Keeping Order in the Church

This can present a problem to conscientious parents. It is not always practical to keep babies in the worship area, because they often cry, fidget, whine, and fuss, with no appreciation for the solemnity of the occasion. Consequently, parents are often embarrassed while others in the assembly are distracted from proper worship.

Granted, children should be present in the worship service. But in practice, it is sometimes expedient to have certain children, especially infants and toddlers, removed from the congregation. It’s a matter of finding a balance between the necessity of children being a part of the covenant community and the need to carry out the worship service with some level of decency and order.

Do we have order in our worship, or do we have children? What is the church going to do with this problem that is not going away?