Our church family was in...
Illustration
Our church family was in the middle of an argument. Some felt that children should be seen and not heard in worship. Others felt that children should be in church even if they were noisy. As things often happened, a new family with two young children started to attend worship. This family was new to the Christian faith. They had come to worship as the result of one of our outreach programs. They were new to the Christian faith and they were new to Christian worship services. Their children did not know that they were supposed to sit quietly through a church service. Some in the church felt that they should just be told that their children should be in the nursery class. Others felt that they should be welcomed into the church and that nothing should be said to them about the noise their children made. The debate was finally settled by one of the church's oldest and most respected members. "We should be ashamed of ourselves," she said. "Instead of complaining that parents aren't keeping their children quiet, we should be giving God thanks that they are being brought to worship. Instead of blaming their parents for not being able to handle their children in worship, we should be asking those parents what we could do to help! We should be showing those families what it means to be loved by God."
-- Conroy
-- Conroy
