Denise Hoarding: Buried Alive Update, Articles S

The Hoppers (until 1981: Hopper Brothers and Connie) are a multi award-winning Southern Gospel group from North Carolina.They have performed together for several decades and have achieved significant popularity due to widening the playing field in Southern Gospel by incorporating Pop, country, and Rock music into their work.. Looking out on a forlorn landscape, he wondered "What could be done? Gospel Music News and Information & Home of the Diamond Awards. Harrison now uses the blog to also engage and debate fans and detractors of Then Sings My Soul. Who knew southern gospel was punk? The seven-shape system attempted to "improve the quality of congregational music making by teaching as many people as possible how to sight-read . A gospel musician who plays organ and piano. Lily Fishman Isaacs has a Jewish background. "No Regrets Yet" peaked at #36 on the Billboard charts in February 2004, but the label and Isaacs parted ways a couple months later with the second recording left unfinished. The origin of sacred harp can be traced back to the Appalachian Mountains in the early 1800s. What bothers me is that among conservative Christian circles, people would think that maybe Sandra didnt try hard enough for her marriage or that she is somehow at fault, Smith said. In 2003, gospel singer Kirk Talley was "outed" when . The kids started singing along with their father and The Crabb Family was formed. You'll hear a sweet southern blend of bluegrass, classic gospel, and southern gospel favorites! as well as those voices and perspectives that have found no other meaningful outlet for this type of conversation in the epistemologically cloistered world of southern gospel" (11). Gerald had four children: Aaron, Adam, Jason and Terah. They received rave reviews in Rolling Stone and People magazine and video airplay on MTV. She won 1. As Harrison says, southern gospel would not exist without "queers and their contributions as fans, songwriters, performers, producers, players, and industry executives." 2000 Southern Gospel Treasury Series (Word Records): God's Gonna Send Revival; . Part of HuffPost Religion. America and Kluck, Kluck, Kluck, Using Gospel Music's Secrets to Confront Black Homophobia, Review of Anthony Heilbut's 'The Fan Who Knew Too Much. Douglas Harrison, "'From Arkansas With Love': Evangelical Crisis Management and (White) Southern Gospel Music," Southern Spaces, 29 April 2014. Why do people say that forever is not altogether real in love and relationship. What type of electrical charge does a proton have? Theres a greater emphasis on extending grace in the evangelical community these days. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. In this message, you'll get clear, practical answers and an understanding of God's heart toward the marriage and family. Black gospel, with its call-and-response style, emphasizes the "power of the individual (the soloist) within the community (the congregation or audience and singers) to assert the self idiosyncratically (improvisation). Lance Ledbetter, Jesse P. Karlsberg, etal. You'll be blessed. THE SOUTHERN gospel world is still reeling with the revelation that Harrison's candor about his personal connections to southern gospel, his love for the music's transcendent qualities, and, most importantly, his openness about how his sexuality has shaped his experiences with the music and industry make his book a powerful and effective example of self-reflexive scholarship. The image of the gospel-diva also encourages straight evangelicals to imagine themselves as cultural outsiders oppressed by a dominant secular culture and its tastes. (RNS) When gospel artist Amy Grant got divorced in 1999 and married country singer Vince Gill a year later, the public breakup rocked the Christian music industry, threatened to derail her career and raised questions about the personal lives of prominent Christian artists. Ben Vaughn grew up in the Philadelphia area on the New Jersey side of the river. Privacy | Yeary joined the group in 2011. _an_interview_with_anthony_heilbut/. How many nieces and nephew luther vandross have? By entering your email and clicking Sign Up, you're agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. . The disciples become apostles as they learn the vital faith lesson that Jesus, in His own words, is worth EVERYTHING. In the 1960s and 1970s, television broadcasts spread white gospel music into US living rooms while Elvis Presley toured with gospel quartets. It's time to meet the real Jesus and know Him more deeply than you ever have before! In Southern Gospel, the instruments are generally more expensive than in Black Gospel, and the music is generally slower and more melodic. The Martins "big break" came in 1992 when Michael English and Mark Lowry insisted that Gloria Gaither listen to the group audition in the women's restroom prior to a Gaither Homecoming video recording in Indiana. If you want to know Morgan Evans' perspective on his divorce from Kelsea Ballerini, you can check out the five-part docuseries about his single "Over for You." In August, Kelsea announced the couple was splitting after nearly five years of marriage. On The Scandal Of Southern Baptist Divorce Date: June 1, 2010 Event (s): 2010 Annual Meeting Topic (s): divorce, family WHEREAS, The Bible reveals that marriage is a gospel mystery, pointing to Christ's union with His church (Ephesians 5:22-32); and currently president of the Southern Gospel Music Association. These issues and questions make up the emotional and analytical heart of Harrison's fascinating book, even though he addresses them in depth only in his final chapter: "Southern Gospel in the Key of Queer.". It unites fans and singers in the recognition that "all God's children are called to bear their crosses alone." Harrison acknowledges this ugly strain of racism coursing through southern gospel's past yet he sees it as a part of a broader cultural dynamic that pits evangelical Christians with their pious adherence to religious orthodoxy and moral absolutes against the liberal and secular forces dominating the modern world. French had sung baritone with the group from 1982 to 2014 Gerald and Kathy divorced in 2006, and no official reason has been cited for the divorce. We could be here all night.. In recent years, the topic of who is gay in southern gospel music has become a hot button issue. How can this square with what Harrison describes as "the most culturally fundamentalist sacred music in evangelicalism" (140)? Predictive prophecy provides irrefutable evidence that Jesus was Jesus is the only man who ever chose his family tree. He later headed a group billed as Joe Isaacs and the Sacred Bluegrass. Kathy claims in an interview with Pat Brannon, award-winning childrens author and Christian, that the divorce has not affected the family in any way. Please pray for them as they mourn their father. . As of July 2015, there is no official statement from any family members on how the divorce of Gerald and Kathy Crabb affected the Crabb family, but soon after the divorce the family separated into multiple ministries. What is our deepest need? White southern gospel music seems like a strange source of pleasure for a "gay, secular humanist academic," as Douglas Harrison identifies himself (17). "Southern Gospel Sissies: Evangelical Music, Queer Spirituality, and the Plays of Del Shores. This group was together until 1986. One of Goodman's signature songs, "Looking for a City," spoke of the wayfaring pilgrim seeking transcendence from this world of oppression in a heaven that resembled a "utopic invocation of a more accepting world," according to scholars Jeffrey Bennett and Issac West (143). Heilbut, Anthony. The reaction has been mostly supportive for the couple, but Webb drew particular scrutiny over one sentence in the announcement. They re-billed themselves The Isaacs in 1986 with the three children now full-fledged group members. rappers who actually preach the gospel in their music are Lecrae, southern gospel divorces. http://averyfineline.com. Singing News Fan Awards:Favorite Album - Songs For The Times (2021)Favorite Mixed Group (2021), Dove AwardsBluegrass Album Of The Year - Bridges (1998); Naturally The Isaacs (2010)Bluegrass/Country/Roots Album of the Year - Songs For The Times (2021)Bluegrass Recorded Song Of The Year - "Heroes" (2005); "Mama's Teaching Angels How To Sing" (2012)Country Album Of The Year - Big Sky (2008). While we both acknowledge our own human sinfulness, Derek has taken full responsibility for the events which led to this decision, the statement said. From Legacy Five's Facebook page, here is Glenn Dustin's personal statement: If you know me at all, you know I am a man of few . Its origins can be traced back to the spirituals of the slaves, who used it as a way to stay in touch and share religious stories. While he does not dismiss the idea that "southern" emerged in part as a racialized term to distinguish it from black gospel, he argues that the use of "southern" was mostly the culmination of an identity crisis for an increasingly commercialized genre that seemed to have lost touch with its pious past and sectional roots. See more ideas about gaither, southern gospel singers, southern gospel music. His company sold songbooks not for use by ordinary singers but as "mementos of professional singers' popularity and fame" (85). Youre asking me if people ought to listen to music performed by people who have been divorced? Moore asked at the Nashville forum. He's pretty famous during the off-season. Sadly, I think sometimes women get treated poorly in situations like this in the public eye., In his album notes, Webb hinted at marriage in his song The Vow, and introduced the song as a form of commitment. Their music was bluegrass, but their vocals were more akin to Southern Gospel, and so they began to have moderate success in both genres. Sooner or later, we all go through storms. And what do you do As Jesus continues His tense exchange with the religious rulers of the What do you do when you find yourself in the place of spiritual What is God like in the worst moment of your life? Best Southern Gospel, Country Gospel, or Bluegrass Album of the Year: This page was last edited on 26 February 2023, at 23:56. He left Mercy's Way in 2006 to embark on a solo career and continues to write Southern Gospel songs. The true pivot towards professionalization, according to Harrison, began in 1924 when V. O. Stamps challenged Vaughn's gospel music empire by creating the Stamps-Baxter Music Co. in Texas. Southern gospel music is a subgenre of gospel music. Religion Dispatches 2 (June 2009): 123141. As of 2015, both Gerald and Kathy are married. The intended audiences of each book may not overlap but they both expose the hypocrisy of the gay-gospel paradox in conservative Christian culture and, hopefully, will force broader debate. Adultry (Matthew 19:7-9) Abandonment (1 Corinthians 7:10-16) - Abuse could fall into this category as well since the abusive spouse is acting like an unbeliever and forcing separation. If youre a Southern Gospel Music fan, youre definitely familiar with the legendary Hinson family. These exceptions, however, hardly diminish the important role racism and expressions of whiteness have played in creating a separate "southern" gospel culture. He told the Christian Broadcasting Network he made the album for the broader Christian Church. Some believe that they are in the closet because they are afraid of the repercussions of coming out, while others believe that they are simply not ready to make their sexuality public. Referencing Dan Savage's "It Gets Better Project," Heilbut recalls that gospel "grounded me and kept me sane, not because it gets better,' but because for most people, it does not." The alleged extramarital affair that apparently led to the breakup, however, may be more problematic. Open 8AM-4.30PM what happened to danny's wife on blue bloods; whataburger coming to kennesaw ga; ovens auditorium covid policy; custom photo suspenders; chris bell powerlifter; homes for rent in west wendover, nv; continued to perform at Dolly Parton's Dollywood theme park and tour In this study, we'll see Jesus perform multiple miracles - including Our most pressing need is almost never our greatest need. First, how can a homosexual nonbeliever like Harrison, who as a youth was a "Southern Baptist sissy," who dreamed of becoming a southern gospel star until he came out and suffered the consequences for doing so by a repressive religious culture, still find ecstatic "glory-rolling joy" in southern gospel music? For almost a decade, he has maintained a blog on southern gospel music at averyfineline.com that attracts "orthodox fans and professionals who regularly and vociferously dissent from [his] secular humanist approach . Southern gospel music has its roots in the hymns and spirituals of the African- American church. Roger continued his work as a record producer and Debra continued to appear as a speaker at women's conferences. Webb has urged his fans to see him as a musician who is Christian rather than a Christian who is a musician a departure from earlier years of catering to a Christian audience. Still, you can't help but wonder if just "complicating" southern gospel music's "orthodox power structures," while never challenging or disrupting them, makes participation in that culture akin to complicity. In 1983, he formed the Ben Vaughn Combo. Harrison suggests that the existence of black southern gospel groups like Teddy Huffam and the Gems, who performed from the 1970s into the early 1990s, and the popularity of black authored songs among white gospel fans and singers, should temper the emphasis on "black-white polarities," which only obscures "our understanding of cultural dynamics submerged beneath the surface" that gave rise to an explicity "southern" gospel genre (103). 1 (2008): 2758. Kathy Crabb acted was the owner and manager of the group. What Harrison describes as "Vaughnism" amounts to a search for a "usable past" by an increasingly marginalized southern gospel industry seeking to legitimize its historical importance. And southern gospel performers still told the occasional racist joke on stage as late as the 1980s. . Access to SGHistory.com may be temporarily blocked if multiple pages are loaded in less than ten seconds. Discover the staggering implications of the reality that we, as What motivated Jesus as He faced down His darkest hour? Though publishers and song writers would not begin labeling it "gospel" music until later in the 1870s, the genre's early manifestation, according to Harrison, performed a kind of cultural work that provided evangelicals with melodies and messages that helped them find meaning and stability in a rapidly modernizing world. Mr Del, T-Bone and 116 Clique. At the same time, the industry's executives and musicians also searched for legitimacy as competing genres arose. which drive up our cost of staying online. Her father had been forced to serve in a German labor camp and her mother had been confined to a concentration camp during the war. Southern gospel music is known for its use of traditional instrumentation and harmonies, as well as its focus on the personal relationship between God and the individual. If you missed Rachelle's testimony interview on Sunday, take a few minutes and watch it now. How Should Artists Fund Their Career in Music? Isaacs also toured some with Gill as a backup singer and featured vocalist around this time. Their next single was "From The Depths Of My Heart." He is Jesus. Gospel City Church | Port Coquitlam, BC, Canada 2023, I Haven't Seen It All (But I've Seen Enough). Gospel, he said, "wasn't merely about making it, but about doing so in spite of your enemies." Southern Gospel Album of the Year: The Martins; Southern Gospel Song of the Year: "Out of His Great Love" 1997 Southern Gospel Album of the Year: Wherever You Are; Southern Gospel Song of the Year: "Only God Knows" 1998 Southern Gospel Album of the Year: Light Of The World; 1999 Country Recorded Song of the Year: "Count Your Blessings" 2004 Harrison's gay-gospel paradox transcends race and could be applied to any homophobic area of American life, but the hypocrisy seems all the more glaring, as Heilbut emphasizes, in a musical and religious culture that played such a pivotal role in the civil rights movement.3Anthony Heilbut, The Fan Who Knew Too Much: Aretha Franklin, the Rise of the Soap Opera, Children of the Gospel Church, and Other Meditations (New York: Random House, 2012), 36, 60, 90, 320; Samuel G. Freedman, "Using Gospel Music's Secrets to Confront Black Homophobia," The New York Times, June 1, 2012, accessed August 4, 2012, http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/02/us/gospel-music-book-challenges-black-homophobia.html; Louis Bayard, "Review of Anthony Heilbut's 'The Fan Who Knew Too Much,'" The Washington Post, August 3, 2012, accessed August 5, 2012, http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/review-of-anthony-heilbuts-the-fan-who-knew-too-much/2012/08/01/gJQAtfvHUX_story.html. Jeff Stice ( Skylite Records /SLP-6370): Chariots Of Fire; Still; When God Dips His Love; In The Garden; Goodbye, World, Goodbye; Bye And Bye; You Light Up My Life; When We All Get To Heaven; The One For Me; Alleluia, Jesus Reigns. What does it mean to be blessed? White gospel executives and major gospel groups in the 1970s like the Happy Goodmans saw CCM as a "hippie-oriented" threat to their dominance among white evangelicals. Southern gospel music, including song lyrics, melodies, and live music experiences, has provided evangelicals with the tools to negotiate the tensions between past and present, sacred and secular, commercialism and piety, and, for some, as Harrison details towards the end of his book, between orthodox and "queer" identities. But, Smith added, not all divorce is created equal.. The benefits of southern gospel certainly outweigh the burdens for Harrison. Now, the issue is back, this time for popular musicians Derek Webb and Sandra McCracken, who announced on April 17 that their 13-year marriage was ending after an affair. The Gospel Sound: Good News and Bad Times. McAlister, Earnest Pugh, Beverly Crawford, and many more. Southern gospel music is a genre of Christian music. Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy? Joyce Martin Sanders (b. January 6, 1968) lives in Nashville, Tennessee with her husband Paul, and she has two children. Talley has since become persona non grata in the southern gospel music world despite his admission of "sin" and his willingness to do penance through "reparative" therapy (138139). On the question of extramarital affairs, however, evangelicals have remained consistently opposed, with more than 90 percent saying it is wrong. (RNS) When gospel artist Amy Grant got divorced in 1999 and married country singer Vince Gill a year later, the public breakup rocked the Christian music industry, threatened to derail her career and raised questions about the personal lives of prominent Christian artists. They are an extremely inventive group that pushes the envelope with their music, and their music is never out of style. Listening to that artistic contribution is not an endorsement of everything that person is about, Moore said. According to court documents related to the other womans pending divorce, the two were involved as early as last August, just as his latest album, I Was Wrong, Im Sorry & I Love You, was released. They were invited to appear on the Gaither Homecoming videos and were an instant hit. Here Harrison counters the hagiography of industry leaders in the 1990s that characterized Vaughn as the genre's true founder and patron saint. They were discovered by Michael English and Mark Lowry with Bill Gaither at the 1987 National Quartet Convention mid-day booth cleanup. Kathy is married to Steve Hannah. and country music (among many other genres, including jazz). Gorge. Moore noted the divorces of Willie Nelson, George Jones and Johnny Cash before addressing Webb and McCracken, and said theres a difference between musicians in church and in the culture. He brings his book to life with ethnographic thick-description, particularly in his opening chapter on the live experience of southern gospel music, but mostly avoids the pitfalls of documentary work's tendency to view its subject as a cultural and temporal Other. Original members included Patty Wilson (alto), Jim Bluford (tenor), Gene McKinney (lead), Raymond Parker (bass), and a 13-year-old Gary Bilyeu (piano). To define oneself as "southern," as a "good ole boy," as a "redneck"to embrace southern cultural symbolsoften constituted acts of rebellion and reaction against the nation's political and economic elite and of "resistance against high taxes, liberals, racial integration, women's liberation, and hippies," as historian Bruce Schulman has noted.1Dominic Sandbrook, Mad As Hell: The Crisis of the 1970s and the Rise of the Populist Right (New York: Random House, 2012), 135137; Bruce Schulman, The Seventies: The Great Shift in American Culture, Society, and Politics (De Capo Press, 2002), 117. tippy('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_1490_1_1', { content: jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_1490_1_1').html(), placement: 'bottom', theme: 'sosp', arrow: false, allowHTML: true }); Assertions of whiteness animated many forms of cultural expression during this time of populist backlash, but Harrison says he found "no evidence that 'southern' gospel gained popularity primarily or even implicitly as a racialized term" even while he provides evidence of a persistent strain of racism coursing through white southern gospel during the twentieth century (97). Heilbut, the noted gospel music producer and author of The Gospel Sound,2Anthony Heilbut, The Gospel Sound: Good News and Bad Times (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1971). The couple would later divorce. The siblings chose to move in different directions by pursuing separate ministries. Shortly afterward, Morgan wrote "Over for You." "This song is the most personal thing I've ever The two were married in 1970. "Still Captivated by Southern Gospel," Religion Dispatches (Q&A with Douglas Harrison) An associate professor of English at Florida Gulf Coast University, he is a literary and cultural critic by training, which shines through in his deep textual analysis of song lyrics, stage performances, and styles, and in his occasionally overwrought, jargon-laden prose. Gerald is married to Debi Jackson. Connect with Cross Rhythms by signing up to our email mailing list, Cross Rhythms 1983 - 2023 Joyce and Judy then enlisted the help of Paul Lancaster, formerly with Mullins & Co., and The Nelons. Gerald and Kathy were both divorced and had children from the previous marriage when they got married. Talk to people in the area about the band and get feedback. Second, what is it about southern gospel that attracts "queer" fans and supports heterodox interpretations of a seemingly orthodox musical culture? In 2006, a photo of the songwriter and gospel music impresario Bill Gaither embracing the lesbian songwriter Marsha Stevens and her partner generated such She won 1. Join us as we go through His life on Earth, from His birth . You are also agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Guided by theological fundamentalism and social conservatism, southern gospel's performers and fans tend to take a dim view of homosexuality. By 2012, that figure had more than doubled, to 21 percent. To that end, he writes that he is "particularly indebted to autoethnography for empowering scholars to mobilize personal experiences too long deprecated by humanist scholarship" (14). What is are the functions of diverse organisms? Nonetheless, their followers are speculating that the couple is getting a divorce. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Vaughn's rise and influence initiated a shift in white gospel culture from amateurs singing together at singing schools and conventions to professional quartets increasingly defined by their roles as performers and celebrities (8084). My daddy is no longer sick and he is completely healed and reunited with his parents and sister. If they werent going to air your song, that was a big deal and that trickled down in the rest of the industry.. May 3, 1971) lives in Columbus, Georgia with her husband Jake Hess Jr. and their four children.[4]. Although our hearts are completely broken, we know God has a plan and we know that even though this doesnt make sense we trust Him. And what does Jesus expect in return? Contemporary Christian Music (CCM), for example, seemed to many in the gospel industry to be "indistinguishable from the most profane pop and rock acts of the day" (95). The rise of an explicitly "southern gospel" genre, he shows, did not emerge until the 1970s and 1980s. The first group is the openly gay artists. Search for Southern Gospel Groups in Port Coquitlam, British Columbia above. In this message, we tackle why the doctrine of the virgin birth matters What does it mean to have peace? [1] (Which included their most popular and well-known mega-hit The Promise). A journal about real and imagined spaces and places of the US South and their global connections. Regardless of which group you fall into, it is important to remember that everyone is entitled to their own privacy. Wake up to the day's most important news. Amber Nelon Kistler posted the following regarding her father: "At 12:35pm today my daddy entered the arms of Jesus. As they matured, the three Isaacs children began singing from time to time with their fathers group and appearing on a local cable access network. In general, the black gospel tradition "ameliorates suffering by absorbing individuals into a community of fellow strugglers." Joe and Lily would divorce in 1998, but Lily continued to perform with the group. Gospel City Church. RESOLVED, That we pray that the true peace of our Lord Jesus Christ will reign in us such that the next generation will see the gospel not only in the counter-cultural nature of our verbal witness but also in the counter-cultural love and fidelity of our marriages. If an artist does not want to discuss their sexuality, that is their right. They have been praised by some for their courage, and criticized by others for what they see as a betrayal of the genre. They released an "almost a cappella" collection title Naturally in 2009 and a collection of Christmas songs in 2011. . Its name comes from its origins in the southeastern United States. WHEREAS, The Bible reveals that marriage is a gospel mystery, pointing to Christs union with His church (Ephesians 5:22-32); and, WHEREAS, The Bible teaches that marriage was established by God in the beginning to be a permanent one-flesh union (Genesis 2:18-25; Matthew 19:1-9); and, WHEREAS, Our Lord Jesus commands us that what God has joined together, let not man separate (Mark 10:9); and, WHEREAS, The biblical story shows us that one of the lamentable aspects of sin is the destruction of marriages and families, a destruction seen from the Fall until this present darkness; and, WHEREAS, The rampant divorce rate in our culture has come with great social and economic cost, with women and children suffering disproportionately in ways that are incalculable; and, WHEREAS, We have affirmed in our confession of faith our belief in the sanctity and permanence of marriage; and, WHEREAS, Some studies have indicated that conservative Protestants in the United States of America are divorcing at the same rate, if not at higher rates, than the general population; and, WHEREAS, Some studies also indicate that areas where Southern Baptist churches predominate in number often have higher divorce rates than areas we would define as unchurched and in need of evangelical witness; and, WHEREAS, Even the most expansive view of the biblical exceptions allowing for divorce and remarriage would rule out many, if not most, of the divorces in our churches; and, WHEREAS, The acceleration in rates of divorce in Southern Baptist churches has not come through a shift in theological conviction about scriptural teaching on divorce but rather through cultural accommodation; and, WHEREAS, We have been prophetic in confronting assaults in the outside culture on Gods design for marriage while rarely speaking with the same alarm and force to a scandal that has become all too commonplace in our own churches; and, WHEREAS, We do not serve those who are hurting from divorce by speaking to them only in therapeutic terms rather than in terms of both repentance and forgiveness; now, therefore, be it, RESOLVED, That the messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention meeting in Orlando, Florida, June 15-16, 2010, acknowledge the complicity of many among us for too often failing to show the world the meaning of the gospel through marital fidelity; and be it further, RESOLVED, That we express our conviction that a denomination defined theologically by our belief in the authority and inerrancy of Holy Scripture ought to proclaim the whole counsel of God, especially when the Bible confronts our own patterns of sin; and be it further, RESOLVED, That we express our further conviction that a denomination defined missiologically ought to recognize how damaging Southern Baptist accommodation to the divorce culture is to our global witness for Christ; and be it further, RESOLVED, That we express our further conviction that a denomination seeking Gods blessing in revival and reformation ought to address the spiritual wreckage left in our Southern Baptist churches by our own divorce rates and our silence about the same; and be it further, RESOLVED, That we call on our churches to proclaim the Word of God on the permanence of marriage, and to provide ongoing marriage enrichment opportunities, in light of the gospel of Jesus Christ and Gods abhorrence of divorce; and be it further, RESOLVED, That we call on our churches to unite in marriage only those who are biblically qualified to be married to one another and who demonstrate an understanding of the meaning of lifelong love and fidelity; and be it further, RESOLVED, That we call on our churches in our wedding services to maintain the gravity of the vows being undertaken, not simply as a token of a couples romance but as a covenant before God, until death do them part; and be it further, RESOLVED, That we call on our churches to minister to couples and families in crisis through counseling, mentorship, and, where necessary, through biblical church discipline; and be it further, RESOLVED, That we call on our churches to proclaim Gods mercy and grace to all peopleincluding those who have been divorced without biblical groundsdue to the truth that the blood of Jesus can atone for any sin and can cleanse any conscience; and be it further, RESOLVED, That we call on our churches to have special compassion for and energetic ministry to those who have been left in the wake of family brokenness; and be it further, RESOLVED, That we urge all Southern Baptists in troubled or faltering marriages to seek godly assistance and, where possible, reconciliation; and be it finally.