Advancing a family reformation may mean tackling any number
of issues, such as resolving a lingering conflict with your spouse, or
starting to read the Scriptures and pray with your children each night
at bedtime. For a number of years I led Bible studies with business-
men, but I gave that up for a decade because I could not go on lead-
ing a Bible study with businessmen if I wasn’t doing one with my own
children before they left for school. Ask God to show you where the
reformation needs to begin at your house.
Mandate Two: The Church Must Become a Marriage and Family
Equipping Center
Equipping husbands and wives in marriage, as well as training parents
to lead their children spiritually, are not “just another part” of local
church ministry; they represent the greatest opportunity for the local
church to spread the gospel, build spiritual maturity, and advance the
Kingdom of God in this generation! The needs in the family dwarf all
other personal felt needs in Western civilization. In America, as peo-
ple wake up and begin their day, what other issue causes them as much
anxiety and pain? What issue could compare in intensity and scope to
needs related to marriage and family?
Some of the evidence to support this would be humorous if it
were not so poignant. A case in point is a New York Timesstory which
reported on a course led by a psychotherapist to train businesswomen
how to find a man and get married. It’s called “Marriage Works” and
is referred to as a “finishing school for feminists.” The six-month
course includes 276 hours of instruction and costs $9,600! I wonder
what Ms. magazine thinks of this. The women taking this course evi-
dently have found that personal fulfillment through career, a high
income, and the like are not the whole answer. They are willing to pay
big dollars to learn how to make a relationship work.^1
Widespread desires like these represent a huge opportunity for
local churches. We have a generation coming of age that is screaming,
“How do you do marriage and family?” They’re coming from broken
homes. Their parents’ marriages didn’t work. They are skeptical and
afraid. And guess who could provide the answers? The local church!
20 BUILDINGSTRONGFAMILIES