Marriage counselling to pastors in the Igreja Reformada em Moçambique: a practical-theological study

Abstract

This study is based on the understanding that a biblical marriage counselling programme can be an instrument to pastors of the Igreja Reformada em Moçambique to improve the quality of their marriages. It is vital that the programme should be applicable and sensitive to the cultural context of the pastors and their spouses. It has been observed that some of the pastors in the IRM do not have the skills to apply the knowledge they have regarding marriage to their specific situation in order to solve the problems in their own marriages. In response to the above-mentioned concern, it is presupposed in this study that marriage counselling for pastors offers alternatives in addressing issues about marriage conflicts. It is the aim of this study to determine the need for marriage counselling and to show how it can be done to improve the quality of the marriages of the pastors in the Igreja Reformada em Moçambique. In this research it has been argued that the church in Mozambique more especially the Mphatso Synod of the IRM should take action to help pastors who have marriage problems, before the problems become serious and have further negative consequences. This can be done by following the proposed programme, to be used for marriage counselling of the pastors of the IRM, focusing on the six main areas of marriage conflict found within the marriages of the pastors, namely sex-related issues; cultural influences; childlessness; the issue of submission of wives; money issues and the status of the pastors.