PLEASANT VALLEY CHURCH OF CHRIST
STATEMENT FROM THE ELDERS*
Introduction:
In our society, marriage is under attack. There are legal, social, cultural, and educational views and teachings which denigrate the value and tradition of marriage. As a result, marriage is not only marginalized; divorce rates have skyrocketed. As a church we want to stand against this trend.
Biblical View of Marriage and Divorce:
The Bible speaks of God’s plan for marriage and His view of divorce in several places. We feel that the Word of God plainly teaches that God established marriage (Gen. 2; Matt. 19:1-12), and that He regarded this as a permanent institution between a man and a woman (Mark 10:2-12; I Cor. 7:10-14). God also used marriage to teach us several important lessons about the characteristics He expects His people to emulate (i.e. respect, selflessness, service, forgiveness, and love [Eph. 5:22-23]).
Similarly, God’s teachings on divorce are plain. He hates divorce and Jesus made only one allowance for it in Matthew 19:9 (i.e., “marital unfaithfulness”).
The effects of divorce are far greater than just to the immediate family that is going through the divorce. Its ripples affect friends, relatives, and the community of faith.
Pleasant Valley’s Response:
We feel that the church has an obligation to encourage strong marriages and to discourage divorce. To that end, we pledge the following:
1. We will provide opportunities for marriage enrichment seminars, workshops, and classes for all our members. If finances are tight, we will provide scholarships to those who wish to attend.
2. We will ensure that there is periodic teaching from the pulpit on the subjects of marriage and divorce.
3. As your shepherds, we will make ourselves available to you for prayer, counsel, and encouragement. We want to help you through difficult times.
4. We will make opportunities available to you for professional counseling. We will help you cover the financial costs associated with counseling, should that be necessary.
5. We will continue to be innovative in exploring additional ways to help our members strengthen their marriages.
We know and are aware that, in spite of everyone’s best efforts, some of our members will experience the pain and trauma of divorce. When that happens to any of our members, we pledge to:
1. Love you and walk with you as you go through this journey. We want you to know that we are not perfect people and that we love you and want to lift you up with the grace of God.
2. Provide support for you and your family during this extremely difficult time in your life.
If your marriage is going well, we urge you to take steps to keep it that way. If you are having some difficulty, keep working on it because marriage is a treasure from God. Please call on us to help in whatever way we can.
~ Pleasant Valley Elders
* We acknowledge help received from a similar statement prepared by the elders of Downtown Church of Christ in Searcy, AR.
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