Customer Reviews

Parenting in the Pew: Guiding Your Children into the Joy of Worship

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Parenting in the Pew is part memoir and part practical theology as a pastor's wife grapples with issues regarding children and the public worship service. For individuals and churches who are questioning participating in children's ministry programs through elementary school, Parenting in the Pew will provide food for thought and conviction that it is good, right and worthwhile for children to worship with their parents.

For those who already worship as a family or have minimal children's programming, Parenting in the Pew provides encouragement and helpful reminders that the point of having children in worship is to worship, and not to have them sit perfectly still so everyone knows you are the best parent in the room. That can be very important to hear.

Castleman believes that children can be expected to sit through the whole worship service at about age four and everything but the sermon by about two and a half. She does not advocate having children color or look at other books during the worship service. So, if you are looking for practical advice on how to keep your toddler quiet and busy, this book will not meet that need!

I'm glad this book was written and I think it's helpful for the church as a whole. It may or may not be a must-read for your family. I enjoyed her personal style, but she delved into personal beliefs I don't share at a few points, so I would not commend all of her theology. I don't think it was a waste of my time, but I admit, I was looking for toddler tips!

We are using Parenting in the Pew as the basis for a series of seminars for parents and children. Castleman rightly puts the focus on worshiping God and not "what we can get out of it" or "how to keep kids still." She says that while we often say "Bless my soul, O Lord," the Scripture says "Bless the Lord, O my soul." Rev. Cynthia O'Brien, Smith Memorial Presbyterian Church, Fairview, Portland, Oregon

The suggestions in this book are novel yet simple to apply. These tips have transformed our worship experience. Instead of finding tips to entertain or distract children, Castleman demonstrates how to engage children in the service and how this effort enhances the parent's worship, to boot! Thank you, Robbie Castleman. I recommend this book to parents of all denominations who wish to share their love of God with their children.

I am a church planter. Wondering what to do with kids and not feeling like "Children's ministry" was the way to go, I came upon this book. Robbie breaks us all out of our "children's ministry looks-like-this" mentality, to a new world where parents are actually together with their children.
Many people think that this is going back to and age of "children just be quiet" or gearing the service "just for kids" which it is neither. Robbie breaks us out of both paradigms bringing us to a place where parents are to parent and not simply escape into the mystical point of worship. Where worship is not simply seen as a feeling to attain, where children get in the way, but where worship is something children can be trained in. This is a must read for all who are thinking about church planting and bringing the family together in a practical way. I have made this manditory reading for all my leadership team.

One of the perennial issues all parents have to deal with is how to effectively train their children to participate in the morning/evening worship service. This can be one of the most embarrassing seasons in any parents life. But it is also one of the most important seasons in the life of your child as they learn to participate in the right worship of God among congregation of the redeemed.

Robbie Castleman has written a very helpful book on how to train your children to be in the worship service. This book is a very practical guide to help you train-up your children to enjoy the worship service. She helps the reader understand that the quality of what happens on Sunday starts on Saturday evening. As a pastor's wife, Castleman had to sit with her children as a "single mother" because her husband was in the pulpit. She tells you how she not only survived but how she learned to make the time in the pew Christ honoring both for her and her children. I could not over state how helpful this book was to my wife and me as we brought our children into the worship service and toddlers. Great gift idea. Should be on every church's book table and a regular part of a congregations' helping young parents in training-up their children in the way they should go. This book should be given to every young family that attends church services.

This book if full of excellent and practical advice to help train your children to worship the Lord right along with mom and dad in the service. I have implemented most of the ideas and have reaped wonderful rewards. It is a wonderful experience when your kids worship with you. Even my two-year-old is sitting relatively quietly and more importantly, she is participating in the service!

My mother gave me this book. I wasn't very excited about it since we have some differences in how we parent and our views on church. I loved it though! I couldn't put it down and have been recomending it to every christian parent I know. In fact my parents have been getting large orders of this book and giving them away and I think that is what I am going to do as well.
This is a book about how to raise your children to be spiritual people who understand and know God. It is about including them in church instead of sending them off to be entertained so that the adults can worship. It is a very convicting book and if you follow it you will find church to be both harder work (parenting) and more fulfilling.

This is a must-read for any parent who has ever struggled with trying to train kids how to worship while enduring the stares and comments of older whorshippers who wish you'd "just take him to the nursery." For many parents, that is the easy out, and they can worship in peace. For those who took those baptismal vows seriously though, it can be a real challenge to make it through those difficult "training years" and this book, written by the wife of a pastor who had to deal with her two boys in the pew while Dad was preaching, has tons of great tips for how to help little ones learn what it means to worship, and become an enthusiastic member of the congregation.

I loved the chapter on "Sunday morning begins Saturday Night." I still need to be reminded of that as my children are past the diaper stage, but still need to be in "churh clothes" on Sunday morning. If you only read that chapter, this book is worth it!

This book also gives parents the encouragement to deal with the comments and stares, and maybe even stand up to the naysayers who think your children should NOT be in the pew with you.

This book encouraged my parenting views on worship. Remembering that we are in the sanctuary with our children to worship GOD and teach them to worship, is a great reminder for all of us. Starting Sunday with good conversation, a relaxed breakfast, and a godly focus, will definitely cause us to come before His presence with singing. Getting a head start the night before, so that we are prepared to worship. Great tips for how to go from "what's in it for me" to "how I can teach my children to worship an awesome God".

My wife and I had our first child in June 2011. I am concerned about all apsects of trying to raise my son, but I share with the author a desire for, "their journey of faith to be less frustrating than mine." This little book so gripped me that I read it in one day - which most readers can easily do if they find the time. To my pleasant surprise, it was one of the best books I have read on parenting and kids in general. I look forward to re-reading it, discussing it with others, and trying to apply much of it contents.

One of the major themes of the book is "going to worship" as opposed to just "going to church." We need to be focused on teaching kids to enjoy the privilege of worship and take in the meaningful parts of the service, not just getting them to be quiet for a while so that people think we are "good parents" with "good kids." The author does not sugar coat the struggles and frustrations for parents in this process, but balances it out with touching stories of progress.

One interesting note is that the author cites authors such as Hauerwas and Willimon generally considered in the postliberal, narrative theology, Yale school, etc. that many in Reformed, Lutheran, and evangelical circles might be uncomfortable with on some points. Of course other perspectives would consider this a bonus.

However, any unusual aspects or minor flaws of the book are far, far outweighed by its many strengths. I highly recommend it.