Second-Generation Christians

The theological question that must be asked is at what point a child is capable of entering the journey to life? Horace Bushnell responds to this question with his earth-shaking proclamation “that the child is to grow up a Christian, and never know himself as being otherwise” (Bushnell 1953, 4). Bushnell’s response clearly communicates his belief that children are capable of entering this journey at a young age. Bushnell abhorred the modern idea that children should grow up in sin and be converted at a more “mature age” (Bushnell 1953, 4). While some accuse Bushnell of not taking the conversion process seriously based on his response, his intent is to champion the cause for children’s ability to love God from a very young age and to “grow up in Christ” (Bushnell 1953, 8).

John Wesley recognized this same truth within many of the children that he encountered. Throughout his journals Wesley notes instances when, apparently to his initial surprise, he observed spiritual maturity among young children. In one such journal entry he wrote the following:

Sat. 28, 1746—I inquired more particularly of Mrs. Nowens, concerning her little son. She said, he appeared to have a continual fear of God, and an awful sense of his presence; that he frequently went to prayers by himself, and prayed for his father, and many others by name; that he had an exceeding great tenderness of conscience, being sensible of the least sin, and crying and refusing to be comforted, when he thought he had in anything displeased God . . . . When the Holy Ghost teaches, is there any delay in learning? This child was then just three years old! A year or two after he died in peace. (Wesley 1986, 16)

Wesley believed that children were capable of a real relationship with Christ at a young age, and was so serious about this matter that he required that his ministers “preach to and instruct children, whether or not they felt gifted to do so” (Stonehouse 2004, 134).

Children who grow up in strong Christian families often have unique conversion experiences. Gordon Smith, dean at Regent College in Vancouver, Canada, and professor of spiritual theology, refers to children who are reared in Christian families as “second-generation Christians” and believes that their spiritual status is unique. This uniqueness occurs because these children are reared in a family that at their center is a relationship with Christ. Smith is adamant that “conversion for first- and second-generation Christians is not the same; it is possible to ‘grow up in the faith’” (Smith 2001, 207). He is concerned that there has been undo pressure on these children to “become” Christian, in large part due to a misunderstanding of the conversion process in the life of these second-generation Christians. He notes that one common characteristic of these second-generation Christians is that they often have difficulty identifying the date and time of their conversion (Smith 2001, 212). This may be in part because their journey often begins at birth and continues on into adulthood without a clear distinction of a “salvation moment.” Smith notes that commonly heard phrases from these children include “I have always believed in God” or “I have always loved Jesus” (Smith 2001, 212). Walter Brueggemann supports this understanding when he states, “It is clear that there is no single, decisive meeting which will suit such children . . . . But an ongoing conversation, whereby the child-en-route-to-adult begins, a little at a time at one’s own pace, to affirm and claim the ‘news’ which defines the community” (Brueggemann 1993, 94). Often these children have significant events; stakes that have been driven down in their life, that identify significant moments of response to God’s promptings.

The conversion process in second-generation Christians often occurs as life is lived out within the Christian community. Children that are reared in a faithful Christian community often make what appears to be a natural decision to follow Christ. It is as if the child says, “What else would I do? I have loved Jesus since I can remember. I must give my life to Jesus and accept his gift of forgiveness and salvation.” It seems that this process, in many cases, is a natural movement for these children and Smith proposes that “for both theological and developmental reasons we should avoid pressing young people to make a decision, or be baptized, or acknowledge adult faith before they are intellectually, emotionally and socially ready to do so” (Smith 2001, 211). This does not mean that children should not be trained in the faith, or as Bushnell implies, immersed in the faith (Bushnell 1953, 4). In fact, Smith argues just the opposite. He believes that rather than pressuring children about what they should experience, adults should be in conversation with children about what they are experiencing as they encounter God. Adults should nurture children in the faith and allow them to respond in their own time thereby allowing for an authentic conversion that will be demonstrated by the faith of their parents becoming their own faith, and their faith experience leading them to life that is transformed (Smith 2001, 207-11). This conversion may occur in a moment in time, but in the case of many second-generation Christians, conversion is an affirmation and confirmation of a life already lived in relationship with Christ. This does not preclude a need for a confession of sin at the time that sin becomes known to the child. Dallas Willard, a professor at the University of Southern California, a Southern Baptist minister, and one of today’s leading Christian thinkers, reminds the church that the goal is not to get people forgiven and into heaven, but to lead others to “put [their] confidence in Jesus and, out of that confidence, live with him as his disciple now in the present kingdom of the heavens” (Willard 2004). This view raises questions about the need for a specific conversion moment and allows for a gradual growth in a personal relationship with God that includes many significant moments of confession, commitment, and consecration to God. Children have the capacity to enter into this personal relationship, and in the case of second-generation Christians the process may be less formal than is often mandated.

If a child is not capable of a cognitive understanding of the need for repentance and recognition of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross for their sin, does this mean that the child is incapable of a relationship with Christ? What exactly did Christ mean when he said, “Let the little children come to me”? Was it a polite way to include the children in the conversation? Was Jesus just being nice? Or was he demonstrating that even though the children were limited in their understanding of all that was taking place, they had the ability to enter into a relationship with him? Could it be that many children that grow up in strong Christian homes, where Christ is the focus of the life of the family, that these children have the ability to enter into a relationship with Christ long before they understand their need for forgiveness and salvation? Could it be that as these children become cognitively aware of their sin and need for forgiveness, and they repent of their sin, that this act is the next step in an already established relationship with Christ?

Take for instance, Rachel. Rachel has loved Jesus from a very early age. She prayed to Jesus, played with Jesus, and included Jesus as a part of her everyday life. When she would play with her toys she often included Jesus by name. At the age of 7, Rachel attended a children’s revival service where she became more aware of sin and asked Jesus to forgive her. Was this the moment in which she was saved? Is this even the correct question to be asking? Should the question focus more on the relationship she had with Christ? Was this a significant moment? Yes, but was this the moment she became a Christian for the first time or was this act of obedience an affirmation and confirmation of a relationship that previously existed? Perhaps this is the next significant step in an already established life-long journey with Jesus. Ratcliff reminds adults that they must recognize that the level of the spiritual journey of children may be immature when compared to their own journey; this is the result of the lack of cognitive development, but such recognition should not cause adults to wait in affirming their children’s journey with Christ as significant (Ratcliff 2006, 10).

Your thoughts about second-generation Christians and their conversion process are of interest to us. Please feel free to join in the conversation in the Discussion Forum.

Discussion Starters:

• Do you believe that the conversion process for second-generation Christians is different than for those who are not reared in a strong Christian environment?
• Is a confession of faith necessary for second-generation Christians?
• Is there a difference between having a relationship with Christ and conversion?
• Is conversion of children only possible following an intellectual understanding or does conversion supersede intellect?

References

Brueggemann, Walter. 1993. Biblical Perspectives on Evangelism: Living in a three-storied universe. Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press.

Bushnell, Horace. 1953. Christian Nurture. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. Reprint, New Haven, CT: Yale University Press (page references are to the reprint edition).

Ratcliff, Donald. 2006. Experiencing God and spiritual growth with your children. A manuscript of the original work by Don Ratcliff. Retrieved 5 September 2006 from http://www.don.ratcliffs.net/books/.

Smith, Gordon T. 2001. Beginning Well: Christian conversion and authentic transformation. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.

Stonehouse, Catherine. 2004. Children in Wesleyan Thought. In Children’s spirituality: Christian perspectives, research, and applications, ed. Donald Ratcliff, 133-48. Eugene, OR: Cascade Books.

Wesley, John. 1986. The works of John Wesley: Complete and unabridged. Vol. 2. 3rd ed. London: Wesleyan Methodist Book Room, 1872. Reprint, Kansas City, MO: Beacon Hill Press (page references are to the reprint edition).

Willard, Dallas. 2004. Teaching for Transformation. Lecture at North American Professors of Christian Education, 21-23 October, Orlando, FL.