I recently picked up a copy of Mike Yaconelli's book, Messy Spirituality. If you haven't seen it, it is definitely worth a read. I think it would be an awesome book to use in a Sunday School class or Christian book club. He raises a lot of issues about how it's better to stumble along trying as best we can to follow Jesus than to stand firm on what we believe is solid ground, when what we are standing on is really only our own preconceived ideas about what we think church and spiritual people should be like.
In one section, Yaconelli tells the story about a young couple who went off and lived together before they were married, as so many do today. Their parents weren't happy about it, but what could they do? Eventually, the couple decided to get married, but then they found out that the woman was pregnant, so they decided to use the money they had saved for the wedding to spend on the new baby. They opted for a small courthouse wedding instead with two friends as witnesses.
Later,some friends of the couple got to thinking how much they had missed by not appropriately celebrating their wedding. They decided to throw them a wedding. They invited family and friends, had a big dinner, and a minister in the garden. Everybody told them how much they loved them, and everybody cried.
Some folks, however, thought this was inappropriate. They thought that it was condoning "unspiritual behavior" and perhaps it was. But this is where Mike Yaconelli shines. He said the nay-sayers would essentially be correct. "Christians don't condone unbiblical living; we redeem it. Now that is an awesome line!
Very nice - I have been asked several times if I would do a wedding because "Pastor so-and-so won't do it because we live together." I wonder what Pastor-so-and-so thinks is the solution for that? There is a church in Washington state that is offering "free weddings" to couples in that same situation...do the pre-marital counseling and the church will do the wedding and a small reception for free - I love this idea!
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