Mark Campbell, Union women’s basketball head coach, and his wife, Molly, hosted the annual Family Life Series on Feb. 27 and March 1 in the G.M. Savage Memorial Chapel.
The Family Life Series, formerly known as the Crabtree Family Life Series, focuses on relationships, marriage and family.
The Campbells focused on discussing marriage as a way to honor the Lord and show the world how Christians are different. However, they also provided practical advice on living wholeheartedly for God.
Mark kicked off the series by reading verses from Psalm 19 and Ephesians 5 to show God’s design for His people and for marriage.
Mark and Molly retraced the steps of how they met at Union when he was working as a graduate assistant and she was a student. After discreetly dating for a couple of months at the request of former Union president David Dockery, the pair broke up for three months to discover what God had planned for them.
Molly recalled the spiritual growth she experienced during this heartbreaking time.
“During that time I was in my prayer journal constantly, writing out every single thing I could to the Lord,” Molly said. “He gave me just a sense of peace and a confidence, really, that this is the plan that He had for me, and yet I didn’t need to try to control it.”
The two went on to tackle issues in relationships such as purity, more specifically pornography.
Mark encouraged the men in the room to seek help if they struggle with this temptation.
“We’re at battle,” Mark said. “And the great thing about battle is that it should be something we’re doing together.”
Molly encouraged the crowd to pray about everything and give it up to Jesus.
“Most answers I’m gonna keep going back to is pray,” Molly said.
Kennedy Ward, a junior political science and ministry and missions double major, reflected on how the series affected her.
“We are surrounded by a world that tells us what and how our relationships should be, yet more and more marriages are failing,” Ward said. “It was nice to sit and hear about a successful relationship and how that success is centered on our faith.”
The couple reiterated that relationships and marriage are not about us, so we should not focus on what we get out of them.
“Marriage is a beacon, a light, that shows the relationship between Christ and His church,” Mark said.
We are to glorify the Lord in whatever He has for us, and marriage is one way to do that.
