Such as These

My first book, Children’s Ministry that Fits, was released one year ago today. Over the past year the book’s sales have exceeded my expectations (thanks to readers like you!) and I have been honoured and humbled by positive reviews of the book that have appeared in academic journals and magazines for a broader readership. As I take time to celebrate today, I’d like to share what others have said about the book:

“This text presents and important message for churches: value your children! It not only inspires a fresh understanding of children, it also gently proposes a new method of ministry.”
—International Journal of Children’s Spirituality

“I would encourage everyone who engages in leading worship, for whatever age, to read and note the contents of this book. . . . Readers will discover much to challenge and inspire in the agenda that Csinos has set out so clearly in this book.”
—Ronni Lamont, writer, trainer, Anglican priest; Kent, England

“However it is used, this book does offer another prophetic voice speaking strongly to the importance of listening to children.”
—Journal of Childhood and Religion

“Dave Csinos’ work provides a foundational resource for those wanting to engage in intentional and faithful ministry with children. . . . Csinos’ foundational insight into children’s faith and spiritual styles provides helpful information for all faith traditions that seek to join in ministry with children, providing a space for the spiritual flourishing of children.”
—Religious Education Journal

I mentioned not long ago that I’ve been reading Conversations with Poppi about God, which contains conversations between an eight-year-old girl and her grandfather, who happens to be a Lutheran theologian. I’m finding so much wisdom in this book, especially from the perspective of Solveig, the little girl. Just read this excerpt from pages 73 and 74 to see what I mean:

Poppi: Could God make two and two equal five?

Solveig: He couldn’t, but . . . Okay, here’s the thing. When mathematics were started, two plus two always equalled four, so . . . as we were talking about before, that God makes things happen but he doesn’t know when it’s going to happen or how it’s going to happen, so he knew that two plus two was probably going to equal for.

P: Probably or certainly?

S: Certainly.

P: Okay.

S: So if two plus two equals four, then he can’t just change it to two plus two equals five. He can’t change his mind. Or he can change his mind, but he can’t make us change his mind.

P: This is an interesting theological question to which you gave a very interesting answer. You might call it a judicious answer. What God knows is true. You can say that?

S: Right.

P: But does God know it because it is true or is it true because God knows it?

S: Both.

P: Why?

S: Two plus two is four is true because god knows it, and he knows it because it is true. I was putting it the opposite way because if God knows it is true because it is true, he knows that it is true because it is true. But he also knows that it is true because he knows it.

P: Okay. I think that is probably right, and that is the most judicious answer.

Over the holidays I’ve been finding time to read the intriguing and enlightening little book, Conversations with Poppi about God. It is a “spoken book” that records theological conversations between an eight-year-old girl and her theologian grandfather. Topics covered include church history, Santa Claus, the Nativity, and much more. I recommend it to people who are interested in learning more about the theological wisdom and spiritual lives of children.

I posted this ad around Christmas as well (from the United Church of Canada). I offer it as a way of saying Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.

Joyce Mercer recently alerted me to a Sojourners blog post that Jim Wallis wrote. It merits widespread attention and can be read here. I especially appreciate the section in which Wallis writes about teaching his children about the true meaning of Christmas, the true meaning of the Incarnation.

He writes, “Now, my family loves our Christmas tree, but its bright lights and wonderful ornaments don’t teach my children much about why Jesus came into the world. We do that in other ways, such as giving needed gifts — goats, sheep, and chickens and the like — to the poorest children and families of the world though the World Vision web site on Christmas Day. The goal is to make our sons more excited about the gifts they give than the ones they get, and it usually works. Last year, my boys sponsored a child in Ghana.”

Both Joyce Mercer and Jim Wallis will be speaking at Children, Youth and a New Kind of Christianity, May 7-10 2012 in Washington, DC. (See http://children-youth.com/ for more info). In fact, Jim will be joined by his family–his wife, Joy, and his sons, Luke and Jack–in a presentation about how their family nurtures one another’s faith.

A lot of fellow authors have been recommending their books as Christmas gifts for all sorts of people. So I thought I’d throw my book, Children’s Ministry that Fits, in the mix as well. It would make a great Christmas gift for parents, pastors, and children’s ministry volunteers. Order in the next six days to receive it in time for Christmas.

Here’s a great article about young people being involved in the “renewing” of the church. I think we can take this one step further and say that children need to help lead renewal in the church.

Read the article at http://www.mennoweekly.org/2011/12/12/young-people-need-be-part-renewing-church/?page=2

I haven’t been posting much in the past few months, mostly due to doctoral comprehensive exams and helping to plan the Children, Youth and a New Kind of Christianity conference.

So, in light of this, I thought I’d share what I’ve been reading, particularly texts for exams in multiculturalism, practical theology, and religious education:

Christianity and Ethnicity in Canada, edited by Paul Bramadat and David Seljak

Multiculturalism and the History of Canadian Diversity, by Richard J. F. Day

Black Berry, Sweet Juice: On Being Black and White in Canada, by Lawrence Hill

Ethical Choices in a Pluralistic World, by Roger Hutchinson

A Fundamental Practical Theology, by Don Browning

Blessed are the Poor? Women’s Poverty, Family Policy, and Practical Theology, by  Pamela Couture

Educating Congregations: The Future of Christian Education, by Charles Foster

Pedagogy of the Oppressed, by Paulo Freire

Christian Religious Education: Sharing Our Story and Vision, by Tom Groome

Teaching as a Sacramental Act, by Mary Elizabeth Mullino Moore

Practical Theology: On Earth as it is in Heaven, by Terry Veling

A friend passed this on to me: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2066860/Scottsdale-Gun-Club-Arizona-invites-children-pose-Santa–arm.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

I can’t help but wonder what messages an event like this sends to children…

Kathy Dawson (Associate Professor of Christian Education at Columbia Theological Seminary) recently reviewed Children’s Ministry that Fits for the Journal of Childhood and Religion. I appreciate her comments, particularly her assessment that the framework I offer in the book “seems to lose the unique voices of each child.” It was a balancing act in writing the book the way I did (using a framework of spiritual styles to understand the lives of the children in my research) and perhaps one that was tilted too much toward the framework. Dawson’s review is available at http://childhoodandreligion.com/JCR/Book_Reviews_files/Dawson%20review%20of%20Csinos.pdf