Running Wild In The Church

One of the Biggest Complaints I Get is about Children

Running Wild in the Church.

Now I need to ask: Are you talking about children running wild in the church building or do you really mean children in the church running (living) wild?  That's a huge difference!

Running in the building is a safety and disciplinary issue to be taken up with individual parents privately (not with others who are not the children's parents) and with great respect and demonstrated love.  It is also then an issue of supporting the parents efforts to correct the problem - which may or may not mean correcting the children directly.

Children running wild in the church - referring to how they live, etc. - is a totally different and far more serious problem. This is a spiritual problem and one that needs to be addressed. However, far to often this problem is ignored. Anyone addressing the need for the church to have a say is usually told they are being judgmental, or they don't understand, or the church doesn't have a right to address the issues involved. These issues need to handled by the processes prescribed by Jesus Christ himself.  Of course that implies that these processes will be applied equally to adults as well. Now, that is very threatening.

However, Jesus not only gives the teaching of what is to be done - by the way its root is very present in the Old Testament as well - but Paul and the apostles give further related instruction. Likewise, in Acts and other historic portions of the New Testament, examples of this teaching in operation are also given. We have no excuse to disobey Christ in this issue - and even less so if the child holds leadership or ministry position. In fact, scripture indicates that we individually and as a church will be held accountable for failure to act.