Parenting in the Pew

I started reading a great book last night called Parenting in the Pew, by Robbie Castleman. It's a great book, and it truly encourages my spirit with keeping our children with us in worship. It seems like such a hard thing for people to grasp, but this book really puts eloquently what Amy and I have been trying to explain to people about our children in the service. Here is an excerpt from page 37/38, referencing Resident Aliens: Life in the Christian Colony:

In many of our modern, sophisticated congregations, children are often viewed as distractions. We tolerate children only to the extent they promise to become "adults" like us. Adult members sometimes complain that they cannot pat attention to the sermon, they cannot listen to the beautiful music, when fidgety children are beside them in the pews. "Send them away," many adults say. Create "Children's Church" so these distracting children can be removed in order that we adults can pay attention. Interestingly, Jesus put a child in the center of his disciples, "in the midst of them," in order to help them pay attention. ...The child was a last-ditch effort by God to help the disciples pay attention to the odd nature of God's kingdom. Few acts of Jesus are more radical, countercultural, than his blessing of children.

Here is an excerpt from the book, referenced in that quote above:

At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, "Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

"Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me..."

- Matthew 18:1-5

We know that sitting with your children during the service isn't what everyone wants, but it is truly what we want. As the book says in the first chapter, we want to say, "Daddy, I'd like you to meet my children."