children & worship
Ok, I think we can all agree that children have the capacity for worship. Look at the way a young boy idolizes an athlete, memorizes their stats and their accomplishments. They even emulated them. They offer these athletes their worship. Look at the way a young girl idolizes a pop star. They learn their likes, dislikes, memorize their songs and know their dance moves. They offer these pop stars their worship.
The thing I notice about this observation is that relationship isn’t required for their worship (think of idol worship, how do we have a relationship with an inanimate object). They don’t know the athlete or pop star personally; they merely know everything (or most everything) about them. So this makes me wonder if worship requires a relationship or does it only require knowledge of and acknowledgement of.
I know what this sounds like, but I’m not talking about salvation. I’m just talking about worship. If children don’t have the capacity to fully understand the dynamics of a relationship (age of accountability) and I don’t think that they really do at a really young age, then why do we spend so much of our energy on trying to get these children to establish a relationship with Jesus, when all they are capable of is an awareness. Should we then spend the bulk of our resources on teaching kids to worship, to give them knowledge of God and create opportunities to acknowledge him: to worship him. To create a connection that they may not understand, but that they can at least become aware of. I don’t think they can understand the dynamics of a relationship with the Alpha & Omega, but I do think they can begin to discover this relationship and their Father.
If this is true (and I’m still wrestling with this), this means a major paradigm shift in the way we approach children’s ministry.
Ideas, rebuttals, questions, criticisms & confirmations….anything to help me with the process
The thing I notice about this observation is that relationship isn’t required for their worship (think of idol worship, how do we have a relationship with an inanimate object). They don’t know the athlete or pop star personally; they merely know everything (or most everything) about them. So this makes me wonder if worship requires a relationship or does it only require knowledge of and acknowledgement of.
I know what this sounds like, but I’m not talking about salvation. I’m just talking about worship. If children don’t have the capacity to fully understand the dynamics of a relationship (age of accountability) and I don’t think that they really do at a really young age, then why do we spend so much of our energy on trying to get these children to establish a relationship with Jesus, when all they are capable of is an awareness. Should we then spend the bulk of our resources on teaching kids to worship, to give them knowledge of God and create opportunities to acknowledge him: to worship him. To create a connection that they may not understand, but that they can at least become aware of. I don’t think they can understand the dynamics of a relationship with the Alpha & Omega, but I do think they can begin to discover this relationship and their Father.
If this is true (and I’m still wrestling with this), this means a major paradigm shift in the way we approach children’s ministry.
Ideas, rebuttals, questions, criticisms & confirmations….anything to help me with the process
6 Comments:
"If children don’t have the capacity to fully understand the dynamics of a relationship (age of accountability) and I don’t think that they really do at a really young age, then why do we spend so much of our energy on trying to get these children to establish a relationship with Jesus, when all they are capable of is an awareness."
i have met several kids who "fully understand the dynamics of a relationship" better than i do... we need to remember that the "dynamics of a relationship" is something that is relative... right?
but nonetheless, i don't think the "dynamics" is what is important.
do you think the children that Jesus spent time with understood the "dynamics"? and aren't these are the ones that Jesus points us to as model citizens in His kingdom.
i think i understand what you are trying to say. maybe we shouldn't try to take a child's relationship with Jesus to a place it doesn't need to go. sometimes we are so focused on teaching, or discipling, or deepening theology that we create the very "dynamics" we say they can't understand.
maybe i'm way off... but,
kids do have a real relationships with Jesus!!
maybe we need to omit the propositional phrase "of the" and just focus on the "dynamic relationship" kids have!!
"I don’t think they can understand the dynamics of a relationship with the Alpha & Omega." Neither can I. (Take it as an honest answer from a person with relatively little children's ministry experience, even though it comes across smugly.)
Point well taken from both of you.
thanks for the added wisdom
I have a lot of thoughts on this subject, have been wrestling with it over the past few years. When I was in Africa, a church plant we visited and worked with was considered a “cult” by the other Christians in the area. The reason was that the church was teaching that children could be “saved” and that children had value.
I did like what you are saying about a focus change...children's programs and ministries that I have experienced and been leading often don't model worship or give real opportunities to worship.
The best way I can explain that is when we give a child a coloring page they are not doing "art" they are filling in lines there is no personal expression. When you give them blank paper and crayons it is art. The activity becomes something more then just coloring. When I came to church activities and lesson often we do a lot of teaching and following but little modeling of worship. I like kids songs. But a lot of the ones we teach children in Sunday school have few "worship" elements. Not that music is the only way to worship.
if you want to talk about it more email me lives_4jc@hotmail.com
here, here! kids can really get excited about worship. even dancing as worship. i've seen several churches make the focus of their kids ministry worship, and then the lesson is about explaining what they are singing about. it seems to work well.
and when i was kid, i loved church. why? because i got to sing, play the piano duets, and do lots of choreography. :)
Random thoughts;
There is nothing like the faith of a child, I need to try to capture this type of faith on a daily basis.
One thing that concerns me today with the dynamics of children and youth ministries is our focus. I'm no expert but I believe our focus at times is too much on our children rather than our creator? I have seen too many students and adults over the years crash and burn because worship was centered on themselves (their gifts, talents etc...) instead of our father.
Understand? I don't. But I know there is nothing like a kid connecting with our Father! I also believe children have a better understanding of relationship than I.
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