Your Childs Profession of Faith

In this short book, Dennis Gundersen rightfully warns us to proceed with caution concerning a child's profession of faith. Any parent knows how fleeting a child's commitment to something may be. That which excites him today may be of little or no interest tomorrow (or even later today).From Gundersen's pastoral perspective, he cautions against quickly baptizing a child after hearing a profession of faith in Christ. He suggests waiting until the child can fully understand the ramifications of making a biblical commitment to following Jesus and there is evidence of genuine faith in the child's life. This seems to be the same standard he would apply to an adult professing faith in Christ and it does seem proper to apply the same standard to both children and adults in evaluating the genuineness of their faith.I think Gundersen's cautions concerning children are valid, but I'm hesitant to make a connection between exercising caution and withholding baptism. I have reservations simply because I can't find evidence in Scripture for withholding baptism until there is "suitable" evidence of genuine faith. Baptism always seems to immediately follow faith without a pastoral evaluation period. (Obviously, those who baptize infants would not agree with Gundersen's understanding of the relationship between professed faith and baptism.) Of course, there is evidence from John the Baptist's ministry for withholding baptism from those who are clearly unrepentant, but it is not as though John was having the Pharisees undergo some sort of evaluation period so he could examine their faith. Gundersen here seems to be working out his practice more from the nature of children than from Scriptural command or example. I understand his reservations, but I'm not sure his emphasis on withholding baptism needs to take such a prominent position in his arguments.Gundersen's cautions regarding a childhood professions of faith need to be heeded whether a child has been baptized or not. Too often parents can slip into complacency once their child has made a profession of faith, believing that profession has secured their child's eternal security. Parents should always be diligent in overseeing their children's faith both before and after any profession is made and baptism is administered - whether the child is eight or eighteen. A profession of faith and baptism don't mean much if a child denies the faith by his actions. Gundersen's call to diligent oversight by parents really applies to both Baptists and non-Baptists, so the issue of baptism is not really essential to his argument.If you are uneasy about how children's professions of faith are received in your church, this could be a great gift for your pastor, children's minister or youth worker. It might also be a fitting book for churches to provide to parents of small children. I think the book can be read quickly by even the slowest of readers.

As a parent of two small children, the issue of their salvation has become not only a daily thought and prayer of mine, but a deep and growing longing. With two little souls under our care and guidance, my husband and I realize our weighty responsibility to point them to Christ. But how does one succeed at this without, perhaps, failing and erroneously granting assurance when it ought not to be granted and leading a child to be decieved? Pastor Gundersen addresses this serious matter and bypasses the clutter of clever methodologies by dealing with the topic of children and their making of a profession of saving faith, with a look at it through the lens of scripture. He gives very clear warnings of what to avoid doing, lists positive characteristics of what to look for in a child who does make a profession, and gives parents encouragement to never cease laboring for the conversion of their children's souls. I found his book helpful in our own journey of shepherding our children's hearts by the reminder to focus on helping our children look to God, not to man, ie: pressing them to consider God's opinion of them, over mom and dad's. We parents have a great deal of influence over our children; we neither want to pressure, nor discourage them from coming to Christ. Pastor Gundersen clearly outlines some practical ways in which we can parent responsibly in this realm. I think the best thing I liked about this book is its brevity, making it extremely readable. Pastor Gundersen makes his point, shows from scripture why he makes it, and provides very practical guidance for the reader. It's a great book for new parents or for parents whose children are still young. Although, because we do have a gracious God, every Christian family, no matter what the age of the children, would benifit by having a copy.