We hope you enjoyed reading about TBI’s Encourager Couple Mike and Molly last week. This week we are thrilled to share another Encourager Couple’s story with you.
“Encourager Couples”, are volunteers, who have been trained in Intimate Encounters marriage principles and have agreed to occasionally serve other couples and churches through The Basic Idea Ministries.. These couples have the responsibility and privilege of mentoring couples in need of help and encouragement, thus the name Encourager Couple. They also equip others to do what they do so that the influence of Christ’s love continues to grow.
Dave met James and Tina at Whitestone Conference Center in eastern Tennessee. They were coming to meet Dave and some of TBI’s Encourager Couples and trainer couples with Great Commandment Network to start a process called Contagious Hope. Contagious Hope was to be a follow up retreat to the Galatians 6:6 retreat. Both retreats were aimed at helping ministry couples deepen their love for each other and for God. It was Dr. Ferguson’s idea to have another type of retreat where the principles of Intimate Encounters were experienced in a follow-up environment to the initial retreat – the Galatians 6:6 Retreat.
We pray this week’s story from Encourager Couple, James and Tina (Not their real names) blesses and encourages you!
In 1975 James was selling IBM “Correcting Selectric” typewriters, and Tina worked in a dental office in the Bay Area in California. Tina’s boss ordered a new typewriter from James and that’s how their connection was made. Not only did James make a sale of a typewriter but also made a life-long relationship with Tina. They were both adventuresome and enjoyed much of the same activities, including golf, sailing, tennis and sex; yep, you read that correctly. They were not believers when they met, so this seemed to be a normal activity to share that they both enjoyed.
They did come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ and began their journey together as a Christian couple. James and Tina participated in an Intimate Encounters group in 1995, halfway into a 12yr stint of teaching a young marrieds’ class at a local church. Their marriage needed help, as James’ self reliance and Tina’s insecurity were out of control. They needed to have a better understanding of each other’s upbringing, home of origin influences, and world view each had developed.
Tina needed healing of her childhood hurts, and James needed to accept and respect a woman…especially Tina. 1 Pet 3:7 was the verse that spoke to James. Eph 4:32 spoke to them as a couple, because they needed to regularly forgive one another for hurting each other.
Today, they stay active in regularly meeting with other couples and this has helped them in their own relationship as well. James and Tina lead other facilitators in Intimate Encounters, and are now considering encouraging church groups to start marriage resource called “Re|engage”, which they recently picked up from the Watermark Church in Dallas, TX.
James and Tina would like to see their church hire a marriage pastor so that Intimate Encounters can be used to bless hundreds (or more) of couples at their home church and beyond.
After Dave and Carol met “James and Tina” at Whitestone Center in East Tennessee, they have maintained a growing friendship, developed an even greater passion for Christ-honoring marriage, and continued to invest in helping others not only engage effective marriage principles but also teach others to duplicate ministry as they further develop mentors. The process continues as James and Tina invest their lives in others.
Quick Fact: When Dave met James and Tina and started to get to know them and their story of marriage and of faith, Dave discovered that Tina had never heard the name of Jesus mentioned by anyone in her lifetime except for those inappropriately using Jesus’ name in vain as part of a curse word or phrase. He recalls that she was an adult before actually hearing someone talk about Jesus in any other way. Tina was the first person he’d ever met that shared the startling fact that even in the USA there are those who do not hear the marvelous story of Jesus, as he was so privileged to hear over and over again.