Unequally Yoked: Does Your Church or Pastor Have A Written Policy About Marrying Believers to Unbelievers?
Almost every pastor I know has run into a painful issue: the daughter of some important figure in the church (perhaps a board member) sets up an appointment with her husband-to-be and asks if the pastor will officiate. The young man, however, does not profess to be a committed believer in Jesus.
From there, paths diverge and all kinds of things can happen. Some churches/pastors have a written policy that at least protects those individual from feeling targeted, if nothing else.
What about your church or yourself (If you are a pastor)? Do you simply say, “The Bible says….” or do you also have a policy that interprets the text in black and white terms.
Discussion might include exemptions (for example, a woman gets saved, has been living with a man for years and has several children with him, she is willing to get married to make things right and so is he, but he is not a believer and not wanting to become one; do you suggest they marry in court, not get married, etc.).
Poll Results
Unequally Yoked: Does Your Church or Pastor Have A Written Policy About Marrying Believers to Unbelievers?
Yes, my church has a written policy on this. Votes: 4
Yes, my pastor does but the church does not Votes: 1
Sort of; it is implied in one of our documents, but not clearly Votes: 2
No, we do not but we are working on it Votes: 0
No, and I am glad we do not Votes: 0
No Votes: 1
Other or unsure Votes: 4
- 9 views
I voted unsure only because I’m not sure if it is written down, per se, but it is policy. I know our pastor will NOT marry a believer and an unbeliever. He has publicly stated this. He also will not marry a couple if one is divorced. However, he that one is a personal preference. He understands that there are differing views on remarriage. Several of us on staff, in fact, are remarried after divorce.
Discussion