With One Voice: Singleness, Dating and Marriage - To the Glory of God

With One Voice is a book for singles, dating, engaged or married couples, parents, those that work with youth, or anyone interested in learning how to glorify God in their specific role in the body of Christ. The book is firmly rooted in scripture and frames the concepts of singleness, dating, and marriage through the lens of a Christian worldview. It has a simple premise that allows for easy reading with thoughtful questions at the conclusion of every chapter. As a single woman who has read many books on singleness and dating I was wary of yet another reminder of my station as a Christian single and what I was missing out on. However, this book allowed me to have a fresh perspective of my singleness and pointed me to God's Word as the foundation of all of the various roles we may move through in life: single, couple, married, parent, mentor, etc. Alex & Marni Chediak offer new insight on the importance of becoming a man/woman after God's heart, holding every thought captive to God's authority, and not giving into the temptations this world holds right in front of us. I also wondered if I would be able to refer this book to other single friends. I can say with confidence that I have indeed recommended and given this book to my single, dating, and married friends, including my pastors. I also have encouraged parents of youth at my church to look at it (after the Bible of course) as a resource to handling dating in the lives of their teenagers. I have to admit that I was led to this book by the young gentleman I am dating. This book afforded an opportunity for us to have meaningful conversations on relationship, dating, and marriage during a time of separation by distance. This book reminded us that God must be the foundation for any relationship headed toward marriage, and that the Holy Spirit is critical to the continued development of our biblical masculinity and femininity. The frequently asked questions in the back of the book also offer some simple and sound advice on controversial issues surrounding dating and relationships (including homosexuality, pornography, dating non-Christians, etc). Ultimately, With One Voice is a helpful resource that I personally benefited from.

Alex Chediak has recently followed up on his first well-received book on Christian dating ("5 Paths to the Love of your Life") with another valuable resource for building godly marriages ("With One Voice: Singleness, Dating, and Marriage to the Glory of God"). In this latter book, Alex teams with his wife Marni to describe a biblical framework for evaluating a potential spouse and (more importantly) becoming the kind of spouse someone would want to marry. The entire book is very helpful, with initial chapters on both the history and `normalcy' of marriage, as well as the interaction of godly masculine and feminine roles in marriage. The book concludes with two chapters full of practical, valuable advice. In "Choosing (a spouse) Wisely", the Chediaks describe both objective and subjective criteria in selecting a spouse, and caution that one can err either by setting standards that are too high or ones that are too low. In "Proceeding Carefully", they describe the progression of premarital relationships in terms of four stages ("Friendship and Initiation", "The Beginnings of Romantic Involvement", "Later Stages of a Romantic Relationship", and "Leaving and Cleaving") with sound, God-centered wisdom. I'm thankful for the Chediaks' written contributions toward godly dating and marriage, and pray that many couples will create stronger, more God-glorifying marriages because of the message contained in these books.

Rare is the book with dating and marriage as its topic that I feel I can recommended without reservation. By navigating around the deceptive and unsatisfying philosophies and techniques of the world, Alex and Marni have given us a clear restatement of God's intentions for man and woman in marriage. With One Voice unashamedly embraces the Bible as its foundation and the glory of Christ as its goal. It does not shrink back from addressing difficult and delicate subjects with an appropriate sensitivity but a necessary boldness. Its ideas will grate upon modern suppositions, but when put into practice by believing couples, will contribute to a harmony and happiness which reflect the majesty and wisdom of God. Some conservative voices on the subject can tend to confuse the precepts of Scripture with an idealized cultural packaging from the past. Alex has managed to articulate and apply biblical principles for dating and marriage without harnessing them to a by-gone social age. He aptly demonstrates that the wisdom of the Word on the matter of male-female relationships can find expression in our own contemporary society and still broadcast the excellencies of Christ to our generation just as clearly as in Puritan England or Colonial America. Moreover, Alex and Marni demonstrate with their lives that God's pattern is best. As a personal friend of this pair, I can testify that their relationship has an attractiveness and Christwardness that commends their counsel. Don't despise their youth. What they may lack in life experience is offset by the obvious early insights God has given them into His Word and contemporary culture. Anyone with a hunger to discover more of God's good purposes in marriage will benefit from this read.

From the editor of 5 Paths to the Love of your life (another book worthy of strong consideration), comes a sixth path for the Christian to find the love of their life, to the glory of God. Alex Chediak works from a clearly Biblical worldview and uses Biblical principles and implications to explicate the purpose of marriage, the essence of manhood and womanhood, the objective and subjective criteria that should be considered when evaluating a potential spouse, and the relational stages that lead all the way to the altar. Many difficult topics and issues for Christian singles are addressed, but Chediak provides a concise and very readable presentation that leaves one with clarity as they seek to honor God in their relationships. Chediak begins the book with a brief sketch of how singles in Western culture have historically pursued a spouse and how the impact of the sexual revolution and the "delayed adolescence" trend have contributed to the current view of marriage in society. Chapter 2 contains a discussion of the normality of marriage and Chediak also challenges the reader in probing the mindset of one who is single (note: he does affirm those who are specially gifted to be life-long singles). Chapters 3 and 4 contain the defining marks of biblical masculinity and femininity and how those gender oriented traits should play out in male and female interactions. After the nature of partners is laid out, Chediak proceeds to lead the reader through the objective and yes, subjective criteria that should be considered when searching for a suitable spouse. I found the discussions pertaining to the warnings and potential dangers that men and women face in the premarital relationship process to be particularly helpful. The book concludes with further descriptions of the relational stages leading to the altar, as one is to proceed carefully. As a seminarian and follower of Christ, this is a book I would heartily recommend to church leaders, parents of teens, and especially to Christian singles. In fact, those I know who have read With One Voice have informed me of its usefulness as they now focus on being the right kind of person while seeking to recognize an appropriate spouse. This is also one of those books that you may find yourself referring back to again, I have already. One may note that the broad scope of the book may not quite do justice to the particular topics it addresses. That may be true, but I personally appreciated the brevity of Chediak's work. With One Voice offers sound biblical wisdom and practical assistance in an age where the societal fabric is disintegrating due to the lack of healthy marriages. Christians who apply this book will not contribute to the confusion, but will instead display the glory of Christ through their relationships and godly marriages.

This book was helpful because it was so practically honest. Upon discussing the book with others who have read it, the fact that it honestly dealt with the issues that need to be addressed was evident to all. Another reason I would highly recommend this book is because the author's standard of judgment was the Bible. He balanced his opinions with Scripture, which was greatly appreciated, and served to strenghthen the persuasiveness of his arguments. Also, the short length of this book makes it even more inviting. You'll want to read it in a day and probably can. Any young man or woman would benefit from reading this book!