Reviewed by Susan E. Richardson
Why do you go to church on Sunday morning? What do you expect your children to receive from worship? How did you learn to worship? Perhaps your parents only taught you to be good and be quiet as their parents taught them. Robbie Castleman’s book Parenting in the Pew will help you answer these questions so you can begin teaching your children how to worship.
Castleman shows that entering into worship is something children can learn, growing in their understanding as they mature. She includes suggestions on preparing before Sunday, both physically and spiritually. Home preparation is the key to a worshipful Sunday. She then gives age specific guidance for approaching issues like proper dress and money for the offering.
Once at church, parents begin the process of helping children pay attention to what is happening during the service. Again, the author offers practical tips for guiding children at various ages into being involved. She also addresses the question of children with challenges like hyperactivity.
Having established the basis, Castleman discusses the elements of a worship service one at a time with comments on how different ages can participate and how this may look in churches with varying worship styles. Discussion and reflection questions complete the book.
Castleman offers a beautiful vision of what worship can be like for both parents and children. In short, as the author says, worship for parents can become a process of saying, “Daddy, I’d like you to meet my children.” Highly recommended.
