Commitment in Marriage Posted: Mar 08, 2010 by Naomi Cassata James, my husband, and I became friends while on our way to prison. Yep, I said prison! Not many people can say they met their spouse in such a way. Before you jump to conclusions, let me explain. We were sitting across from each other in the back of a bus that was hauling us, along with approximately 30 other college-age students from our church, to a maximum security prison. He was the drummer in our young adults' worship band that would be performing, and I was on the drama team that would be acting out skits to minister to the prisoners. A very unlikely match, I know. One and a half years later, our friendship went from the prison doors to the church doors in holy matrimony.  Read the full article…

Four Huge Marriage Myths Posted: Mar 02, 2010 by Matt Appling My wife and I didn't go to pre-marital counseling. In a time when tons of people end their marriages, that may surprise some people. We just didn't make time for it. That's our fault. Everyone thinks that people who are about to get married need a ton of advice. When there's an engaged couple in the room, every married couple is suddenly licensed in relationship counseling. Heck, half the reason I got married was to give advice to more people who didn't ask for it. Most soon-to-be's get lots of advice from many different people. There's the pre-marital stuff that tries to get the nuts and bolts of relationships. Then you get the surly, salty "advice" about how relationships "really work" from the couple who've been married for twenty years...somehow. On the wedding day, the preacher usually tries to make sure the couple knows marriages are "hard work." Then you get a bit of intoxicated sagely advice from the best man at the reception. And yet, for all the wise counsel, it is inevitable that newlyweds will still find surprises. So today, I'm busting four big marriage myths. You, or your kids, or your best friend need to hear this before walking down the aisle. Maybe we should've made counseling a priority. You decide...  Read the full article…

Reflections on Gender Equality Posted: Sep 14, 2009 by Stephanie Malcolm I have been reflecting a lot lately on what my "theology" of marriage is, and that has led me to thinking in general on equality between the genders. I feel like I am stuck in between two camps. The dominant views I've heard seem to depict men as the ultimate authority in everything or try to make it appear as though women are the only people capable of accomplishing anything.  Read the full article…