From Jody’s Editor Desk at Energion
A Home United: Strategies for Couples with Different Beliefs by Dr. Robert R. LaRochelle [Retail price $9.99]
How many people reading this post are part of a marriage in which you were raised (and may still be in) a different faith community than your spouse? My parents were (Catholic and Lutheran). My brother was (Catholic and Methodist). And my husband and I were (Catholic and Seventy-Day Adventist), though we now belong to a United Methodist church.
Bob LaRochelle has taken his own personal and pastoral experience and put together a must for every engaged couple, with maybe the exception would be those who grew up together in the same church and still attend the same church.
Questions about personal faith must be discussed before a marriage. The potential pitfalls are numerous and can be very destructive to an otherwise great marriage. Questions include:
- Where is “religion” in your life?
- Will you be married in a church? Which one?
- If you plan to have children, what part will religion be in their lives?
- Do you or your partner plan to attend a weekly worship? Do you agree on “where”?
- How will you feel if your spouse refuses to attend church with you on Christmas?
This is not a book with all the answers but yet Bob does give a solid foundation that, with dialogue, ways of sharing and listening to each other can lead to a strategy which can work for your family. Ignoring the differences will not be a workable, constructive plan.
Pastors and counselors from any faith path who meet with engaged or married couples will find this book an excellent tool for constructive conversation and consideration. Questions with each chapter, make for good homework dialogue. Review copies for counselors are available. Contact us at pubs@energion.com.
Invest in a good, solid, covenant marriage!
