May 2010
Men’s Ministry Best Practices: The Forgotten Friendship: Your Wife
Avoiding Common Failures by Steve Johnson
I have talked to dozens of men who read their Bibles and pray almost every day, but they have grown weary of pursuing a relationship with their wife. And men who do not persevere in pursuing their wives on a more intimate level than sex will eventually self-destruct. Attaining a solid friendship with your wife will make the picture of your life come into focus. Here are some practical steps to consider:
- Decide to do it: There’s nothing better for you than a close friendship with your wife, and nothing worse than living separately under the same roof.
- Enlist your wife’s support: Let her know you’re ready to make some changes. Begin by deciding on some things you’d enjoy doing together.
- Find snippets of time each day to be alone together, to talk, to walk, or just unwind after a long day: Teach the kids to respect these private times.
- Schedule time away: It may be a date night each week, an overnight each quarter, or a vacation for the two of you, without the kids.
- Talk about everything: Don’t wait until the kids are gone to learn how; start today.
- Develop hobbies you can do together: Games, crafts, sports, or church activities.
- Connect spiritually: The closer you grow to God, the closer you will grow to each other.
- Get on automatic pilot: When a plane veers off course, the auto pilot guides it back. In a marriage, auto pilot is giving each other permission to say, “It feels like we’re heading off course. How can we get back on track?”
Make a commitment to these action steps, then watch your marriage and leadership take a turn in the right direction.
Read the other articles in this issue:
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