Babies crying in church. It's one of the hottest topics out there today as a conversation

starter in the church. Is it okay for babies to cry for 5, 10, 15 minutes battling with the preacher? Or should we

rethink this issue a little bit? Let's dive in today on grace and truth. Welcome to the podcast.

My name is Owen Strand. I will be your host. Please subscribe to this podcast on all relevant

platforms, including Spotify, Apple, Google Podcasts, and beyond.

Babies cry in church.

Today I want to walk with you through a number of thoughts about this subject.

This has become, in all seriousness, a matter of no small debate among conservative evangelicals.

Let me frame this from the outset.

Give you two sides. It used to be the fact that if you were in church, you were probably supposed

to be quiet as a church mouse, and kids weren't supposed to make a peep. And if a baby, you know,

made a little spasm of an outburst for even three seconds, many heads would swivel

and icy stares might be directed at the mother of said baby. I can imagine that that was true

in days past. Decorum and manners used to matter a ton in America, maybe even a good bit too much.

Today, we've gone the opposite way. We tend to be reactionary in our

theology. I've said this before on the podcast. I'm going to keep saying it because I think what

happens so often in the church and beyond is that there is a trend, and then somebody hits a button

called swing to the opposite side. That's quite a button

reaction button. And then we go all the way over to the other extreme. So if it used to be the

case that any mother who had a squabbling baby, even for five seconds, might get a bad look

or two. Nowadays, we have babies, as somebody, I can say this,

who preaches on a somewhat regular basis and lots of different churches, who really kind of

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