Churches need to reevaluate the subtle attitude that suggests that until you're married, you're not quite a whole person. Churches need to pull singles into the inner life of the church, into the community and leadership. We've given the message that marriage is a picture of the love relationship between Christ and the church, and that metaphor is true. But as Stan Grenz points out in his book Sexual Ethics, singles can also mirror Christ's love. But there's also an ever-expanding sense of God's love where he keeps reaching out, establishing relationships with more and more people.
Singles can demonstrate expanding love by having nonexclusive relationships.
In not having a covenant relationship with a spouse, they can have more relationships, which demonstrates a different aspect of the character of God. Steve Tracy has a short biographical sketch on his page at Phoenix Seminary. Christian Single , a publication of the Southern Baptist Convention's Lifeway Christian Resources, is online. Al Hsu's Singles at the Crossroads is available at the Christianity Online Bookstore and other book retailers, as is Stanley Grenz's Sexual Ethics .