Kacie Fredrickson had the ring by October — a stunning, white-gold number that dazzles on her finger.

She had the fiance, a perfect gentleman named Ben Mills. All she needed was the wedding, and she had six leisurely months to plan it.

But in the midst of the dress shopping, the venue scouting, the bridesmaid-choosing, a bomb dropped. Fredrickson’s beloved soon-to-be father-in-law, Nevada City resident Jim Mills, had only a few weeks to live.

Jim Mills’ skyrocketing cancer count was a surprise — the 68-year-old had been battling a rare blood and bone marrow cancer for more than a year, but doctors had predicted he could live another two years, even if he stopped chemotherapy.

“It was hard, initially, because we still had hope for his recovery,” Ben Mills said. “That made it more real that he was going in the other direction.”

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In 2009 Crossway published a book by Voddie Baucham called What He Must Be…If he wants to marry my daughter. The idea behind this book is to let Christian men know what they must be before they can date, engage, and marry someone’s daughter – written from the father’s perspective.  Baucham sets high but realistic standards for Christian men.  In this blog I want to flip the focus.  That is, I want to set forth a paradigm of what a Christian woman MUST be before a Christian man should date, engage, or marry her.

The first paradigm for what a Christian woman should be can be found in Proverbs 31:10-31.  While women often and rightly look to this text for what they should be, we must remember that this section of Scripture is written directly to men (Proverbs 31:2).  That is, men are to read this section of Scripture and use these verses as lenses by which they view those women they are interested in, or as they decide if they should even have interest in them.  [...]

The most recent TIME cover poses the question, “Who Needs Marriage?”  If you keep up with my column at all then you know much of my writing and energy is placed around thinking through this issue with our generation.  With this being such a big issue, I knew I had to write something on this piece through lens of our generation.  You can read my positions on marriage HERE and HERE, and why you are at it you can read our views of cohabitation outside of marriage HERE and HERE.  Al Mohler, one of our heroes, has also written a sagacious article on this topic HERE.

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This question is more of an enigma then anything.  Nonetheless, here are some good questions for young men that love both Jesus and women.

1.  Are you attracted to her?

This is a no brainer.

2.  Does she love Jesus?

This should be the first thing that makes or breaks a relationship.  The apostle Paul tells us that we are not to be unequally yoked in our (1 Cor 6:14).  Guys, if she loves Jesus and you are attracted to her then those seem like pretty good odds.  The gospel must be the center of every relationship.  It is the rock and foundation that every relationship must be built upon.  You must be a man who loves Jesus and shows it in your actions.  When you do this, girls who love Jesus will notice you.

3.  Are you like-minded?

I do believe there are more to relationships then the attractiveness and gospel-centeredness aspects, although they are the two biggest in my opinion.  As you begin a relationship there should always be an angle where you are learning the theology, goals, and aspirations of the other person.

4.  Are you ready for marriage?

It is no secret that my position on dating is a minority position.  For the Christian, dating should always be practiced in the shadow of marriage.  If you are not ready for marriage then you should not date.  The question now is, “How should I prepare myself for marriage?”

Read Question 1:  What is Biblical Manhood?

Visit Greg’s Column – Crossing the Rubicon

In this article Greg Gibson begins his series, Questions for College, by asking the first question, “What is Biblical Manhood?”  Greg swings for the shins of most young college guys in this thought-provoking and challenging article. [...]

In this article Whitney tackles a cultural norm with the truth of the Bible. Divorce has become as mainstream in the church as it is in any other American demographic, but the church is just as confused as those outside the faith about what the Bible really says.

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In the sequel to The Christian RULES of Dating Greg Gibson tackles some pretty fun issues concerning the engagement process for Christians.  Check it out, have fun, and be prepared to laugh, disagree, and get mad and blog about it. [...]

In this post Greg Gibson attempts to answer these tough questions theological, practically, and through the lens of a biblical worldview.   [...]

Trust: if any trait should be considered imperative for a man and woman desiring a loving and lasting relationship as well as a good and God-honoring sex life trust is it. [...]

I get this question all the time.  Some believe you should reveal every detail of all previous sexual acts to your soon-to-be spouse; some believe you should not.  I fall into the latter category.  It is my conviction and preference that you do not need to reveal everything to your spouse.  Let me to tell you why. [...]