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Marriage: Act Before You Feel

Bryan Lorrits is the Lead Pastor of Fellowship Memphis Church, a multicultural church ministering to the urban Memphis community. Bryan has a Master’s Degree in Theology and is currently working on his PhD. In addition to serving the community of Memphis, Bryan’s ministry takes him across the country as he speaks to thousands annually at churches, conferences, and retreats. Bryan is married to Korie, and is the father of three sons: Quentin, Myles, and Jaden. Bryan is speaking at the Chicago Boot Camp on Sept 15. You can listen to his session from the Nashville Boot Camp here. Adapted from his blog: I was recently asked what do I do to keep my relationship with my wife fresh? A list of things immediately came to mind — take her out of town, by her ...

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Restoration and Relationship: Marriage in Ephesians 5

By Ed Marcelle If Genesis two is all about marriage's design, then Ephesians five is all about restoration and relationship. Butchering Ephesians Five. A lot of people (especially my more liberal Christian friends) will start at Ephesians 5:21 with “submit to one another” and stop right there. And this is where they get their view of marriage: that it is this two-headed beast, where man and woman submit to each other and no one is really the head. The conservative and fundamentalist Christian’s favorite marriage verse is Ephesians 5:22 – “wives submit to your husbands.” They stop here and miss the big picture. Ephesians Five Brings the Gospel to the Broken Genesis Design for Marriage. But if we go through the whole chapter, we see that the ...

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The Church Planter's Marriage

…Two years after we planted Clear Creek Community Church, I recognized a feeling of emotional detachment from my wife and kids. I don’t remember where the question came from, but I asked myself, “What if my wife and children never feel loved by me?” I thought about how much of a failure I would be if I planted a church successfully, but I did not know how to love my wife and kids in a way that they felt cherished, protected and connected to me. What if I reached the end of my one and only life and thousands of people became Christians, but my children wanted nothing to do with me? –Bruce Wesley, “Loving My Wife and Children More than Ministry.”    If you haven’t met him, we’d like to introduce you to Bruce Wesley, Acts ...

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Parakaleo Ministries

Parakaleo Ministries Parakaleo was birthed out of a PCA research project that Shari Thomas, daughter of a church-planter and wife of a pastor, did on the major factors determining the health or death of church-planters’ marriages. Scott Thomas was able to meet with Shari recently in NYC for a brief interview. Here are some results from Shari Thomas’ Study of PCA Church Planter Spouse Stress and Satisfaction Levels: • 100% of church planting spouses surveyed have requested mentoring or coaching. • 65% of church planting spouses say their husbands (men who tend to be absent from the home evenings and weekends) provide their primary emotional support. • 59% of church planting spouses lead 1-3 major ministries in the church in addition to family, ...

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Three Tips to find Balance with Ministry and Marriage

Noel Heikkinen I had lunch with a Church Planter today who is being stretched way outside of his comfort level with his young church. He is discovering the inevitable: as the complexity of our church increases, so will the demands on our life. We will have to grow and change in ways that we can’t even imagine when our church begins. For any entrepreneurial leader, it’s exciting to navigate these new waters. We read a ton, we network with other movers and shakers, and we develop systems and plans. Life is thrilling and we grow into the new position our job requires. This very process (which is healthy for the church) can be one of the greatest pitfalls for our marriage. While we are growing by leaps and bounds, our wife is at home in a life that remains pretty constant. ...

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