Marriage

I have been a pastor now for 27 years and have spent almost 18 years of ministry here at Christ The King Lutheran Church in Fallbrook.

There are so many things I love about the ministry. However, it is very difficult when I see couples divorce and families splinter.

There’s nothing better than performing a wedding when couples pledge their love for one another and pledge their desire to let Jesus Christ be the center of their marriage and homes.

In fact, the phenomenon of marriage is so remarkable that the Apostle Paul, under divine inspiration, chose marriage to symbolize the unfathomable bond of love between Jesus Christ and His bride, the Church.

Unfortunately, today’s western nations are witnessing a continuing epidemic of dysfunctional marriages that often end in divorce.

Does God have an answer? The good news is…yes! The truth is found in Ephesians 5:33: “Husbands must love their wives and wives must respect their husbands.”

I’d like to invite all of Fallbrook to a two-day conference we are hosting on Friday, January 18, from 6:45 to 10 p.m. and continuing on Saturday, January 19, from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., entitled “Love and Respect.” The cost is $40 per couple or $20 per person.

The video teacher will be Pastor Emerson Eggerichs, who received his MA from Wheaton College. The teaching at this conference will be outstanding.

Emerson writes, “You may remember how the Beatles sang, ‘All you need is love.’ I absolutely disagree with that conclusion. Five out of ten marriages today are ending in divorce because love alone is not enough.

“Yes, love is vital, especially for the wife, but what we have missed is the husband’s need for respect.

“This ‘Love and Respect’ message is about how the wife can fulfill her need to be loved by giving her husband what he needs – respect. And the husband can fulfill his need to be respected by giving his wife what she needs – love.

“Does this always work? No. But if one is married to a person of good will, I would bet the farm that it can work!”

Here’s a great comment from someone who attended the conference: “This weekend [we] attended a marriage conference. It was the first we’d ever gone to, and it was incredible!

“I’m not much for mushy emotional conferences, so we were both delighted to see this one didn’t have much – make that ‘any’ – of that!

“Pastor Eggerichs talked about how women have the need to feel loved and men need to feel respected. The first part of that probably comes as no surprise, but the respect part…that’s not heard much in our culture.

“If you’ve ever read ‘Bringing Up Boys’ by James Dobson or ‘Wild At Heart’ by John Eldredge, you may have heard some of this. More and more I’m realizing how much I had been indoctrinated with feminism and it affected how I treated [my husband] and viewed myself and my worth (which I wrote about here, for instance).

“This conference had a great message, well-balanced and really explained some things that had always been confusing to me (such as what submission really means).

“Anyhow, all this is to say if you ever get a chance to attend this ‘Love and Respect’ conference, it’s worth every penny!”

I’m convinced every marriage or anyone who is considering marriage will be blessed as we come together to learn more about God’s plan for loving and respecting our spouses.

If you’d like to know more about this conference, please contact the church office at (760) 728-3256.