Our world, and indeed our church, seem to be built around a -couples culture-. From popular music to supermarket offers to -family- events, being single can mean being the odd one out. Kate Wharton considers the challenges facing singles, addressing the issues of being complete without an -other half-, staying pure, being single again after divorce or bereavement, and dealing with pressures from both church and society. Kate reminds us that Jesus comes to bring -life to the full-, whatever our marital status. -When we are sold out for God,- she says, -then life will be the very best that it can be ' whether married or single, with children or without ' because we will be on our way to becoming who we were created to be.- Kate shows us how we can be single and whole.
Autorentext
Kate is Vicar of St. George's Church in Everton, Liverpool. Before ordination she worked as a Speech & Language Therapist and then as a Church Pastoral Assistant. She enjoys travelling, playing badminton, watching football, and going out with friends. She is a regular speaker at New Wine. She has been single for 33 years!
Zusammenfassung
The 'couples culture' is everywhere: church family events, valentine’s day, cinema, popular music and even supermarket offers. Being single can often mean you are singled-out. But Kate wants to encourage Christians, holding singleness up as a unique opportunity for holiness, personal development and Christian living. In her book, Kate tackles the common challenges many face when reconciling their relational choices: - Issues of Identity: church roles, social invitations and being whole without an 'other half'- Finance: learning to live alone when it's cheaper to live with others- Sexual Pressure: staying pure, in thinking as well as action- Friendship: how to be 'just friends' with the opposite sex- Calling: when the cost of obedience is to stay single- Divorce or Bereavement: learning to be single again "When we are sold out for God," she says, "then life will be the very best that it can be - whether married or single, with children or without - because we will be on our way to becoming who we were created to be."
Inhalt
Contents
Acknowledgments 9
Foreword 13
Introduction 15
1 Wholly single 21
2 Living a God-obsessed life in a marriage-obsessed church 49
3 Purely single 77
4 Living a God-obsessed life in a sex-obsessed world 97
5 Single again 125
6 Living together 147
7 Happily ever after... 171
Recommended reading 189
Notes 190