May 5, 2000
Column #975
CHRISTIAN CHURCHES AGREE ON STRATEGY TO SAVE
MARRIAGES
For the first time in history, key leaders of
America's Christian religious denominations and ecumenical groups
representing 241,000 churches and 159 million Americans met and agreed
to develop a strategy to strengthen marriage in America.
The meeting was called by Free Methodist
Bishop Kevin Mannoia, the new President of the National Association of
Evangelicals, a fellowship of 51 denominations with 45,000 churches
attended by 30 million people. He said, ''Marriage is foundational in
the life of the church and culture. Our role can change the rate of
divorce.We are coming together without an agenda to see if we have a
common understanding of our commitment to marriage.''
Mannoia added, inspiringly, ''The character of
the Kingdom of God is uniquely defined in marriage. Marriage was the
first relationship manifestation of the Kingdom of God. It epitomizes
those principles better than any other. This can best be seen in the
''one anothers'' of Scripture:
''Forgive one another as God in Christ forgave you.''
(Eph. 4:32; Col. 3:13)
''A new commandment to love one another as I have loved you.'' (John
13:34; 15:12)
''Confess your sins to one another.'' James 5:16
''Greet one another with a holy kiss.'' (Romans 16:16; I Cor.16:20; 2
Cor. 13:12
''Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.'' (Eph. 5:21)
Finally, he concluded, ''If we don't get
marriage right, we will miss the Kingdom of God. Marriage is
interdependent, mutually submissive, transparent. We are to pray for one
another, confess our sins to one another, greet one another with a holy
kiss.''
Dr. Eileen Lindner, Associate General
Secretary of the National Council of Churches of Christ (NCCC),
representing 35 Mainline Protestant, Orthodox and African American
denominations with 133,370 churches and 52 million members, confessed,
''It is a wonderment to me that in all these years, we have not found
common ground in marriage. I am an historian. At the National Council of
Churches, the word `marriage' appears only twice on our database. It is
clear we do not give attention to marriage counseling. There is no
literature which gives pastors resources. The National Council of
Churches is usually defined by its stands on domestic policy.''
Dr. Bill Merrell, Vice President of Southern
Baptists who have 40,870 local churches with 15.7 million members, said
''We are very decentralized. Our churches are independent and
autonomous. But we have a high degree of goal integration. We are
looking for ways to become more actively involved in strengthening
marriage.'' He readily conceded, ''Southern Baptists do not have a rich
tradition of ecumenism. It is not a compelling model,'' sparking some
laughter. However, he added, ''In what some call the `culture
wars,' we have a commonality on this issue.''
William Cardinal Keeler, Archbishop of
Baltimore and past President of the National Conference of Catholic
Bishops who oversee 19,584 parishes with 62 million members, said,
''Catholics view marriage as a sacrament, a covenant between the husband
and wife, which Christ sees as permanent.'' By the 1980's Catholic
dioceses adopted ''Common Marriage Policies'' which typically required
six months of marriage prep, the taking of a premarital inventory and
attending ''Pre-Cana'' classes. Keeler added, ''We offered a thorough
program of counseling by lay couples on such issues as communication and
finances.'' Result: Catholics have America's lowest rate.
My wife, Harriet and I were then asked to
summarize how we have helped clergy in 125 cities adopt ''Community
Marriage Policies'' that have brought divorce rates down in dozens of
cities by as much as one-third (in El Paso and Kansas City, KS). These
covenants have involved Mainline and Evangelical Protestants working at
the grassroots with Catholics and some Jews.
Therefore, these national leaders pledged a
collaborative four-pronged effort to involve top denominational leaders
to make marriage a priority with a goal to push down the divorce rate:
-
Organize a series of regional
conferences to be attended by bishop-level executives of
the different Christian traditions perhaps as many as 16 over several
years.
-
Draft a statement of goals for
strengthening marriage by making it a priority in local
churches and by underscoring the importance of marriage to the broader
culture a statement of
principles that a wide range of Christian leaders could sign.
-
Lend the moral
authority of organized Christianity endorsing the importance of
marriage in an advertising campaign that might be adopted by the Ad
Council.
- Agree on a World Marriage Day that honors God's first
institution, perhaps endorsing a
campaign already begun by Catholics on the Sunday closest to
Valentine's Day.
Dr. Edward Foggs, NAE Chairman and the first
black General Director of the Church of God (Anderson) said later, ''It
is significant that religious leaders in particular recognize that we
need to address the problem in some united effort. This effort offers
some excellent possibilities for helping the nation address the
problem.''
Copyright 2000 Michael J. McManus. |
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