Spring 2001 Facing Bench

Marriages Enriched

Two churches meet the needs of married couples in two very positive yet different ways.

Jackson Friends offers Hi-Tech Outreach Ministry:

Jackson Friends recently offered satellite hookup for a Marriage Enrichment Seminar presented by Gary Smalley. “Be Your Mate’s Best Friend” Smalley Satellite Seminar was being filmed live in Branson, Missouri, with almost 3000 people in attendance. Thanks to state-of-the-art satellite technology, it was also broadcast to more than 230 church sites across the country. Jackson Friends Church in Massillon, Ohio, provided one of those locations. 103 people from the community attended the conference via Jackson Friends. The seminar was another outreach to the community offered through Jackson Friends. From that initial weekend, 15 couples have continued to meet on Wednesday evenings at the church to support each other and to explore additional topics related to marriage and family. Plans are already underway to host another Couples Conference on April 19-20, 2002.

Submitted by Galen Oakes, Jackson Friends

Canton Friends offers Intensive Marriage Rebuilding

For five consecutive Tuesday nights, March 6 through April 3rd, couples gathered to seek God’s hope and help for struggling, hurting marriages. Our twelve Minstry Team couples ministered to twenty-four couples. Each night there was a 50 minute teaching, a testimony from a couple who have experienced the power of God to change their marriage, a snack break, a short video drama, and then table discussions led by the Ministry Team couples.

The topics included: Rebuilding a Climate of Respect; Forgiveness; Anger and Communication; Rebuilding Trust; Understanding and Accepting Your Differences.

Many victories were won during these weeks. Seeing these couples move from week one, where tensions were thick, to week five with a much more relaxed atmosphere was significant in itself. Most were helped just by knowing and seeing others who have, and are struggling. We received many words of thanks and most did not want the sessions to end.

Above all, the most encouraging thing was that eleven (11) individuals indicated that they trusted Christ for salvation during the workshop!! Sixteen (16) indicated that they had committed to living their life by God’s principles and twenty-four (24) placed their marriage in God’s hands.

Submitted by Stan Hinshaw, Canton Friends

I Asked to Go Where God Was Going

I asked to go where God was going today.
A sharp departure from my usual way.
Hurriedly each day approaching the Lord,
I somewhat casually launch an up-turned word.
“Come with me God and bless my plans,
Bring success to what my hands
Find to do on this busy day
Protect me from what might disrupt my play
Which I’ve already written in my mind,
To produce on a stage which I will find.”

But this dawn as the first rays broke
A circumspect, humble prayer I spoke:
“Today, I’ll go with you Lord, where You want,
You take the lead on this day’s jaunt.”
I felt smugly secure about my wise choice
To follow Him and heed His voice,
And then, I began to wonder just where
We would go, what would we share?

Perhaps God would take me to show me His glory
Using me to change the course of a nation’s life story,
Surely He’d reveal to me some oblique mystery
Or show me the secrets of all of life’s history.
At least He would perform some miraculous wonder
That would quell all my doubts and my fears put asunder.

But God in His wisdom did not take me there,
Instead...
He led...
Beside the still waters,
Downshifting my pace, until I could hear
And see and be
Quiet.
Then in the calm, He said, “Follow me”.
I looked, I saw - I knew the mystery,
I beheld the wonder,
I saw Jesus the Lord and Savior, kneel under...
The cross.

What I had asked was, to go where He went,
I thought I knew just what that meant.
But He said to me, “If you’re to come my way,
Take up your cross every day.
Be one of the few who self will deny
To truly follow - you must die,
Then in me new life you will find,
I’ll wash you and cleanse you and renew your mind,
I’ll fill you with love and joy unknown,
But you must be willing to make My will your own.”

I looked at his face and I saw in his eyes
A truth that we often miss in our lives,
I determined that day, that no more would I plead
For Jesus the King to follow my lead,
Each morning, my heart will be eager to say:
“God, can I go where you’re going today?”

Written by David Crisp, Nov. 30, 1999