Fight Night
I remember years ago when Jenny and I were having a “tiff;” at least I considered it more of a “tiff” than a “fight.” I don’t even remember the issue, but I do remember her saying to me several times throughout the conversation, “You’re not listening to me.” And most likely I wasn’t! At the time, I somehow overlooked Peter’s admonition for husbands to listen to their wives, otherwise “your prayers will not be heard!” 1 Peter 3:7 (NLT)
On Saturday, February 11, at 7:00pm the Body of Christ in Gig Harbor is hosting Drs. Les and Leslie Parrott for a marriage event called “Fight Night” at Peninsula High School. The Parrotts are nationally known experts in the field of marriage. The two have authored/co-authored over thirty books, one of the best known being Saving Your Marriage Before It Starts.
Seating at Fight Night is limited to 500 people. So if you have not already registered we encourage you to go to the Chapel Hill website and sign up immediately.
The Parrotts have adapted the concepts in their book into a new online marriage assessment tool called “SYMBIS” which stands for Saving Your Marriage Before It Starts. Chapel Hill has a small group of trained SYMBIS counselors who are able to help couples process the results of this assessment. The marriage tool is especially targeted for pre-marrieds up to ten years of marriage. If you are interested in taking the assessment with your spouse and sitting down with a couple to talk about the results, please call the church and ask to speak with Shannon Hardin, Coordinator of Counseling in the Renewal Department. She will help you access the SYMBIS assessment and get you connected with a trained couple.
Chapel Hill has several other resources to help strengthen marriages. The first is a new ministry initiative called “Intimate Encounters Marriage Groups.” These small groups are specifically focused on marriage using the Intimate Encounters curriculum. Jennifer and I have “beta tested” this curriculum with seven other couples over the past year, and we are now ready to launch three or four new groups following Fight Night. We’ve been impressed with the results of this group process in the lives of these couples.
The Renewal Department also offers two other counseling resources to strengthen marriages. The first is marriage counseling with trained marriage lay counselors. We have a small number of highly trained lay counselors who can help couples work through problem areas in marriage. This is a great resource very few churches have available. We also have licensed counselor Andy Ainsworth available for couples who want to dig deeper into marriage issues. For more information about any of these resources, call me or Shannon Hardin at the church. We would love to talk to you more!
Former President of Fuller Seminary, David Hubbard, believed that a healthy Christian marriage is the most effective way to witness to the post-Christian world in which we live. As we begin a new year consider taking time to invest in the most important relationship in your life. It will pay dividends not only in this lifetime but also in generations to come.
Grace and peace,
Pastor Bill