The Kingdom of Children

Empower the children in your faith community.

 Children are marginalized in our churches, dismissed into Sunday school or silenced for lengthy sermons aimed at adults. R. L. Stollar has spent his career advocating for the rights of children, and he thinks it’s time to stop talking down to children and start listening to them.

In The Kingdom of Children, Stollar proposes a liberation theology of the child. Stollar begins with a theoretical framework that centers children in our theology and ecclesial life. Reframing biblical stories to center children, we can see how the binding of Isaac reflects the spiritual effects of child abuse, or how children like Miriam can serve as leaders in their communities. Using scriptural examples as well as real studies of children’s spiritual lives, Stollar asserts that children can be priests, prophets, and theologians in our communities. Each chapter concludes with activities and discussion points for introducing the book’s concepts to children.

The Kingdom of Children is a must-read for youth ministers, parents, and anyone who works with children. By embracing the liberation of children, we can avoid stunting their spiritual growth and passing on trauma. And when we lift up children—truly value and learn from them—we build up the kingdom of God here in our communities.

Table of Contents

Foreword by Cindy Wang Brandt

Acknowledgments

Introduction: Suffer The Children

1. The World We Live In

2. The Questions We Must Ask

3. Loving Children In How We Read The Bible

4. Loving Children In How We Read The Bad Stories

5. Loving Children In How We Read The Good Stories

6. Gods As Children

7. Jesus Is Child

8. Children as God Images

9. Liberation Is Not A Gift We Give

10. Seeing Children As Prophets

11. Seeing Children As Priests

12. Seeing Children As Theologians

13. Seeing Children As Children

14. All The Children Of The World

Conclusion: The Kingdom Of God Belongs To The Children

Notes

Selected Bibliography

Index of Authors

Index of Subjects