When Children Ask The Big Questions

There comes a time in every parents life when their kids ask the big questions.

Whether that question is about the birds and the bees or about a higher power, parents don't always have the easy answers.

Now, a local author is trying to make those conversations a little easier.

As part of the children's ministry at Christ United Methodist Church,  every Wednesday night 70 or more children gather for song, fun, and a lesson in biblical teachings.

This week, they are treated to a visit from a Tennessee Valley children's author.

Author & illustrator Phillip Rodgers reads, "His father had tucked him snug into bed when Bailey sat up and quietly said, 'How tall is God? I bet that you know. Is he bigger than mountains covered in snow?'"

The text is from Rodgers' Discovering God Series.

The Ringgold author uses the books & the character 'Bailey Bear' to break down theological ideas into terms that make sense to children.

The series topics range from "How Tall Is God?" to "When Does God Sleep?"

During the Wednesday event Rodgers asks, "How tall is God?"  An excited child answers, "He can be as tall as he wants to be..."

Rodgers says, "It gives them a point of reference, something that they can relate to, somebody that they understand how they feel and what they're thinking and that these little questions are important."

Christ UMC Children's Ministries Director Cynthia Dale says it's important that parents take their children's questions seriously.

Dale says, "We don't always have the right answer and when they don't its okay to say, 'You know, I don't know. Let's look it up, let's get the bible out.'"

Rodgers says children no longer have a foundation for learning faith & values in many schools and his books have become part of a mission to give parents the means of talking with their children about God.

Rodgers says, "It brings the fun and the imagination back into that conversation about God and not the deep heavy theological terms that the child's not going to understand."

The third installment in the Discovering God Series will be available in July.

The book is called "When Was God Born?" and Bailey Bear could be getting a little sister or brother.