Dads Against the Divorce IndustryDA*DI is devoted to reinstating the societal valuation of Marriage and the traditional, nuclear American Family, with particular emphasis on the essential role of FATHERS. DA*DI offers contemporary reports and commentary on culture; its aberrations and its heroes. |
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'I Still Do' seminar for those who love,
cherish marriage By Mark Stewart THE WASHINGTON TIMES Dennis Rainey is going to war for marriage. For most of the week, the director of FamilyLife, a nonprofit ministry that seeks to strengthen marriages and families, talks about loving, honoring and cherishing. But when he talks about the state of marriage today and his hopes for the new "I Still Do" marriage seminars planned for this summer and fall, his language turns downright militaristic. He talks about "declaring war on divorce" and "stabbing the divorce culture in the heart." And he calls the "I Still Do" conference at MCI Center in Washington, D.C., this Saturday "one of the most strategic moments in the history of the nation's capital." "I personally felt like I was watching the birth of a movement," he says of the first two "I Still Do" conferences held last month in San Diego and San Jose, Calif. The fourth is scheduled for Houston on Oct. 23. "I think America feels something is horribly wrong in families and it wonders where to start." The "I Still Do" conferences are a blend of Promise Keepers-style stadium rallies and FamilyLife's own marriage conferences, which it has conducted for 23 years. The MCI Center conference will feature speakers like Gary Chapman, author of "The Five Love Languages"; Joseph Stowell, president of Moody Bible Institute; and Mr. Rainey and his wife, Barbara. Music will be provided by the Maranatha Praise Band. Mr. Rainey says the idea for "I Still Do" sprang out of a February meeting in Dallas involving 25 faith-based organizations like Focus on the Family, Promise Keepers and FamilyLife. All of them agreed that the idea of a covenant marriage needed to be revived in today's society. "We can no longer afford to have the most basic unit of society assaulted by weak commitment," says Mr. Rainey, citing statistics that show divorce is as common in America's church population as it is in the rest of society. "Enough is enough. [Abraham] Lincoln said, 'The strength of a nation lies in the homes of its people.' America has unprecedented financial prosperity and strength. We are unmatched in military might. But if homes have grown weak, as a civilized nation, I believe we're toying with coming unraveled." The "I Still Do" conferences have five sessions that focus on the marriage covenant, communication skills, sexual intimacy, the roles of husband and wife, and leaving a legacy. Mr. Rainey says almost 15,000 attended the conferences in California and he expects almost 11,000 to come to MCI Center. "I think Washington, D.C., is going to be one of the birthplaces of this movement," Mr. Rainey says. "I'm tremendously encouraged, absolutely. D.C. is a city that gets the best of the best, and it's no mistake we came there." The highlight of the "I Still Do" conferences will be the distribution of a marriage-covenant document to every couple that attends. The documents are produced by FamilyLife and are intended to be signed by couples in front of their children, friends or church. Back to Current Affairs
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