Myth # 4: Fights are bad for a marriage
Recently GrowthTrac posted an excerpt from Just Married by Margaret Feinberg. I haven’t read the book but I was captivated by the 6 Marriage Myths. Couples often come into my office for a first session and tell me the main reason for seeking counseling is “we fight all the time”. Now, like every other counselor [...]
Intentional Interim
I just returned from an Annual Intentional Interim Ministry Update meeting for Arkansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma. Sponsored by the Arkansas Baptist State Convention, nearly 50 pastors gathered to exchange ideas and sharpen skills. As happens every year, I was the youngest person in the room. On one hand, I was thrilled: it’s not often I [...]
Myth # 3: Marriages today don’t last.
Recently GrowthTrac posted an excerpt from Just Married by Margaret Feinberg. I haven’t read the book but I was captivated by the 6 Marriage Myths. First, and this is Margaret Feinberg’s point, that doesn’t mean your marriage is destined for divorce. Just because our culture has moved toward an acceptance of serial monogamy doesn’t mean [...]
Myth # 2: Sex is going to be the easy part of marriage.
Recently GrowthTrac posted an excerpt from Just Married by Margaret Feinberg. I haven’t read the book but I was captivated by the 6 Marriage Myths. “While sex can be one of the best parts of being married, it can also be one of the most challenging. Learning to understand, respond, and please your partner takes [...]
Men Missing from Church
There’s an interesting conversation going on about why men are missing from church. I’ve picked up the thread from 3 sites: Cerulean Sanctum, Transforming Sermons, and Swap Blog. (Here, here, here, and here.) It’s too good a topic to pass up; I thought I would throw my two cents in. Let me see if I [...]
Six Myths about Marriage: Myth # 1
If you haven’t discovered GrowthTrac, yet, you really ought to check it out. And their blog: InsideTrac. Their goal is to be a major portal/resource for Christian marriages on the web. I think they are well on their way to achieving that goal. Recently GrowthTrac posted an excerpt from Just Married by Margaret Feinberg. I [...]
Marriage Counseling: What about Divorce
I was asked the other day if I was committed to the concept of “divorce is never an option”? I rarely give a simple, straight answer to that question. Not because I’m wishy-washy on my beliefs re: what the Bible has to say about divorce and remarriage. (Mike at Eternal Perspectives has a series of [...]
Married With Problems? Therapy May Not Help
Here’s a headline from the NY Times that is at the same time both misleading and, sadly, true. The article quotes some research that I’m not familiar with, but rings true: “Two years after ending counseling, studies find, 25 percent of couples are worse off than they were when they started, and after four years, [...]
Diagnostic labels
I am ambivalent about using diagnostic labels (i.e. bipolar, ADHD, clinical depression, etc.) On the one hand it’s quite useful to be able to fit my current hypothesis about a client into an existing schema. I’m not constantly re-inventing the therapeutic wheel. And a short-hand for talking/consulting with other professionals saves time. On the other [...]
Stress in the Ministry: Part 2
I wrote last week about Stress in the Ministry. And then I read this from Josue today. Josue asks, “I really feel the need of fellowshipping with other Christian men who don’t see me as a pastor or attend my church… How hard is to find a group of men to fellowship and pray together, [...]
