by Pastor Bob

Perhaps no crisis in the church is more urgent than the breakdown of the family. Last June 2 – 4, 2006, twelve couples from Faith Bible Church of Vallejo attended a Couples Marriage Enrichment Retreat at Asilomar Conference Center in Monterey, California.  The participants had six dynamic sessions as taught by Pastor Peter Tan Chi, Senior Pastor, Christ Commission Fellowship (CCF) in the Philippines and his wife Deanna. 

The first two sessions, “Leave and Cleave” looked at the biblical passages on the marital union and uncovered the biblical injunction on leaving and cleaving for the husband and wife to be one flesh. Sessions three and four, “Head and Helper” examined the roles of the married couples.  The husband is to be the head of the family and the wife to be the helper to the husband to give him all that he needs to exercise his role biblically and responsibly.  The last two sessions “Love and Submit” provided insights on the responsibilities of both husband and wife on how each may obey the biblical command to love and to submit to one another as in the relationship between Christ and the church. Pastor Tan Chi gave a special bonus session on sex and spirituality.  Whether married for five months or fifty years, the couples that attended came away with a clear prescription for making their marriage a true problem-solving partnership. 

A special thanks to Christ Great Commission Fellowship (CGCF) Senior Pastor Ron Fermin, his wife sister Alice, brother Elmer Seisa and brother Butch Cabalu for the invite and helping us in the whole process of registration, planning and logistics for our couples to attend the retreat.  Much appreciation also to CGCF church staff for subsidizing the cost per couple for lodging  food and babysitting.  A special thanks also to Pastor Peter Tan Chi and his wife Deanna for their inspiring biblical teaching, their personal story and the practical applications that came with it. This truly made the retreat a special time for all of us that attended.