Ministry News

Focusing on Marriage After Valentine's Day

Details: Tuesday, 16 February 2010 14:58

QUOTE: "Celebrating Valentine's Day and observing a National Marriage week are definitely important, yet Christians and churches need to promote marriage consistently more than ever before. The ability to sustain a successful marriage is often caught rather than taught. Churches have not been highly successful in making marriage attractive to the people they serve. Not enough churches put a high priority on building successful marriages. As divorce rates have grown in the church, so has the sensitivity about offending those who are divorced. If marriage and family are to rebound successfully, the church must be unafraid to promote it. It's obvious that the church needs a renewed vision of the priority of marriage and family inside her four walls." – Harry R. Jackson, pastor of Hope Christian Church in Beltsville, Md., commenting on the need for the church to focus on building successful marriages year-round. [thechurchreport.com, 2/15/10]

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Comments

0 #3 donalddj 2010-02-22 09:32

As someone going through the bitterness of an unwanted divorce after more than 2 decades together, I have to say I agree the church needs to continually focus on ways to help couple work through unresolved conflicts, family pressures, etc etc. We sought out tons of prayer and retreats, had hands laid on us for anointing and warfare against strongholds all to no avail.

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0 #2 Pastor Smith 2010-02-16 15:36

As a Pastor, I can say we value our unmarrieds. We refer to them as Separate, Unique, and Whole. The challenge remains the same as Paul dealt with, the single person can do many things. Being free from certain incumbrances that married people deal with, jobs that can be demanding on family life, and even children (in some instances). Ahh wait there are alot of unmarried people with children, therin lies an area of concern. We Pastors are having to talk about being celibate, or abstaining from sinful lusts since many singles are losing the battle of the flesh. Can we be honest?, we lose a lot of singles due to sexual impurity. Thus the time and effort involved in a singles ministry can be curtailed by the practices of some giving heed to unbridled passion. Ask yourself, is our singles ministry a "Meatmarket" Do we encourage Brother Sister relationships, or is there some incest going on? Pastors care, sometimes they just don't know what to do.
Pastor R

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0 #1 GayleR 2010-02-16 12:40

You must be joking. The church's reverence for marriage and family borders on idolatry. It's time the church started recognizing that singleness is a completely valid (and according to Scripture better than marriage (1 Cor 7:8, 32-34) lifestyle. Maybe if the church started to value singles there would be fewer ill-advised marriages and fewer divorces in the church.

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