Dr. Les Parrott, a clinical psychologist, and his wife Leslie, are both passionate about helping others build healthy relationships. He claims the church’s role in pre-marital counselling is significant. The church should be at the forefront. If this counselling isn’t happening in the church, it is clogging up a portal for couples to become whole. “We’ve been talking to over 300 churches about what they could do better. Churches want a plan, they want to do a good job, and want to be relevant when it comes to pre-marital counselling,” says Parrott.

“We know that from these discussions with churches, you and your wife Leslie have created an assessment tool for couples to use in premarital counselling, called SYMBIS (Saving Your Marriage
Before It Starts), based on your best-selling Gold Medallion book of that title,” says Darla Knoth, of Influence Magazine. “Could you tell us more about this tool?” “This new tool is an online
assessment for each partner to answer individual questions in about 30 minutes. A facilitator, who can also be trained online, then helps them walk through a report generated by SYMBIS
that includes overviews of their results, based on answers to the questions. Each report is highly personalised for each couple,” says Parrott.

He adds, “Marriage should be viewed as part of the discipleship process. My wife and I teach that personalities are complex and multifaceted; two people walking together with God will look
different to each person. When couples start asking each other, “What makes you feel close to God?,” it brings intimacy and becomes part of the discipleship process in marriage. Couples who don’t do this will have a forever-aching piece that is missing from their marriage. Spiritual intimacy in marriage–how a couple walks with God–becomes part of the marriage… Pre-marital
counselling will help ensure a healthy start to any marriage.”

Source: Influence Magazine; PE News

Bible Study: Proverbs 31:10-12

OCTOBER Thank God for SYMBIS, the assessment tool for couples contemplating marriage.
PRAY WIDER that it will contribute towards helping save many marriages at the outset. Pray too that the enemy is thwarted in his attempt to destabilise marriage.