part, and embarrassments on their parent's part :-) My personal conviction is that children should not be segregated by age group. They have enough of that in schoool. Family time together before the Lord is precious, and should be cherished. We have Sunday school before our morning sevices. One reason is that in space-starved Japan, few churches have a separate room for segregated services. Another is that the basic concepts of Christian life should not be so terribly different that you must 'tailor' the contents of worship to various age groups. (i.e. in my church we sing a variety of songs of praise. It's good for kids to sing 'old' hymns, and good for the 'geriatrics' to sing more lively music :-) Again, how much time together does the average family have? Treasure it! Thank you, friend for sharing your thoughts with us. And thanks all for hearing mine. In Christ Jesus, charis |
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3 | Babies and young children a distraction? | Bible general Archive 1 | Makarios | 7283 | ||
Thanks to you both, brother charis and JVH as well as prayon for your in-depth reasoning behind this 'sanctuary issue'.. :) This Sunday morning, I was setting in a church pew right next to a family with about 5 young little boys that were simply not into the pastor's sermon or proceedings at all, and the wife and husband of this proud family alternated with each other in quiet 'understanding', leading the children out of the service when they began to cry! When the husband was out (his turn), the wife gave me an apologetical smile and I smiled back in understanding. :) Meanwhile, the pastor was giving his message. This family can almost always be found sitting in the back row or pew of my church, and for understandable reasons.. :) We do have a nursery, but many people have 'chosen' to include their children, no matter how young they are! Should there be a 'mandate' or rule enforced to keep young ones at bay in a place separate from the sanctuary? Is that necessary? Thanks for all of your thoughts and depth of understanding from experience! | ||||||
4 | Babies and young children a distraction? | Bible general Archive 1 | kalos | 7289 | ||
Nolan: Yours is a good posting with several good points. It is my opinion that if a local church decided by majority vote that a rule be posted and enforced calling for the supervion of children by their parents, then that church would indeed have the right to enforce the will of the majority. The announcement of the rule in all fairness ought to include a warning that repeated non-compliance will result in certain consequences. The use of discreetly worded, discreetly placed signs would serve to deprive a parent of using ignorance as an excuse for non-compliance. Of course, Christian charity, tact, respect and patience should be present in every enforcement of violations of the rule. "Is that necessary?" Unfortunately it has become necessary in our society to make laws and rules to get people to do what they should have had the common courtesty and common sense to do without rules. |
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5 | Babies and young children a distraction? | Bible general Archive 1 | Makarios | 7290 | ||
Thanks again, JVH0212, for a good response!However, I know several families that have left churches simply because the general agreement of the church body didn't approve of children taking part in worship. Can we communicate this tactfully without threatening church attendance or membership? Also, what does a family do if they are concerned that a child will not be supervised as closely as they should be in a nursery or Sunday School and what if a child is hurt or allowed to be 'bullied' by another child in nursery without close supervision? This puts a family at a disadvantage and poses them to seriously confront the question. A family that I know of and am good friends with has come to the conclusion to just keep their children in church, so that the parents can keep close watch on them (regardless if they disrupt church or thwart the attention). I know that this may sound silly and trivial, but these are some real issues that involve churches and small children. | ||||||
6 | Babies and young children a distraction? | Bible general Archive 1 | charis | 7304 | ||
Dear Nolan, This issue is definitely not silly or trivial. And it will probably not be solved by rules, policy, or organization. Order in the house of God is a spiritual matter, that has physical implications, not the other way around. The family you are talking about that wants to be together in the presence of God has wonderful motives. But, good motives without appropriate action is simply hypocrisy. My experience has shown me that children that are unruly in church are unruly all the time. Also, a child's attitude toward church is almost always a direct reflection of the parent's teaching (or lack of it). If a child does not respect the sanctuary, it is probably because the parents do not, though they may be better at hiding it. I think that the Bible states pretty clearly that the parents are responsible for their children. Except in the case of severe mental handicap, all children are trainable. Even 'hyperactive' children do respond to parental love, care AND discipline. I say this from experience, not theory or conjecture. If I have numerous excuses from parents and doctors that tell me why a child is not capable of receiving instruction, but the Bible tells me that all children CAN receive instruction and all parents MUST instruct, then I will choose the Bible, every time. If more people would believe and obey the Word of God, there would be more order in church, without segregation, rules, and chronic annoyances and disruptions. In Christ Jesus, charis |
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