Adam Harwood (Ph.D.) and Kevin Lawson (Ed.D) were the editors of a helpful book, Infants and Children in the Church: Five Views on Theology and Ministry (Broadman & Holman/B&H Academic November 15, 2017).
This book includes chapters from an Orthodox view (Fr. Jason Foster, Ph.D.), a Roman Catholic view (Dr. David Libertro) , a Lutheran view (Rev. David Scaer, Ph.D.), a Reformed view (Rev. Gregg Strawbridge, Ph.D.), and a Baptist view (Adam Harwood, Ph.D.). This is an engaging book with responses from each presenter. Get the book via WordMp3.com here (with a free mp3 presentation) or via Amazon/Kindle here. More on the writers/presenters below . . .
Before this book was published each of the speakers presented their basic views at the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary (2015). Listen to here to these presentations, check out the audio recordings and Gregg Strawbridge’s video recording of his presentation.
Jason Foster (Ph.D., Durham University) – Advocate for the Eastern Orthodox view. He is Priest of Holy Nativity of our Lord Orthodox Church in Bossier City, Louisiana. He holds master’s degrees from Dallas Theological Seminary, Cranmer Theological House, and Oxford University. His Ph.D. dissertation is titled “Sursum Corda: Ritual and Meaning of the Liturgical Command in the First Five Centuries of the Church.”
Adam Harwood (Ph.D., Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary) – Co-editor of the book project and advocate for the Baptist view. He is Associate Professor of Theology, Director of the Baptist Center for Theology and Ministry, and Editor of the Journal for Baptist Theology and Ministry at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. He is the author of The Spiritual Condition of Infants: A Biblical-Historical Survey and Systematic Proposal (Wipf & Stock, 2011).
Kevin E. Lawson (Ed.D., University of Maine) – Panel discussion facilitator and co-editor of the book project. He is Director of the Ph.D. and Ed.D. Programs in Educational Studies, Editor of the Christian Education Journal, and Professor of Christian Education at Biola University’s Talbot School of Theology in La Mirada, California. He served as a board member of The Society for Children’s Spirituality: Christian Perspectives (2001-12). Among other books, he edited Understanding Children’s Spirituality: Theology, Research, and Practice (Wipf & Stock, 2012).
David Liberto (Ph.D., Marquette University) – Advocate for the Roman Catholic view. He is Professor of Historical and Dogmatic Theology at Notre Dame Seminary and Graduate School of Theology in New Orleans, Louisiana. He has published several articles in academic, peer-reviewed publications and is currently working on a book-length treatment of the psychological analogy of the Trinity.
Donna Peavey (Ph.D., New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary) – Presentation on children’s ideas of God. She is Professor of Christian Education at NOBTS. Her 2003 Ph.D. dissertation addresses the influences of self-image upon children’s images of Jesus. She speaks frequently at training events for Christian educators on the topic of spiritual formation in childhood.
David Scaer (Th.D., Concordia Seminary) – Advocate for the Lutheran view. He is Professor of Systematic Theology and New Testament and Editor of Concordia Theological Quarterly at Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Among other works, he is the author of Infant Baptism in Nineteenth Century Lutheran Theology (Concordia, 2011) and contributed to Understanding Four Views on the Lord’s Supper (Zondervan, 2007).
Gregg Strawbridge (Ph.D., University of Southern Mississippi) – Advocate for the Presbyterian view. He is Pastor of All Saints Presbyterian in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and is the Founder and Creative Director of www.WordMp3.com, an online audio library of Christian worldview resources. He edited and contributed to The Case for Covenantal Infant Baptism (P&R, 2003).
Each of the five major Christian views will answer the same four questions:
- How are infants and children impacted by sin?
- How does God treat people who die in their infancy or childhood?
- When and how are children considered members of the church?
- When and how are children instructed in Christian doctrine?