Marital challenges amongst the leaders

As we discussed in a previous course, sometimes church leaders tend to forget that their first ministry is at home. Learning to minister to those in your own household is where one gains the training of how to minister to other families. In 1 Timothy 3:5 (NLT) it declares, If a man cannot manage his own household, how can he take care of God’s church. Sometimes some leaders can get so caught up in ministry that they tend to forget that it is very important to make sure they have a healthy and balanced marriage. Just as Jesus came and walked the earth to give mankind the perfect example of how we are to walk this life out, we too are to be an example of Jesus in the earth. In 1 Corinthians 11:1 (NLT) Paul said, And you should imitate me, just as I imitate Christ. God created marriage and His desire is for our earthly marriages to resemble His marriage to the church. Healthy marriages are vital amongst leaders because they are to set examples of what a healthy marriage looks like. It is also vital because if the leaders' marriages aren’t healthy, they cannot provide the care or counseling to the members that may need help with their marriages. Every believer is considered to be the church, the bride of Christ. If we don't know how to treat our earthly spouses, it may reveal that there are also some issues in our relationship with God. Thee lack of a healthy marriage could affect the congregation in their personal marriages and their relationship with God.

Yashica,

Very well stated, I believe also that leaders whether male or female can get so caught up in the ministry that I lose focus on family. I mentioned also that the church is the bride of church. The passage in Ephesians 5:22-33 compares the union of a husband and wife to that of Christ and the church. The bride symbolizes the church, which is the body of believers who have trusted in Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and have received eternal life. The neglect of the husband or the wife because we have just as many women in the ministry as men, but the wife is yet subject to her husband. I quoted a passage that Billy Graham stated some years ago that he regretted being away from home as much as he was and admitted some of the travel could have been put off. This great leader realized the importance of family and his neglect of being home, but to God be the Glory, he had Ruth a wife that stayed by his side. In today's society not all women and men are equipped to do sustain in a marriage to this caliber, especially if they are not receiving the love and nurture they need. Are leaders thinking that their ministry should come before everyone and everything? Is there a misconception with the Exodus 20:3 (KJV) Thou should have no other gods (idol) before me, not that the spouse is a God, but we should not make anything a god, for instance material things, etc., what are leaders really thinking when it comes to family. What are your thoughts?