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I found the whole of Michael Anthony’s chapter very informative and helpful. His proposed matrix seems to me an excellent way of simplifying the complexities of child spirituality into an intuitive and practical format – I can see how they read onto different children. I am sure however, that most children would have needs that are a mix of these typologies and that a group of children requires a balanced approach. In fact, I greatly agree with Anthony’s statement that:

“Both [axes] are needed for spiritual formation. To experience God without sustaining that relationship with a knowledge base is dangerous and does little more than make one susceptible to cults. Likewise, knowledge also needs some personal expression, or it becomes simply an academic exercise.”

Whilst, as he goes on to say, it is important to move beyond knowledge of Scripture and doctrine to a spiritual experience of relationship with God, a focus on any one quadrant would be something to avoid – the latter needs to be grounded in the former. I do wonder whether ministry approaches like godly play focus on one quadrant (in this case ‘Contemplative-Reflective’) at the expense of the others.

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Response to Michael Anthony on Children's Spirituality - Jonathan

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Response to Michael Anthony on Children's Spirituality - Jonathan

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I found the chapter as a whole quite unwieldy - I think it would have worked better as shorter pieces. That said, I was struck by a number of the points made here, the first being that the church has never really settled on a consistent definition of 'spirituality', let alone child spirituality.

Of the three definitions of spirituality that were then proposed, I found myself agreeing with definitions 1 ('awakening by God's grace/Christ's love') and 2 ('process of renewal and rebirth, through the Holy Spirit'), but I was a little puzzled by 3:

“Developing the spiritual … is synonymous with developing mature human beings, who possess such attributes as self-acceptance, a sense of responsibility, concern for others, a sense of wonder and awe, and sensitivity to reality beyond the physical senses of the material."

This one sounded much more like a humanistic definition of spirituality than a specifically Christian one. However, I would argue that this definition could be seen as part of the outworking of a process of regeneration (ie definition 2).

A key insight for me was the complexity of child spirituality as multidimensional and convoluted: so, to speak of a child's spiritual awakening is not to claim that they have acquired a saving faith. That is not to say that children cannot acquire a saving faith from an early age, but merely to observe that it's difficult to be sure. Perhaps therefore we should as Anthony suggests, put the emphasis on developing a child's experience and knowledge of God.

The four quadrants and their respective models (contemplative-reflective, instructional-analytic, pragmatic-participatory, media-driven engagement) seem like a useful template for developing children's spirituality. Having looked ahead at the rest of the book, the general impression I get is that there should be some room for media engagement in the curriculum, but not in the programmatic way that the KIDMO company presents it. (Indeed, I couldn't find anything about KIDMO online these days - an idea whose time has already been and gone??).

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I was amazed by the depth of the study of children's spirituality, and all the different aspects of it.

I was familiar with some concepts and Piaget's stages of development, and that children ( as human beings) express interest and are "good at" things differently, broadly speaking "practical", "artistic", "analytic" and "social", but I had never read nor thought it could be much more complex!

I particularly liked how he explained this section of knowing God:

"We know God as we build a relationship with him. He has beckoned us to come, and we have accepted his invitation. Along the way we interact, dialogue, and commune. Some days are filled with excitement and discovery while others are quiet and contemplative. Our relationship is anything but predictive. We pass through a season of remarkable growth as we study a book or a Scripture which seems to open our soul and speak to our heart’s need. Then we pass through a season where our growth accelerates because of the depth of personal relationships we enjoy with others who are on a similar journey. As we “do life together,” we feel alive and encouraged. Soon a new season will issue in, and we come to know the ways of God through times of reflective journaling and self-analysis. Throughout life the means may be many and varied, but each one is every bit as real as the other. Again, knowing God in this way may be difficult to define and dissect, but that doesn’t negate its reality."

I enjoyed the reading and found it very useful, especially the last axis and 4 areas of learning, as it can help in knowing how to approach and teach kids for church's children's ministry. As some have already noted, it is important to have a balanced approach to include children's complex psychology as much as possible!

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The "quote" I'm interested in, is the diagram with the quadrants of spiritual formation based on learning types. I found it really helpful to read the breakdown of how programs in each quadrant can be incredibly beneficial to children who learn in that way. My main question is: how can a church choose a one-size-fits-all approach to children's ministry when each of these models and can be both helpful and harmful to individual children?

I have experience with three of the programs he mentioned: Godly play (contemplative-reflective model), AWANA (instructional-analytic model), and Kidstuf (pragmatic-participatory model). As a child, I probably would have fit best in the media-driven active-engagement models (theoretically, as this is the only type I have no experience with), so my experience with Godly play and Kidstuf were both generally positive and encouraging. AWANA, on the other hand, was really discouraging and challenging to me.

How would a church choose a program that works for children in each of theses quadrants? Is there a way to bring elements of multiple quadrants into a single session? Or perhaps to create some kind of intentional rotation where different types of learning are engaged each?

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“Both are needed for spiritual formation. To experience God without sustaining that relationship with a knowledge base is dangerous and does little more than make one susceptible to cults. Likewise, knowledge also needs some personal expression, or it becomes simply an academic exercise.”

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“Both are needed for spiritual formation. To experience God without sustaining that relationship with a knowledge base is dangerous and does little more than make one susceptible to cults. Likewise, knowledge also needs some personal expression, or it becomes simply an academic exercise.”

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Response:

I agree with this because it names a tension I regularly see in both children’s ministry and any other word ministry. When experience is prioritised without theological grounding, spirituality can become subjective, emotion-driven and easily shaped by church or outside culture rather than Scripture.

Yet when knowledge is emphasised without space for answering in faith and relating knowledge with affections, risks becoming pure cognitive knoledge.

I think this insight helpfully critiques both revivalist “crisis” models and purely instructional approaches which is equally bad. It also offers a constructive ideas to shape practices like Godly Play.

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“Children are not future spiritual beings; they are spiritual beings now.”

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“Children are not future spiritual beings; they are spiritual beings now.”

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I agree with this statement because it challenges a common belief in both theology and ministry. Many people think that children's spirituality is incomplete or just a preparation for something more.

The quote says that children have a natural ability to connect with God. Kids may not express their faith in the same way as adults, but that doesn't mean it's less real or important spiritually.

From a religious point of view, this idea matches the belief that all people are created in the image of God. This means that children, like adults, are capable of understanding and responding to spiritual things.

This understanding is important for how Christians are formed. It encourages churches to see children not just as students, but as active participants in the community of faith.

When we talk about children's spirituality, we shouldn't just think about teaching them morals or religious beliefs. We should see it as a real part of teaching them to follow a religion.