Ministry with Children

Parents and Digital Rules

Here's an interesting piece -- entitled "It's 10 pm online, do you know where your parents are?" -- that looks at some of the most recent research about how parents navigate digital worlds with their kids. (Including a brief reference to a brand new book MIT Press has just published, Hangin' out, Messing around and Geeking out). Heidi Horst is quoted:

Get Used to Not Being the Expert -- In some ways, when the child is better with digital media than their parents, it destabilizes the “parent as absolute authority” dynamic. Children take on roles as experts in particular areas, like being the one who finds and records everyone’s favorite television shows.

Ultimately, Horst says, parents can fill an important role in their child’s digital life by doing many of the types of things parents often do. They can let go of the idea that they will always be the expert in the same way they do with teachers, coaches and other important adults.

“They can [develop] an awareness and sensitivity to the role that new media plays in their kids lives,” Horst says. “They can be supportive, without being in the middle of it all the time.”

Social networks and kids

I'm often approached by people who are very worried about allowing their kids to participate in online social networks. I think parents should be no more -- or less -- worried about this kind of environment then they are about any other environment their kids are involved in. Parents need to be present and involved until their kids are mature enough to be doing so by themselves. Even the mainstream media is having to report that the fears are more speculative, than grounded in real science.

Children's book blog

Here's an excellent resource blog written by students, faculty and alumni of Union PSCE. It's a blog that has short reviews of children's books that can be used in various ministry settings.

Great new liturgy resource

Ok, so the resource I'm about to talk about is not focused primarily on children, but nevertheless, it's a great new resource for liturgy. Chock full of songs and other worship resources that have been made available for free with all of the original sheet music under a Creative Commons license, this is a resource you can use in a variety of settings to engage your community. If you want to order a copy of a CD that includes the songs, go to the composer's site (Nate Houge). The songs are well organized, relatively easy to sing, and the sheet music includes the chording. Thanks, Nate, for making this available so freely to people!

Faith parenting

Robin Blair -- who on occasion has taught as an adjunct faculty member at Luther -- continues to produce lively podcasts on issues of faith and parenting for CommonGood radio. I blush to note that this week's snippet (each one is about 2 minutes long), is from an interview she did with me.

Teaching faith as a second language

A nice reflection on some of the implications of faith formation viewed from the perspective of teaching languages.

Sunday school vs. worship

I think Rich Melheim has it right:

I'm running into churches who continue to run worship concurrent with Sunday School. They are perpetuating a number of systemic problems and setting their churches up for long-term slow death by doing this.

They are setting up a system where people choose between worship and education, where mothers (mostly mothers) are teaching Sunday Schools and children RARELY see a male faith role model, let alone see their fathers engaging in faith issues with them. They are knocking their heads against the walls to recruit teachers who don't want to be there, and then enabling people to drop their kids off and disengage from their faith lives. They are setting up a system that recruits teachers who never worship, and educating kids who never worship, and making it darn convenient for parents and kids to never talk faith together.

It seems to me that the systems we put in place either bless or curse us.

If you set up a system where children DON'T worship, you will raise a young adult who WON'T worship.

I think there's a better way.

Here's hoping that he'll keep elaborating on the better way -- his work so far certainly points in that direction!

Fun God questions from kids

I think I'm going to hold on to this video and use it as a case about kids' questions at some point... :)

This is a clip from a British improvisational sitcom named Outnumbered. I wish I could track down complete episodes!

(hat tip to Andrew Sullivan)

Marilyn Sharpe on Common Good radio

This is great: Marilyn Sharpe via podcast from Common Good radio, on developing spirituality practices in a family.

Great books on parenting and spirituality

Via Speaking of Faith, here is Sandy Sasso's list of recommended books.