Just How Married Do You Want to Be?: Practicing Oneness in Marriage - Softcover

Sumner, Jim; Sumner, Sarah

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0830833935 ISBN 13: 9780830833931

Publisher: IVP Books, 2008

Synopsis

Men Are from Strip Clubs. Women Are from Seminary. Jim and Sarah Sumner met at church. Jim, a new Christian and former male stripper, impressed Sarah with his desire to grow in his faith and to see people meet the God he had met. Sarah, a Ph.D. in theology and a division leader in evangelism, impressed Jim with her depth of knowledge and heart for discipleship. Their mutual admiration slowly turned to love, and the two were married. Just how married they're becoming is the story of this book. Sarah and Jim lay out a fresh approach to how husbands and wives relate biblically in marriage. In a culture where gender roles are often misunderstood, the Bible's teaching on the marital relationship is made more complex than it need be. What does it mean when we read that "the husband is the head of the wife"? How should the husband's headship play out when married couples deal with such issues as conflict and decision-making? Read this book and discover a fresh vision for how couples can become "one flesh" in a marriage that honors God.

About this title

About the Author

Jim Sumner is on staff at NewSong Church in San Dimas, California.

Review

"Every Christian couple contemplating marriage can profit from this highly personal and thoughtful address." (Cornelius Plantinga Jr., president and Charles W. Colson Professor of Theology, Calvin Theological Seminary)

"Jim and Sarah Sumner's book provides a biblical model for marriage, enabling you to strengthen your relationship's foundation. They show you that marriage is a covenant and a commitment, not just feelings and emotions. They teach you how to get together on the vertical, so that things will go well on the horizontal. This emphasis on the primacy of the spiritual is refreshing." (Barry C. Black, Ph.D., chaplain to the U.S. Senate)

"Matching faithful, Christ-centered scriptural exposition with honest, down-to-earth sharing, the Sumners show how marriage minus role-play becomes relationally real. This is a truly health-giving read." (J. I. Packer, author of Knowing God)

"Just How Married Do You Want to Be? delivers the best of both worlds--an insightful, fresh, biblical framework for marriage along with real-world application. Jim and Sarah's straightforward honesty is compelling, raw and powerful. This is a great marriage resource not simply to read but to reflect on and study." (Jud Wilhite, senior pastor, Central Christian Church, Las Vegas, and author of Stripped: Uncensored Grace on the Streets of Vegas)

"Jim and Sarah Sumner have written perhaps the most honest marriage book we have ever read--an honesty born of the real-life pain and struggle of two people with very different backgrounds and personalities. The really good news is that they have looked straight into the heart of those differences and discovered that Jesus is the one who makes marriages work. Here is a marriage book without syrupy formulas or platitudes that tells us the truth that Jesus works through flawed vessels to create something beautiful." (Frank James, president, Reformed Theological Seminary--Orlando, and Carolyn James, author of The Gospel of Ruth)

"Sarah and Jim's book has theological depth, and is a great and timely teaching tool for changing the way people think about marriage, Christ and the church." (Chuck Colson, founder, Prison Fellowship)

"Just How Married Do You Want to Be? is the memoir of a marriage--riveting, honest, self-revelatory and full of evidences of the grace and mercy of Christ--and a reexamination of the meaning of headship in marriage. Readers will walk away from this book with a vivid memory of the fascinating courtship and marital journey of Jim and Sarah Sumner, and with important new insights related to a biblical theology of marriage. I highly recommend this book." (Dr. David P. Gushee, Distinguished University Professor of Christian Ethics, McAfee School of Theology, and president, Evangelicals for Human Rights)

"We each read Sarah and Jim's book in one sitting . . . and since then we have gone back and reread several passages that we found especially helpful. One of the things that we love about Just How Married Do You Want to Be? is that it contains profound biblical theology that is incredibly practical. We believe you will find this book to be an enjoyable read that has the potential to change your marriage." (Greg and Julie Nettle, senior pastor and worship leader, Rivertree Christian Church, Massillon, Ohio)

"'More than ever' is our response to Jim and Sarah's literary question, just how married do you want to be?--and we're celebrating fifty years of practicing oneness!" (Stuart and Jill Briscoe, authors and speakers on "Telling the Truth")

About this edition

• Publisher: IVP Books
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 0830833935
• ISBN 13: 9780830833931
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 178