The Gospel & Marriage by Moore Russell & Walker Andrew T

Author:Moore, Russell & Walker, Andrew T.
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Religion/Christian Life/Social Issues
Publisher: B&H Books
Published: 2016-12-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter

How Should the Church Engage?

Dean Inserra

“Can we get together for lunch this week?”

As a pastor, this is a question I am asked often, many times by people who want to discuss their relationship woes or air grievances about a recent decision made by church leadership. In this instance, a church member asked me, and I agreed to get together for a lunch meeting, not knowing what to expect. We sat down and made small talk, analyzing the football game from the night before, and shortly after our brisket and cheese grits arrived, my lunch friend got to the reason for our meeting.

“What’s the most important decision one can ever make in life?”

Before I had time to answer, he pressed in.

“What would you say?” he asked aggressively.

I was relieved to receive such a “softball question” from another believer. This one was easy. I gave a solid gospel answer that would have made my seminary professors proud. I explained that how one responds to the good news of what Jesus has done for sinners, what we call “the gospel,” is the most important decision any person can and will ever make. I gave a brief overview of what it means to repent and believe the gospel and took a sip of my sweet tea, feeling like my answer would satisfy this man’s need to talk a little theology with his pastor.

I tried moving the conversation back to football and was ready to wrap up our meeting, but he clearly wanted more than my go-to gospel answer. He asked me to award a silver medal in life decisions, wanting my opinion on the second most important decision one could ever make in life. Maybe I was tired from watching the game the night before, or perhaps I hadn’t given this question enough thought. My pause seemed to drag on to him as he waited for my answer. Again, he didn’t seem to have time to wait for my answer to come.

“Who you marry! That’s the second most important decision you ever make, after believing the gospel,” he answered passionately for me.

I was now embarrassed over the amount of people in the restaurant staring at us, convinced that even the cooks in the kitchen had heard him. Instantly a, “Well, of course,” response popped into my mind. His runner-up for the most important decision in life was spot-on, not even close. Had we wanted to go further, identifying a third place might have taken longer to debate than two youth pastors discussing Calvinism and Arminianism at Waffle House till 3:00 a.m., but second place was crystal clear—who one chooses to marry is important.

I simply replied to my lunch buddy, “You’re right, that is it without a doubt.”

His words that followed quickly revealed why he wanted to get together. He wanted to challenge me as his pastor to focus on what truly matters most.

“You are consistent and faithful at proclaiming the decision that is most important,” he encouraged me. “Every week the gospel is made crystal clear in a way that ministers to the church member and the guest.

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