Too Small to Ignore: Why Children are the Next Big Thing. Wess Stafford.Colorado Springs, CO: Waterbook Press, 2005.
By Ruth Dykstra, MBA Graduate Student
Dr. Wess Stafford brings a compelling book that challenges the reader to remember those among us who are "Too Small to Ignore." As president and CEO of Compassion International, Dr. Stafford is living out his passion by affecting the lives of hundreds of thousands of children worldwide.His childhood experiences in Nielle, Africa form the basis of his work, bringing personal anecdotes and powerful eyewitness accounts.He weaves scripture and experience into a tapestry depicting children as invaluable members of all societies.Dr. Stafford challenges readers with his idealistic picture of childhood, driving ultimately to a realistic and serious call to invest in children.
The book begins with an introduction entitled The Great Omission, which explains its occasion and sets the stage for the touching stories and deep thoughts that follow.Dr. Stafford reiterates a story of a conversation between D.L. Moody and his wife as he described an evening service.When he told her they had two and a half converts, she immediately asked how old the child was.D.L. Moody responded then that the two were actually children while the half was an adult, because in his estimation, the adult only had half a lifetime left to live.Stafford quickly states the fact that two-thirds of the people that give their lives to Christ do so before they turn 18.Half of the world's population are children and teens, yet this massive group has literally no political clout.Children are often marginalized, as they lack a voice in global affairs, have little to give materially, and are easy to ignore.Worldwide, the number of children that die every three hours is the same number of people that died on 9/11, an event that stopped a nation.We don't stop every day to mourn the thousands of children needlessly dying all day, every day? The sad thing is that the church is far from exempt from a lack of focus on the younger generation.Dr. Stafford describes an international conference he attended that was aimed at strategies to bring the world to Christ.During the entire conference, children were not directly addressed.He titles this lack of involvement of children in the Christian movement The Great Omission.Dr. Stafford clearly states that "the great omission seems to be unique to Christians" citing the Nazis Hitler youth as an opposite example. He then introduces the idea which he explains in more detail in the second half of his book that the Bible sets children as deeply important to God and should therefore be of utmost importance to us.It is poignantly claimed that, "Every child you encounter is a divine appointment." Children are extremely impressionable.What they hear at age five year will stick with them for the rest of their lives.We should all take what we say to children, and how much attention we truly give them, very seriously.It takes a village to raise a child but a single unkind word can destroy a life.The ideas set forth in the introduction are threaded throughout the rest of the book as Dr. Stafford develops concepts and a strong argument for attention to be given to the smallest, yet most crucial members of our society.
The rest of the book is divided into two parts.Part one is used to describe Dr. Stafford's childhood as it relates to the development of his character and life.Part two digs deeper into the issues raised in part one and builds a Christian case for the involvement of all adults in the lives of children.The first issue addressed is that of immediacy.Dr. Stafford's detailed stories of watching the corn fields for baboons and young girls taking care of their younger siblings serve to illustrate the integration of children in adult society.The boys killing baboons with their sling-shots not only protected the crops and brought home meat, but allowed them to actually have purpose in the adult world.The young girls, instead of playing house were truly learning skills they would need as they reached maturity and had their own homes.He contrasts this picture of true integration with the American view that children are not useful or allowed to participate in the flow of life.He emphatically asserts, "Allowing children into the mainstream of our lives lets them learn and understand their worth, not someday, but today." This discussion of the immediacy of integrating children into our lives is followed by suggestions for practical solutions.
The development process of a child is absolutely crucial to his future ability to act as a mature, responsible, contributing member of their society."Nurturing a child's sense of personal worth and therefore hope and dreams for a wonderful future is perhaps the most important responsibility of every grownup in a child's life."Dreams die when hope of success is no longer seen as an option.One of the issues with children in poverty is that their environment and especially the adults they come into contact with impress upon them that the realities of life will never let them do or become what they desire."Children are born into poverty, but poverty is never born in a child."If children are encouraged early enough, they may break the cycle of poverty with their dreams.Dr. Stafford enforces these ideas with stories of time with his father during his childhood.He sets forth the idea that the values and conditions he came into contact with in Africa are well within reach for Western society today.He ends the chapter by suggesting three practices for bringing children into your life in a meaningful way: 1. Go to them. Enter Their World. 2. Bring them into Your World 3. Merge the Two Worlds.
The next chapter builds on the concept of merging the two worlds by expanding on the idea of an entire village raising a child.The apparent decreasing amount of 'time' Americans have for their children is noted as negatively impacting childhood. People no longer sit on their porches in the evening simply watching the sun go down.The "village" feel has left neighborhoods where children do not play outside but watch TV and play video games for entertainment.The classic contemporary American church is described as being segmented and bowing to the culture to provide various activities and entertainment for teens ranging from trips to amusement parks to 'vacation' mission trips.When the African church is asked what programs they have for teenagers they simply reply, "We have a church!"Dr. Stafford describes his picture-perfect village to demonstrate the openness of the village people and their cohesiveness and to contrast it with the private, fragmented lives of Americans.He does recognize that his thoughts are utopian, but legitimizes his statements by explaining that he is reiterating the thoughts and feelings he had as a child.We can only hope that our children will think as fondly on their childhood as he did on the village of Nielle.
Children often have a grounded perspective of what is really important in the scheme of life. This concept is described in the book through a story where Wess goes with his father to a remote village where the children are dying of what is found to be water-borne disease.The father helps the village fix their contaminated well and educates them on the importance of clean water.It comes time for Wess' family to write their support letter home and Wess encourages his father to write about the well however his father eventually decides to write a classic letter based on true 'mission work.' Wess says of the work at the well, "Daddy, if that is not what missionaries are supposed to do, I don't want to be one!"The eyes and heart of a child speak great truth to a father, allowing him to realize how his words were not reflecting the true actions of his life.
Stafford addresses the critical question of what a child truly needs to be correctly discipled into adulthood by comparing Maslow's hierarchy of needs to Compassion International's principles.In the next chapter he also adds the four freedoms he believes are necessary for children.In short, Maslow describes needs as starting with the most basic: survival, and culminating in self-actualization.Compassion's approach parallels Maslow hierarchy, but substitutes concrete concepts such as food and inoculation to major diseases for Maslow's survival. The top of their pyramid ends with two steps: an introduction to Jesus and exposure to possible vocations.Children should be able to exist, having their needs met, free from fear.The fears identified include driven-ness, materialism, corrosive competition, and daily fear.While I agree with Stafford that these are key, I would emphasize the necessity of need fulfillment being coupled with freedom from fear. They complement each other and without one, the other is void.
Though an idealistic picture of Stafford's childhood is depicted up to this point, he interjects with horror stories from his life as a missionary kid at boarding school.He tells a story of being humiliated by a schoolmaster to make the point brought up in the introduction that the things that happen to young children impact them for life.It's very noticeable throughout the book that he is proving his own point subconsciously by the way he describes his own life. I had the great sense that he was trying to prove to those along his path that hindered him that he in fact beat their odds and is the better person."Little did he [schoolmaster] know that the little boy he was beating was the future president of an international ministry called- of all things- Compassion." I believe that part of the meaning of writing the book was to record the change that Christ can have in a persons' life whereby they are able to do great good in the face of great evil.Dr. Stafford recognizes this in part when he says, "I'm not saying it was God's plan for the abuse to occur.But I do believe he can redeem anything and bring good out of evil.He was shaping me for an epic fight on behalf of abused children."The epic fight to which he was called and the lessons he has learned are now turned to in part two of the book.
Though poverty is viewed as a completely negative circumstance by most of the world, Dr. Stafford first reminds us that there are "pearls of poverty."These pearls, such as love, joy and hope, are often embraced fully by those who lack materially.He says of love, "nobody died alone in Nielle…You become compelled by love."And of joy, "Joy is a decision, a very brave one, about how you are going to respond to life." The poor often know how to accept life and see it for what it really is rather than trying to fill their days with the pursuit of things they do not need.They decide to have hope because if they do not, there is absolutely nothing to live for.Dr. Stafford leads from these pearls of hope back to what he calls, The Wheel of Poverty.For him, poverty is the lack of options.The spokes of the wheel include economics, health, learning, environment, social or sociopolitical, and spiritual poverty. He says, "Without financial resources, shelter, food, education, justice, or skills to address their plight, they succumb to the downward spiral that leads to hopelessness and despair."This tied directly to his comments regarding the Compassion list of needs for children from the basic need for food to the need for vocational training.He spoke a great deal about the people of Haiti: a people close to my own heart.He tells of children that will reply to questions with "M'pa kone," translated "I don't know," even before they consider the question.A man cuts down a mango tree to make charcoal, and cannot be convinced to keep it for its repetitious harvest because he needs the money now. This man lives for today.We often come to situational poverty with the eyes of an American who has had the privilege of thinking beyond tomorrow.Ending poverty, he concludes, is not simply an elimination of symptoms but an addressing of the internal issues.He turns to what we should all examine when discussing an issue, the perspective of our heavenly Father.
Jesus had an ongoing and persistent campaign for children. In the well-known verse He says, "Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them." (Matthew 19:14) Dr. Stafford points out the interesting fact that this is one of the three times Jesus was extremely angry.The precursor to this verse is, "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 18:3) If we are to be like Jesus, we must not only value children but focus on them.Dr. Stafford goes on to say that, "I honestly believe that on certain occasions God uses children instead of adults to accomplish strategic things in His kingdom." He backs this up with the Biblical stories of Miriam, Samuel, and David as well as the boy who gave up his bread and fish to feed thousands.I was impacted by his statement that, "God is interested not as much in our ability as our availability." We do not need great talents to serve a great King, only a heart of a child.
The last sections of the book are dedicated to calling us to imagine a world where kids actually, truly count.He not only calls us to this perfect world but expects us to strive for the reality. Imagine a world where people allowed themselves to accept children's ideas, where all children are immunized against diseases, where world leaders put the care, nurture, and protection of children as a checkpoint for every new law, where laws are enforced for children in war situations, where there is a double penalty for a crime involving a child, where educational systems are improved, and where teacher salaries are increased.William Ross Wallace is quoted as writing, "The hand that rocks the cradle/ is the hand that rules the world." We can and do have a great impact on the children of this world.Dr. Stafford sums up our role as complementary to Gods by saying, "The design and the path are ultimately in the loving, capable hands of each child's creator God.Our role is to provide a conducive environment so that every opportunity to grow and thrive can be fulfilled." We are called to arms to fight for the children and can do so one child at a time.It is not a losing battle if the church bands together to challenge our government and especially our culture to make them accountable for the welfare of our children.
Stafford closes his work with the story of God's divine words which serve to compel him each day.He was despairing over the fact that his childhood friend did not travel a positive path as he did when God said, "Wess, don't you see what I have done?...I have given you one hundred thousand Alezye's." Dr. Stafford has been given a great multitude to take care of and he consistently prays to be found faithful with the treasure God has entrusted.Though he is an idealist, a Bonhoeffer of child advocacy, his words ring true.We should all strive for a world where children matter.We should work with all our hearts to follow in Christ's footsteps to acknowledge those who are, in fact, too small to ignore.
Other Poignant Quotes:
"On one side of this international bridge, my role is to minister to the poor, to "comfort the afflicted."And then I cross the bridge coming back to the Western, more affluent world, where my role is to speak and write to "afflict the comfortable.""
The child begins to think, "Well, if I matter, what I think matters, and what I feel is valid and important." This step enables a child to leave some of the worst abuse behind…a sense of value will be regained."
"One child eventually changes a family.A changed family will influence change in its church.Enough changed churches will transform the community.Changed communities change regions.Changed regions will in time change an entire nation…The poor seem to know this instinctively."
"I wish I could promise every person who cares about a child in poverty that an Olympic medal awaits…Every child matters to God.Once that child, through our intervention, comes to understand and believe the awesome truth, the cold fingers of poverty are pried loose once and for all
"Children are more than we think they are; they can do more than we think they can do.All they need is a vote of confidence from grownups, whom they will ultimately replace anyway.Their dreams today will become the realities of tomorrow."