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Category Archives: sexuality

A Couple's Prayer for 2014

Geri and I have been praying this prayer each day for our marriage as it articulates our vision as we enter into 2014. If you are married, pray it for your marriage several times a day. And if you are single, pray it for the marriages in your church. It is a prayer filled with a rich theology that the sexual love between a man and woman is the closest thing we have to the intimacy of the Trinity and the passionate life-giving desire God has for each of us. (This is adapted from a pamphlet distributed by the Pastoral and Matrimonial Renewal Center.) Lord, grant us the strength to answer your call to become a living sign of your love. Make our love for each other like your love for us: passionate, permanent, intimate, unconditional, and life giving. May we be as present to each other as you are to us, so that all the. Read more.

Christian Marriage (and Sexuality) as a Sign and Wonder: Part 2

We lead out of our marriages as leaders. The center of this marriage is a passionate sexual atmosphere that serves as the power source for the relationship.  Since Geri and I started our emotionally healthy spirituality journey in 1996, we had a deep sense that our sexuality and spirituality were deeply connected. We have spent almost eighteen years unpacking that truth. At a New Life Fellowship retreat this past weekend, Ron and Kathy Ferrer, founders of Living in Love, shared 4 wrong attitudes that lower the sexual atmosphere of couples. 1. Sex is Fun. Most people have the attitude that you work before you play. And since sex is play, all your work must get done first (leaving little energy, if any, to cultivate a great sex life). This is very different from seeing sex as a serious responsibility for each spouse to reveal God’s love to one another and the world. 2. Sex is Something We Do. Lovemaking. Read more.

Christian Marriage (and Sexuality) as a Sign and Wonder: Part 2

We lead out of our marriages as leaders. The center of this marriage is a passionate sexual atmosphere that serves as the power source for the relationship.  Since Geri and I started our emotionally healthy spirituality journey in 1996, we had a deep sense that our sexuality and spirituality were deeply connected. We have spent almost eighteen years unpacking that truth. At a New Life Fellowship retreat this past weekend, Ron and Kathy Ferrer, founders of Living in Love, shared 4 wrong attitudes that lower the sexual atmosphere of couples. 1. Sex is Fun. Most people have the attitude that you work before you play. And since sex is play, all your work must get done first (leaving little energy, if any, to cultivate a great sex life). This is very different from seeing sex as a serious responsibility for each spouse to reveal God’s love to one another and the world. 2. Sex is Something. Read more.

Christian Marriage as a Sign and Wonder- Part 1

A pillar of emotionally healthy spirituality is a theology that we lead out of our marriage. This past weekend, Geri and I hosted a marriage weekend with Ron and Kathy Ferrer, founders of Living in Love.The following are a very few of the highlights I hope to integrate more deeply into our marriage and the Emotionally Healthy Leadership Conference May 6-8th: 1. Marriage is a life work – a vocation with a mission. We are “sent” by God to our spouse to love passionately, permanently, intimately, totally, and unconditionally. 2. My first call in life is to be living sign of His love to the church/world in my marriage. I am to be present to Geri as God is to me. 3. Christian marriage is meant to be lived in an aura of sexual chemistry and respect. 4. To raise my children in love, I have to make love. 5. When I make what is important to. Read more.

Christian Marriage as a Sign and Wonder- Part 1

A pillar of emotionally healthy spirituality is a theology that we lead out of our marriage. This past weekend, Geri and I hosted a marriage weekend with Ron and Kathy Ferrer, founders of Living in Love.The following are a very few of the highlights I hope to integrate more deeply into our marriage and the Emotionally Healthy Leadership Conference May 6-8th: 1. Marriage is a life work – a vocation with a mission. We are “sent” by God to our spouse to love passionately, permanently, intimately, totally, and unconditionally. 2. My first call in life is to be living sign of His love to the church/world in my marriage. I am to be present to Geri as God is to me. 3. Christian marriage is meant to be lived in an aura of sexual chemistry and respect. 4. To raise my children in love, I have to make love. 5. When I make what is. Read more.

Is Evangelicalism Exhausted?

This question was uttered by Gordon MacDonald during a recent leadership meeting at New Life. It has caused me to wonder also: “Might it be true?” He noted three things: Society is unraveling and evangelicalism has few answers. Research studies, like Reveal, seem to confirm that mega-churches do no grow deep Christians. Those who do go “deeper” with Christ often leave. 80% of the quotes in evangelical books are from outside our tradition, i.e. from Roman Catholics and the Orthodox believers. Consider also the following data coming out of recent research studies: Studies by several different organizations suggest that about half of men attending church are involved in pornography (Genung, 2005). A significant minority of self-identified born-again Christians, particularly those under 35, has cohabited, and divorce rates are just as high among born-again Christians as among other groups (Barna Research Group, 2001). An estimated 8 out of 10 youth from evangelical Christian homes walk. Read more.