By Loreal Moore

news@demopolistimes.com

Approximately four years ago, Christian Chapel Baptist church decided to modify their Sunday school class by adding a relationship class.

Fred Moore, pastor of Christian Chapel, felt as though the body of Christ lies within the relationships, both those of marriage, friendships and families, and as a result of that he thought a good time to do this would be during Sunday school class.

“In the traditional church this opportunity would have not been granted to us,” he said. “But since we’ve have quite a bit of growth over the years, we’ve been able to move outside of the realms of the traditions and experience new means of reaching people so that their spiritual growth could continue.”

Moore has been pastor of Christian Chapel Baptist Church for twenty-six years and his approach has been “holistic, which includes all phases of man.”

“I felt like if I could assist us in our relationships, then we would see church growth at another level. The course is taught by me from Biblical insight about relationships.”

Topics range from: combated situations, people who struggle with anger, understanding the process of love and many other areas through biblical perspectives. The age group ranges from 18 years of age to 80.

“There are singles, there are couples, and I believe – as a result of the class – we’ve seen marriages strengthen, family members strengthen in their relationships with one another, and young people learn how relationships ought be from a biblical perspective. I look forward to this class every third and fifth Sunday. I think it is a vital part of our work in the body of Christ.”

The past third Sunday, Pastor Moore’s relationship lesson was titled “Love is Not Irritable.” It illustrated how to manage anger toward your partner and put forth the effort not to irritate your partner.

“Throughout the lesson, I suggest ways of putting forth effort on how to process what he/she has to say to one another which could reduce the possibility of having an explosive situation,” he said.

Jessie and Hattie Moore, members of Christian Chapel, and attendees of the relationship class, talk about how the class has helped them throughout their marriage.

“Even though we are an older couple and we’ve experienced many things together, this class is definitely something older people and younger people can benefit from,” Hattie said. “Personally it has helped me control my anger.”

“It doesn’t take much for me to get upset,” she laughed. “ But I’ve learned to keep God in the middle of our relationship. It’s a very good class, and some of the things Pastor Moore teaches, you’ve never even thought of before.”

“I didn’t realize that it was not all about me,” said Jessie. “The relationship class helped me to realize that it’s not what I can do for myself, but what we can do for each other.”

Tony and Stephanie Pittman, a young couple, and also members of Christian Chapel share their experience about the relationship class.

“This class has been fun and interesting for my husband and me,” Stephanie said. “ Since we both teach Sunday school, it’s not always feasible for us to attend this class. Sometimes one of us attends and tells the other in detail what it was about. When we attend together it’s even more enjoyable. We thoroughly feel that this class helps us see how our marriage lines up with the word of God.”