Preorder “The Kingdom of Children,” Coming November 2023!

I am super excited to announce that you can now preorder the print version of my upcoming book on child liberation theology, The Kingdom of Children! Coming November 14, 2023 from William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, with a foreword by the visionary Cindy Wang Brandt, my book draws from sacred texts, other liberation theologies, educational pedagogy, and social science to break through the silence surrounding children and their undermined spiritual agency in America faith communities. It argues that not only is a child liberation theology necessary, but that it is possible for children to do that theology themselves. Like adults, children can be prophets, leaders, and theologians.

Here is Eerdmans’ description of the book:

Empower the children in your faith community.

Children are marginalized in our churches, dismissed into Sunday school or silenced for lengthy sermons aimed at adults. R. L. Stollar has spent his career advocating for the rights of children, and he thinks it’s time to stop talking down to children and start listening to them.

In The Kingdom of Children, Stollar proposes a liberation theology of the child. Stollar begins with a theoretical framework that centers children in our theology and ecclesial life. Reframing biblical stories to center children, we can see how the binding of Isaac reflects the spiritual effects of child abuse, or how children like Miriam can serve as leaders in their communities. Using scriptural examples as well as real studies of children’s spiritual lives, Stollar asserts that children can be priests, prophets, and theologians in our communities. Each chapter concludes with activities and discussion points for introducing the book’s concepts to children.

The Kingdom of Children is a must-read for youth ministers, parents, and anyone who works with children. By embracing the liberation of children, we can avoid stunting their spiritual growth and passing on trauma. And when we lift up children—truly value and learn from them—we build up the kingdom of God here in our communities.

Here is the book’s Table of Contents and front cover:

• Foreword by Cindy Wang Brandt 
• Acknowledgments 
• Introduction: Suffer The Children 
• 1. The World We Live In 
• 2. The Questions We Must Ask 
• 3. Loving Children In How We Read The Bible 
• 4. Loving Children In How We Read The Bad Stories 
• 5. Loving Children In How We Read The Good Stories 
• 6. Gods As Children 
• 7. Jesus Is Child 
• 8. Children as God Images 
• 9. Liberation Is Not A Gift We Give 
• 10. Seeing Children As Prophets 
• 11. Seeing Children As Priests 
• 12. Seeing Children As Theologians 
• 13. Seeing Children As Children 
• 14. All The Children Of The World 
• Conclusion: The Kingdom Of God Belongs To The Children 
• Notes 
• Selected Bibliography 
• Index of Authors 
• Index of Subjects

To preorder The Kingdom of Children: A Liberation Theology, go to Eerdmans, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Bookshop. E-book option coming soon! The book is also listed on GoodReads. To learn more about child liberation theology, click here.