Carlyn and I were privileged to attend a training yesterday at Saddleback's main campus in Lake Forrest. Several of the campuses sent representatives to be trained as Marriage Mentors. We met two couples, Fred & Linda from the Anaheim campus and Steve & Sherry from the Irving North campus. Hey guys!
Todd Olthoff, pastor of the Counseling and Couples Ministry of Saddleback Church, led the training. He shared how the five purposes of the church can be applied to marriages to help build them too. The purposes are;
Honor (worship)
Relational Intimacy (fellowship)
Spiritual Intimacy (discipleship)
Partnership (ministry)
Message (mission)
As he was teaching, I was blown away how many of his points lined up perfectly with the points I made in my book, The WE Couple in a ME World! For instance, he said;
"Resist your fear of losing and choosing to love your spouse by engaging him/her as something God calls us to do." He explained that when one wins, actually both lose. I've addressed this too. I say, couples have to go for the win-win instead, where both work things through to the best decision that boosts their WE!
"Relational Intimacy involves a shift in priorities." He cited Ephesians 5:31, which says, "For this cause a man shall leave his father and mother." I also addressed this age old problem when "Mamma's boys" and "Daddy's girls" need to cut those apron strings and cleave (be united) to each other instead. You won't believe how much of a problem this is even today!
"If there is not an atmosphere of Honor, Repentance, Forgiveness, and Grace then our personal spiritual lives are negatively affected." This atmosphere in my book is referred to as "unconditional love" - the love that says, "No matter what you do or say, I am committed to you and will do my part to love you, just like God does for me." When a couple lives in this type of atmosphere, it eliminates fear. Without fear, the couple can be transparent and will be allowed to be themselves. This is the type of healthy environment all couples can thrive in.
So many more, but that's all for now. I'm excited to marry these two tools, his videos and my book, to bless and build marriages all over the globe!
Jazzing Up Your Marriage,
Coach Glen
