How Holy Is Matrimony?

Praise for How Holy Is Matrimony?

There are times in which we are called to radically reconsider much that we have taken for granted. In this book Amie Martin invites us to do just that with regard to the relationship of the church to weddings. Her argument is as insightful as it is provocative. Whether in the end you agree with her or not, your understanding will be deepened and your faithfulness to God enriched by reading this book.

Henry H. Knight III, Professor Emeritus of Wesleyan Studies and Evangelism, Saint Paul School of Theology, Leawood, Kansas

Amie Martin is asking some poignant and necessary questions about how the church

imagines and practices the solemnization of marriage. Reaching beneath current

debates, she provides a substantive theological framework for the role of the church in

marriage that could be helpful to all pastors whether “traditionalist” or “progressive,”

within Martin’s grammar. Of particular significance here is the textual and historical work

that offers clarity on the distinctive and proper roles of the church and the public or

state. I suspect these prophetic words will be offensive to some, but they are worthy of

prayerful consideration. In contemporary American culture, it should be obvious that

weddings have been thoroughly co-opted by sentiment and spectacle. This fact seems

to require a careful re-consideration of how the church best engages with marriage

practices to bear witness faithfully to the gospel.

Rev. Jeren Rowell, Ed.D., President and Professor of Pastoral Ministry, Nazarene Theological Seminary, Kansas City, Missouri

In this concise and compelling book, Amie Martin challenges the notion that churches should be

(let alone have always been) involved in the business of weddings. Martin engages the

Wesleyan Quadrilateral to convincingly re-evaluate the clergy’s role in weddings and to name

the problematic idols vying for Christian devotion in the industry. Her argument is not only

thought provoking, but it will also be conversation provoking as well, for churches in and

beyond the Methodist tradition.

Rev. Casey T. Sigmon, Associate Professor of Preaching and Worship, Saint Paul School of Theology

In How Holy is Matrimony? Rethinking the Church’s Role in the Wedding Business, Amie Martin challenges the conventional wisdom and practices of the church around marriage ceremonies. Through the lens of the Wesleyan Quadrilateral, Martin offers a critical look at the way the biblical witness, the early history of the Christian movement,  a rational evaluation of intellectual arguments and reflection on contemporary experiences with matrimony fails to create a necessary mandate for clergy involvement in wedding ceremonies. Martin offers an alternative to the “clergy must officiate weddings” tradition that connects faithful Christian witness to a mission-driven clergy identity. Ultimately, Martin challenges the Church and the clergy to reevaluate the ways marriage is sacred and set apart for the building up of faith in family and society, proposing a Christ-centered reformation of the status quo practices of modern Christianity.

Rev. Dr. Mike Gillen, Pastor of Cornerstone United Methodist Church