Topic(s):   Church, Marriage

Todd Clippard

While half of all marriages in the US fail, this does not necessarily make singles the largest group in the church. In reality, most people who marry stay married to the same person for life. The percentages are skewed because of so many people who marry numerous times. I read the other day where Mickey Rooney had been married 7 or 8 times, Liz Taylor has been married more than a half dozen times, and I know of one woman in my home county who has been married nine times! This means for every one of these marriages, there must be an equal number of marriages still intact.

Additionally, not all singles have the same needs. There are some who are single by choice, and therefore are happy in their present state. Others are single but looking for mates. Still others are single due to divorce. And finally some are single due to being widowed. (Within this final group, many are aged and not considering remarriage while others may be seeking a mate.) I think one can see that a single ministry or effort to accommodate all these people would not be feasible.

No one should ever feel excluded in the church (1 Corinthians 12:25-27). But I'm not sure what a "single again" class might accomplish. Bible class is for studying the Bible. If those who are "single again" wanted to meet for their own class, I wouldn't necessarily have a problem with it, but what would be the point? If you want to discuss your feelings and create fellowship among this group, why not meet sometime during the week where you would be free to pursue a course of discussion or allow the discussion to go in whatever direction the leader might allow? To me, this seems better.

Finally, Paul's discussion concerning the "better" nature of being single is set in the context of a church about to undergo extreme persecution. Paul advises the single to remain single due to the "present distress" (1 Corinthians 7:26). He also encourages the married to stay that way (v 27). The point Paul is making is this -- there are more important issues at hand than seeking a mate and to be prepared to devote all your attentions to remaining faithful in the face of opposition and persecution. There is no superiority in being single over being married.