“Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” Proverbs 22:6
April 13, 2020 - My brother who lives in Orange, Texas called yesterday, and we got in a discussion about “how to make children mind in church.” Things were different when I started preaching in 1950. Most of the churches didn’t even have a nursery… much less a Children’s Church. Parents brought their babies and young ones to church and sometimes the parents put a pallet on the floor for the children. It was hard to preach when several babies were bawling during the sermon. It was hard for the mothers… and the Preachers.
So adding Nurseries and Children Churches was definitely a good idea. But what did parents do before nurseries and Children Churches? “Some parents used to take young children out and spank them,” I said, “and all the members church listened and watched intensely as they re-entered the building. “Yeah,” Joe said, “I’ve seen parents slap them, pinch them, twist their ears or tell them “what was gonna happen when you get home.” “And for some children, a stern look is all it took.”
Then Joe told me the way he calmed his children down in church. “I stared straight ahead at the Preacher, slipped my hand down and quietly grasped Mike’s leg and started squeezing.” “I could tell when right pressure was reached when his eyes looked like egg yolks.”
When I look back to 1950 to my first churches, I am not overcome with sadness… but overwhelming joy. At the Neuville Baptist Church, I can just see Tommy Conway’s family coming down the clay hill and gathering around the old wood heater in the middle of the building. Then the Baileys and Inez Sullivan crossed over the railroad tracks to join the rest of us around the heater. Seeing the whole family lined up in the pews --- the babies out-preaching my sermon and the parents correcting the children --- still brings tears to my eyes. Families coming to church together --- sitting together --- learning about Jesus together --- is there anything more beautiful?
Thank you, Lord… for beautiful memories.
