Issue 19 Single LivingBlog | Singleness: essential reading for preachers
Singleness: essential reading for preachers
Author: Andy PeckPost Date: 06.06.19
If I tell you that I am 47 years old and celebrate my 25th wedding anniversary this year you can see that singleness is not something that I have instant credibility to preach about. But there are a lot of topics that preachers have no trouble speaking on, despite having little if any personal experience: the end times (we haven’t been there, done that… yet), full-time secular work, or death and dying (although our time will come).
Recently I have been invited to speak in front of army officers, headteachers, social workers, students and business leaders. When asked to speak to people whose lifestyle is very different from mine, or on subjects I don’t feel confident about, I feel I have three options: to refuse the invitation, to pair up with someone who knows the issues better, or to throw myself into some research.
There are many advantages of pairing up with a single person to preach about singleness. Not only does it ensure that singles have a voice and a profile in your church, it can also reveal a lot about our own prejudices and preconceptions. Imagine a white person in the UK trying to speak on the challenges of race discrimination – it is difficult to talk with credibility on the emotional and spiritual impact without first-hand experience. Similarly, even though different people will reflect differently on their singleness, it is helpful to hear some personal experiences.
