EDITORIAL:
Marriages, families worth saving
___Leave it to the family to provide a table around which Christians can gather.
___At least, Christians can gather out of common concern for the family. Groups that historically have been loathe to cooperate sat down to draft a document of agreement--regarding America's families.
___Specifically, "A Christian Declaration on Marriage" brought the church groups together. It was drafted by representatives of the National Association of Evangelicals, National Conference of Catholic Bishops, National Council of Churches and Southern Baptist Convention. (The National Council of Churches has backed away from full endorsement, because the document defines marriage as a "holy union of one man and one woman," and some denominations disagree. But the NCC's more conservative affiliates affirm this definition.)
___The marriage declaration provides Christians with common ground to work on a common cause--preserving marriages and strengthening families. It couldn't come too soon. A report from the drafting committee, citing U.S. Census data, notes that, from 1970 to 1998, the number of U.S. children living with unmarried couples increased 665 percent, the rate of non-marital births grew 224 percent and the number of single-parent families increased 190 percent.
___These figures point to deep moral, social and spiritual problems--with harrowing repercussions. Sociologists David Blankenhorn and Barbara Dafoe Whitehead have demonstrated drastic consequences of fractured marriages--a repetitive cycle of poverty, educational failure, female promiscuity and male violence among children raised in homes without fathers. This may sound extreme--and many exemplary children are raised in single-parent households--but the scenario is well documented, not to mention frightful.
___"A Christian Declaration on Marriage" cites the "unprecedented need and responsibility to help couples begin, build and sustain better marriages and to restore those threatened by divorce," noted Kevin Mannoia, president of the National Association of Evangelicals, who convened a multi-denomination task force to focus on marital health and stability.
___Religious leaders who drafted the declaration hope Christians will cross denominational lines to strengthen marriages. They also plan a "marriage summit" to channel energy into providing America's churches with marriage and family resources.
___In the meantime, Texas Baptist churches can draw upon a variety of resources to strengthen marriages and families:
___ Hope for Home, a program sponsored by the Texas Baptist Christian Life Commission, makes family resources available to local churches. Resource consultants work directly with congregations to build programs for strengthening marriages and building up families. For more information, see the CLC's website, www.bgct.org/clc, or call (214) 828-5190.
___ Marriage Savers, resources prepared by columnist/lecturer Michael McManus, aims to help prevent marriages from disintegrating. A central component is the Community Marriage Policy, adopted by at least 133 cities and towns in 37 states. Clergy in participating communities agree to provide thorough counseling and couple testing prior to performing weddings, helping prevent doomed marriages from taking place and strengthening engaged couples' marital skills. Another important Marriage Savers ingredient is mentoring of newlyweds by couples who have enduring, solid marriages. Marriage Savers material is available from amazon.com; also contact www.marriagesavers.org.
___ True Love Waits, a campaign launched by LifeWay Christian Resources, encourages young people to remain sexually pure until marriage. Hundreds of thousands of teens have pledged to do so, and researchers now are documenting the unprecedented success of abstinence pledges. TLW materials are available from amazon.com, lifewaystores.com and many Christian bookstores.
___ eharmony.com, a website developed by psychologist/marriage counselor Neil Clark Warren, offers a high-tech approach to matchmaking built on Warren's extensive counseling experience and specific research into the factors that make marriages work.
___ Consistent focus. Pastors and other church leaders can help couples and families by surveying them and then providing biblically based teaching and learning opportunities that address the specific needs in the homes in their communities.
___ Marv Knox
E-mail the editor at marvknox@baptiststandard.com
The Baptist Standard
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