My Brothers and Sisters in Christ: You Are Men and Women
My 8yo sailed through his membership vows with a clear yes to each, until the fifth one stopped him: "What does that mean?" Why I was glad he asked before agreeing, with detours into the Feynman technique, leftovers, and love languages.
Shortly after church ended, S and I accompanied H to meet with the pastor and elders. These three gentlemen gently inquired about H’s faith. The pastor had already met H two or three times. In a sense, this was just a formality. They try to make it as welcoming and non-scary for kids as possible, but there’s no getting around the job-interview-like feeling. But despite all of that, H was fantastic. His answers were clear, sufficient and well articulated. I do think they could have pressed a little harder with their questions. It was a little too “softball”. Also, for being a reformed church, one or two of the questions were kind ”dispy”. That’s really just me grasping at something to complain about though.
At the conclusion, after H’s testimony had been heard and accepted, the pastor asked the vows of church membership. He simplified the wording a bit, to make the meanings more accessible. H clearly spoke “yes” to each of the questions until he reached the last. The five vows are:
