For Christian education and nurture leaders.
Prophetic church, prophetic children
By Gwen Gustafson-Zook
How do we raise children to think of the church as a prophetic community? In some ways the answer is easy: Be a prophetic community. The hard part is discerning what it means to be such a community. But there is good news: God often leads us into this prophetic place without our even realizing it.
Every Sunday, Dirk stands before the congregation and leads at least one hymn. The children in the congregation don’t think twice about it. Dirk has a good sense of rhythm and can remember the words to the hymns. He also has significant development disabilities. He wears braces on his legs, his speech is difficult to understand, and his thought processes seem relatively simple. But the children know him as a good song leader.
A few weeks ago a visitor approached me after the service and spoke movingly about how meaningful it was to have “someone with disabilities” lead singing. I realized then that something important happens for us when Dirk leads singing. We are being led into a way of being that moves below the surface to a deeper place—a prophetic place that values the person over his or her appearance.
Judy serves on the elder board. She is a spiritually sensitive person who cares deeply for the church and who much money. Her life has been a struggle. She has known poverty and abuse. She knows what it feels like to be treated like dirt by those in power. But at church, she is a person of worth. She is valued for her sensitivity to God and her compassion for others.
The children in the congregation know her as a leader. They also know that Judy is poor. With Judy in our midst, we are being led into a prophetic way of being that moves below the surface to a deeper place—a prophetic place that values the person over the money associated with the person. This is a place where the church is experienced as a prophetic community.
Years ago, our congregation began a practice of sharing soup and bread. Every Sunday we conclude worship by gathering around tables to enjoy soup and bread and grape juice. Everyone is welcome. No one is turned away. We celebrate Jesus who is present with us as we sit down together and eat. Children sit with young adults, grandparents, or children just older than themselves. They sit and people who work at home. They also sit with folks who don’t have money, or who have mental disabilities. At our tables each person is recognized as worthy of a place. Labels that divide people into groups are set aside. We are one family of God.
As we gather week after week, young and old, we are being led into a prophetic way of being church. By their very presence in our lives, children invite us to be true to our calling as followers of Jesus. We all know that children can see clearly what we value. When the church reflects a set of values that are different from the world in which we live, children come to understand that the church is different from the world. The church takes its cues from Jesus, not from the world around.
The real challenge for teachers of children is not just to teach children to see the church as prophetic. More important is the call to be prophetic. When we take our cues from God as revealed to us in Jesus and the prophets before him, the children in our midst will grow to know that the church has a special calling. As we live out gospel values in our worship, our education and our community life, our children will see the church as a prophetic community. And we will know that the children—by their need for us to be true to our calling—have led us into the reign of God.Gwen Gustafson- Zook is a copastor at Faith Mennonite Church in Goshen, Indiana. She is also a folk musician and writer.