Church to offer Christian marriage seminar
Harvest Time Ministries in Brownsville is prepared to help couples who need a little support. The church will offer its first Christian marriage seminar this Friday and Saturday from 7 to 9 p.m.
“We want to teach people how to have a healthy marriage that’s life lasting,’ said the Rev. Michael Peton, senior pastor. “Statistics say that one in every two marriages ends in divorce. You can build a healthy marriage, and our advice is that it can be a fun marriage as well.’
“We feel marriage is the first institution God ordained,’ said the Rev. Ernest Ross, assistant pastor. “We see in society now a big attack on marriage, not just the sanctity but all aspects: what a husband’s position in the family is, what the wife’s position is. Not that one is higher than the other, but that they are equals. God created men and women, not that one is submissive to the other but that they are submissive to each other.’
Ross also noted that the marriage of the parents will affect the children.
“If a child doesn’t come from a stable home, you have kids raised without any understanding of what marriage is. It will affect them in all aspects of their lives,’ he said.
Ross and Peton, who are both married, will teach the seminar, which is open to married couples and engaged couples as well as individuals. Married couples who attend both sessions will be invited to participate in a ceremony to renew their vows.
Peton said the seminar will start off by instructing couples what God requires of a Christian marriage and will talk about the roles of a husband and a wife.
The seminar will include discussion on behavior that can kill the love in a marriage, such as “doing things as an individual, always wanting your own way and not being able to compromise or see the needs of the other person,’ said Peton. “A lack of communication – I think one of the biggest things that kills love in a marriage is that people forget to talk to each other. And for any marriage to be successful, it has to be centered and built on Jesus Christ.’
People may have the wrong ideas about marriage, the pastors believe, because they can become confused by images they see in the media.
“We feel the secular media does not always have a good portrayal of husbands and wives – in television, even books, magazines and ads,’ said Ross.
He said television shows like “According to Jim’ are funny but often paint husbands as Neanderthals with little balance and unity between the couple.
“Marriage should be lifted up to a standard, God’s standard,’ he said.
Ross said men sometimes practice a false machismo that can hurt their marriage.
“My grandfather said, ‘Men don’t cry,’ and that’s wrong, but it’s ingrained in men from their families and movies,’ he said. “They carry that over to their marriage. They can’t show emotion. They rule with an iron fist, and that’s wrong. Men should love their wives as Christ loved the church. It’s the same thing with wives. They sometimes have a false idea of what a wife should be.’
Ross said husbands and wives who work together to build their marriage “grow closer to each other, more in love and closer to God.’
Peton also noted, “Today there are a lot of marriages which are not as vibrant as they should be. I think a lot of people need to have their love rekindled so they can appreciate the gift that God has given them when he gave them each other. We want to rekindle that spark of love they once had so they can have a healthy, happy and holy marriage.’
Harvest Time Ministries Christian Church is located at 213 Sixth St., Brownsville. There is no need to register and no fee for the seminar, but an offering will be taken. For more information, check the Web site at www.harvesttimechurch.4t.com.