Tuesday is for Preaching
Relevant Magazine, “State of the Union,” July/August 2014, p. 67. (An article on marriage in America)
“Marriage and Millennials:
26% are currently married.
69% of those who aren’t married want to get married.
62% were raised by both parents.”
Why this is alarming:
- The 69% figure is strikingly low. In the 1970’s I was doing talks on college campuses and would regularly ask this question of my mixed audience of men and women. “How many of you want to meet, fall in love, get married and remain married to that person for the rest of your lives?“ Virtually, every hand in the room, usually between 30-80 people, would go up. Not so today.
,,,,, - That number means 31% don’t want to get married. The “tipping point” for radical societal change on social issues is somewhere between 11 and 17%. (See Malcolm Gladwell’s, THE TIPPING POINT.) If marriage continues to fall out of favor, culture as we know it will radically change.
vvvv - The 62% number suggests that culture not parents are having a determinative impact on millennial thought related to marriage. Not surprising when we see the numbers from this age group who have no problem with same-sex marriage. While there are multiple reasonings behind this decline, this suggests to me that these kids did not receive either a biblically compelling defense of traditional marriage or a biblically attractive example of marriage as it is intended by God.
Pastor: Will you put your finger in the dike and begin to shore up the shaking foundations of marriage?
- When was the last time you preached on the beauty of marriage as God intended?
- When was the last time you preached a series on the purposes of marriage?
- When did you last risk going against the tide and preach a series defending marriage between a man and woman as the only definition of marriage?
- When will you get this in your preaching calendar?
Contact me for a bibliography if you need help for your next preaching series.
ChosenRebel's Blog 
Reblogged this on Christian Heritage News.
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I love this, thank you. It’s really heartbreaking to witness. Marriage is often portrayed in such a negative light within our culture, it’s not surprising that so many people are leery of it. Not long ago we reached the tipping point, the number of single people in the US outnumbered the number of married people. The implications are huge and far reaching, economically, emotionally, spiritually.
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Yes the implications are huge and unfortunately our leaders seem to be deaf and blind to what all this portends for the future. Here’s a book recommendation that gives a more positive and beautiful picture of what marriage can and should be under God’s direction:
This Momentary Marriage, by John Piper.
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I was just having a similar discussion with a group of women yesterday on why it is vital that we take Titus 2 seriously: so we don’t malign the word of God. As a church culture, it seems we have fallen out of the practice of one-on-one discipleship and mentoring where God’s word is consistently taught to those coming up. As a result, the younger generation is more influenced by the worldly culture than by the truth found in God’s Word and their beliefs and desires reflect this trend. It is time we starting taking these women (and men) under our wings and gently guide them back toward the truth!
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Amen Cindy! Here’s a couple of other links along that line.
https://chosenrebel.me/2010/02/24/older-men-teaching-younger/
https://chosenrebel.me/2011/12/04/evaluating-spiritual-formation-is-it-a-better-term-than-making-disciples/
Good to hear from you again. Did you and the family make your move to the West?
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Yes we did, by the grace of God! We are settled here in Bellingham and enjoying the beautiful scenery and the welcoming people. Thanks for asking and please keep blogging!
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Wow that’s a small number who’s married in my generation…
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I agree that cohabitation is wrong, but how about people like me who are single in every sense of the word and who cannot or just don’t want to get married right now for what ever reason. Is that so bad? Jesus was single. Paul was single. I think sometimes I feel ignored or overlooked by certain people just because I am single and don’ t have the same priorities as married people do.
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Amen Patricia. Churches need to work hard to give a significant “place at the table” for singles in ministry as well as fellowship.
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