Pastors, We’ve All Had Marriage Counseling

I know something about each one of you, and I don’t mean sin. What I know about each one of you is—nervous?—that each of us has had marriage counseling. The family you grew up in prepared you for what a real marriage “should” be.

What is Marriage?

How we define things shapes how we experience the world. A definition tells us what something is. It gets to the essence of what is defined. Marriage has taken many forms in history, but we need to return to the beginning to know what it was designed to be by God himself and what God says about it.

Marriage Mentoring Discussion Guide

This guide explores 10 characteristics that we’ve identified as essential ingredients in creating lasting, thriving unions. These traits all have their origin in Scripture, so it’s not surprising that research demonstrates that a genuinely thriving marriage is the result of practical progress in these key areas of marital life. Lifelong commitment, shared spiritual intimacy, healthy conflict management and the rest are among the non-negotiables in building and sustaining a vibrant marriage.

Traditional Marriage Vows: What They Mean

There’s nothing boring about the traditional marriage vows that have been around for centuries, and they usually end up meaning even more to couples later in their marriage than on the day of the wedding. If you’re a pastor preparing a couple for a Christian marriage, have them take a close look at the meaning of their vows. And if you’re counseling a couple who have been married a long time—or if you and your own spouse have been married a long time—why not revisit your promises to each other? Maybe you can even recite them again at a special anniversary.

How Can Pastors Revitalize Their Own Marriages?

"We must catch marriages at the point of drift" says Pastor Ted Cunningham. Ministry is a challenging place to find healing, but in the midst of these challenges, there are places where you can go to find help for your marriage.

Take a Marriage Assesment Today!

We want to help you take steps toward strengthening marriages in your church. Dr. Greg and Erin Smalley have spent years studying why marriages thrive. They’ve found there are 10 behaviors that consistently make up great marriages.

Every marriage has areas that are working well and areas that could use improvement. If you want to identify your strengths and find tools to help you grow, this assessment is for you. After you have your assessment results, we will give you powerful tools to help you best use your areas of strength and build your relationship in areas of opportunity.