Pastoral Advice On Marital Strife: Wisdom From Two Millennia Of Christian Thinkers -- By: Robert L. Plummer

Journal: Southern Baptist Journal of Theology
Volume: SBJT 20:3 (Fall 2016)
Article: Pastoral Advice On Marital Strife: Wisdom From Two Millennia Of Christian Thinkers
Author: Robert L. Plummer


Pastoral Advice On Marital Strife: Wisdom From Two Millennia Of Christian Thinkers1

Robert L. Plummer

&

Matthew D. Haste

Robert L. Plummer is Chairman of the New Testament Department and Professor of New Testament Interpretation at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, where he also earned his PhD in New Testament. Dr. Plummer has written numerous articles in such journals as Westminster Theological Journal, Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, New Holman Bible Dictionary, and The Southern Baptist Journal of Theology. He has written or edited several books, including 40 Questions About Interpreting the Bible (Kregel, 2010), Journeys of Faith (Zondervan, 2012), Paul’s Missionary Methods (co-edited, InterVarsity Press, 2012), The Story of Scripture (Kregel, 2013), Understanding the Bible (Kregel, 2013). In addition, Dr. Plummer has co-authored Held in Honor: Wisdom for Your Marriage from Voices of the Past (with Matthew Haste, Christian Focus, 2015) and Going Deeper with New Testament Greek (B&H, 2016). Dr. Plummer is founder and host of The Daily Dose of Greek screencast.

Matthew D. Haste is Associate Professor of Ministry Studies at Columbia International University Seminary and School of Ministry, Columbia, SC. He earned his PhD from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is the co-author with Robert Plummer of Held in Honor: Wisdom for Your Marriage from Voices of the Past (Christian Focus, 2015). Dr. Haste also serves as Pastor of Preaching at Midland Church, Columbia, SC.

Introduction

Most modern evangelical books on marriage are like meteors—they flash brilliantly out of the dark heavens for a brief moment—only to be swallowed up by the black canvass of forgetfulness as we await the next shooting star of

the Christian publishing industry. The fact is, evangelical advice on marriage is often trendy, trite, and thus, after a few years, out-of-print.

As a pastor, as well as professor, I (Robert) have been struck by the high percentage of Christian marriages that struggle to maintain unity, love, and commitment. Yet, should I be surprised? If I am honest about my own marriage, I can think of many struggles, disappointments, and conflicts that my wife and I have faced. As one prominent Christian pastor once remarked to me about the marriages described in the Bible, “Every one of them is dysfunctional.”

As I have counseled married couples both at my seminary and at my local church, one...

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