Between Part II and III

Before I start Part III of Children Matter you should know I rarely pay attention to the systematic thinking expressed in a book's Table of Contents. I should. It would make me a better writer.

Here is the Table of Contents from Children Matter [sometimes rephrased]. Using the Table of Contents as a guide may help you better use this book, this resource, if you're using it to rethink what you're doing:

Introduction: The Story of a Book [I think they've accomplished their goal of creating a resource that can be used by generations of children's ministers not only for the wisdom and insight they share but because they help us find the questions we need to keep asking and keep answering. In only about 350 pages!]

Imagine asking these same questions in 2050 ad or 3000 ad ... scary...

Part I Foundations Matter
(What foundations? What are we building on?)

• The metaphors we use in ministry ie. "children are like..."
• Children in the Bible
• Our theology and children
• A child's development
• The historic roots of children's ministry

Part II Context and Content Matter
(What is context?)

• Children in context
• Children in the faith community
• Children in family
• Children and story (content matters)
• Children and Curriculum

(notice there's more reference to context than to content.)

Part III How We Do It Matters
How we do

• Worship
• Learning and Teaching
• Specialized Ministries
• All Children Matter
• Leadership [How we do it] Matters

How we do "all children matter" doesn't make sense right now but it will when I read it! It's probably the most important chapter!

I don't think I tagged the other CHMT posts "resources" but this book is a valuable resource. :-)