Why I Like Performing Weddings

This past summer I have had the opportunity to perform two weddings. The first was for a family member, my sister-in-law, and the other was for a couple I met for the first time this spring. Being involved in my sister-in-law’s wedding was indeed special because of the family connection and the years I had known my wife’s little sister; but after having done the second wedding a couple of weeks ago I’ve come to realize that the act of performing a wedding is in itself a very gratifying emotional experience. Wedding may be a bit of a pain to organize and plan, and pre-marital counseling, while interesting, certainly isn’t “fun”, but standing in front of two people’s friends and families during one of the most important days of their lives is one of the real cool bonuses of being a pastor. Part of the reason why I enjoy wedding is because I’m such a believer in marriage. I know Paul cautioned us about the extra duty that a man of God would have if he was married, but I don’t know how any pastor can survive without having a wife there at his side. We men may be a pain, but our wives are indispensable. God knew what he was doing when he created Eve for Adam, a “suitable helper” indeed. If there is one thing the church in America today can do to reverse the negative course our culture has endured it is to shore up our support of marriage WITHIN the church. We need to support each and every marriage within our congregation, encourage young people to seek marriage (instead of the false and cruel hope of living together), care for widows and widowers, and in general do whatever we can to ensure that when people think of First Baptist Church of Palo, they think of happy marriages. Scripture commands us along this path, and the happy faces I witnessed exchanging vows confirms it.