Righteous Romance week one recap...

Last week, we started our new series called "Righteous Romance: a Biblical study in singleness, dating, and marriage" (Yup, it can be difficult to come up simple titles for complicated issues). If you missed it, here's a recap of what the study is NOT going to be about:

1) An unbalanced and unhealthy focus on dating and marriage. It’s easy for singles (and everyone!) to view romantic relationships as one of the main goals in life. Romantic relationships have been an idol throughout history that have pulled people away from the most important relationship, which is to be centered on the Lord. The purpose of this study is not to put romantic relationships on a pedestal. In this study, we will not exalt marriage above singleness, even though there is a subtle tendency in the church to do so.

2) A “how to” study that teaches how to find a spouse based on man-made formulas. It will not help you with your online dating profile or how to smoothly articulate a pickup line to land your next date. It will not be a “rules-based” approach to dating, and we will not dogmatically teach regulations that encourage legalism and empty “rule-following.”

3) A study that focuses more on what the Christian dating books teach than on what the Bible has to say. We will also try hard to avoid it becoming a study where everyone voices their own opinion and no authoritative, Biblical principles are established.

4) This study is not about making the “grey areas” into something that is black and white. No, it will not say that you have to date for 12.2 months before you have to be engaged or that giving your sweetie a goodnight kiss is ungodly. We will also not water down clear Biblical principles and avoid calling sin for what it is (sex outside of marriage, living selfishly, acting out in pride, etc).

So, what IS this study all about???

1) This study IS about giving glory to God by learning to have a closer relationship with Him. He is the focus of this study… not singleness, proper dating methods, or marriage. As we learn to trust Him more in life, we will see everything in life as an opportunity for growth. It is about glorifying God in everything we do! We often go to God wanting to learn how to do relationships better… and there’s nothing wrong with that, but often in that process, we fail to realize that everything revolves around our relationship with Him.

2) This study will seek to better understand Biblical principles as to avoid legalism and “rule following.”

3) This study is about providing an environment to where we can come and share our thoughts and questions on the various topics of discussion. We want to be sensitive to others, with the goal to edify and encourage in the ways of God by going to His Word. The study won’t be about hearing a lecture but about discussion and wrestling through some of these challenging topics together.

4) This study will hopefully provide Biblical wisdom in how to have a healthy, Christ-centered relationship if that is God’s plan for your life. It will also help to equip you in the lives of those you know who are in a romantic relationships.

5) We want this to be a study to where you can ask questions!! As you can see in the post below, there are a TON of great questions already... and I'm sure there are more. So, come with a question and we will try hard to talk about it over the course of the next 13 weeks.

On a final note, you may be thinking, "Is this study for me??" This study is for you if: 1) You are hoping to be in a relationship 2) Are currently in a relationship 3) You know of someone who is single who wants to be in a relationship 4) You know of someone who is in a relationship 5)... HA! You get the point... wherever you may be, this study will be practical and meet you where you're at (and help you encourage those around you).

We meet every Monday at 7:00pm. Hope to see you there! For location info, email: 29eleven@mvcchurch.org

~AF