by Benjamin T. Conner
The first step to being a witness in this wonder-full world is to nurture our sense of wonder. Alongside children, we can push against our tendencies toward possession, mastery, and control of the world (and of Christian doctrine) and instead experience the world as co-wonderers who encounter, engage, and embrace the world. This is, in part, why Emily Hunter McGowin insists in God and Wonder, “Theology needs to be challenged by the vision, perspective, and experience of children” (p. 41). Children, all children, are recipients of grace with a vocation to join in God’s ongoing redemptive work in the world as part of a community of faith and according to their gifts and interests. In fact, it could be argued that within the community of faith, wonder is the vocation or special calling of children.