Divine Distractions and Sanctified Screaming!

A very noticeable thing happened a couple of weeks ago in worship.  Three people walked out of the church... Sunday morning, mid-service.
​Just got up and left.
They weren’t even sneaky about it.

Worship continued, but they weren’t there.
Actually… it was right in the middle of my sermon.
Can you believe that? The audacity! 
 
The exact details have faded slightly, but no doubt I was midsentence inspiring all the pew-sitters that morning. Nevertheless, they got right up and walked right out of the sanctuary.
No matter how much of a homiletical masterpiece I was delivering, they left. Departed. Gone. Hit the proverbial road.  And I loved it!
 
Still makes me smile every time I think about it.
Kudos ladies. I hope they do it again!
 
Here’s what I noticed…  At one point, in the middle of my rousing sermon I looked up and saw three moms, just outside the sanctuary, on the narthex floor. Backs toward me, engaged in conversation with each other. With each mom was an ankle-biter. Technically, I guess that means that six people walked out of the church, mid-service.  Even better!  I could not tell you who it was or how long they were out there. They may have been members. They could have been visitors here for the first time.  Honestly, I have no idea. But I do remember seeing them. I remember thinking, “How cool is that?!”  And I remember sending up a quick post-sermon prayer thanking God for their presence.
 
In all my years of pastoring, when kids are fussy or babies are crying in church, I hardly even notice. I wouldn’t call it oblivious; it sounds better to say that I’m in my preaching zone.  But even if I did. They are not a distraction. They are not a disruption. They certainly do not need to be removed.  They are a beautiful blessing, a welcome reminder of how important it is to be a church filled with people of all ages—young babies and seasoned veterans.  Of course, the mortified parents feel a bit differently; they are embarrassed and panic. They bombard their little ones with goldfish crackers and squeezy applesauce, anything to get them to sit still and keep them quiet!  Tired moms and dads faithfully doing the right thing even when it’s not so easy.  Flustered as they may have been, how reassuring then for those moms a couple weeks back to walk out into the narthex and immediately see that they were not alone.  Many of us have been here before—children fussy and bouncing with energy at church, in a movie theater, at a concert, in a restaurant.  It is likely that anytime kids “act up” in church their anxious  parents feel as if the eyes of everyone in the church are shooting daggers at them, silently rebuking them to keep their kids under control.  Not me.  Not here.  Not ever.  Hopefully not you either.  I’ll look at them, smile, and silently thank God they are here. 
 
It would be so much easier for parents of little kids to stay home. Less stressful. More relaxing. Stay in the jammies. Turn on Mickey Mouse. Enjoy another cup of coffee.  No fuss, no crying, no tantrums. It has been many years since our kids were that small, but I remember Calie telling me that she wasn’t sure she heard a single sermon for at least the first six years of our kids’ lives while in their toddler stages. (She may not listen to my sermons now either, but she can’t blame the kids anymore. 😊) 
 
Perhaps it would be easier for all of us to bail on worship.  But God is pleased when we gather—not because everything runs smoothly, not because every child sits quietly, and not because every parent feels put together… but because His people come. We come with noise and need, with distractions and fatigue, with crying babies and wandering minds—and still, our gracious God meets us there. He graces us. He restores us. He blesses us. The sound of little ones in the sanctuary is the sound of life, of our Christian faith being carried forward. Little ones in the pews remind us that our church—by the working of the Holy Spirit—is not fading but flourishing. Not every church is so fortunate. A quiet church is often a church without growth. This old proverb, of which there is no known author, is true: “If You Don't Hear Crying, the Church is Dying.”  I recall reading a similar quote, that said “The noise of children is the sound of the next generation worshiping.”
 
So dear friends, please join me in rejoicing over every holy interruption and embracing every holy cry. Celebrate the screams. Embrace the tantrums. Delight in the occasional distractions.
Smile and make silly faces at the little ankle-biters among us.  Encourage the parents, no matter how old their kids are.

Let’s welcome it. Let’s give thanks for it. 
For our God is indeed “giving the growth!”
 
Oh, one last thing… this does NOT give you all permission to get up and walk out of church mid-sermon this coming Sunday!
 
But Jesus said, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children.” (Matthew 19:14 NLT)

“Therefore we must have young people in the church, for the church must continue to exist.” (Martin Luther)