Ted Cunningham - Young and in Love: Challenging the Unnecessary Delay of Marriage

What people are saying about

Young and in Love

Young and in Love is a wake-up call for every generation to honor marriage. This book will inspire you to get married, stay married, and enjoy life together. If you have been raised to fear love or marriage, then read this book for a whole new picture of what marriage should be.

Dr. Gary Smalley, best-selling author and speaker

The most important decision you will make apart from your relationship with God is who you marry. I love Ted Cunninghams passion for marriage and making sure that young people are choosing to marrybut also choosing wisely. He is an emerging and strong voice encouraging the church to fight for marriage in the next generation.

Dr. Tim Clinton, president of the American Association of Christian Counselors

This isnt just a book; its a provocation. Cunninghams words are an atom bomb to the popular social moorings that might be accepted, but might not be biblical. Every twentysomething I know should read this book.

Johnnie Moore, vice president and campus pastor of Liberty University and author of Honestly: Really Living What We Say We Believe

Ted Cunningham is one of the most gifted communicators in America. He speaks straight to the heart and straight from the heart. He is brilliant, scriptural, and lots of fun! This book will be one of the best experiences of your life.

Joe White, president of Kanakuk Kamps, author of more than twenty books, and national speaker

If you mentor, counsel, or pastor young people today, you need to read Young and in Love. It will challenge the cultural lenses through which you have viewed marriage and help you lead singles to learn the value and benefit of commitment. Ted Cunningham is funny and very engaging, but he is serious about restoring marriage in the millennial generation.

Joshua Straub, PhD, American Association of Christian Counselors, and coauthor of God Attachment

In Young and in Love, Ted Cunningham strips away the myth of a God who hates sex, finds it dirty, and considers it unnatural, and he reintroduces the reader to a divine plan with very personal connections. Teds message is informative, entertaining, and engaging, and it will not only change your mind about intimacy, it will frame the picture of how love and marriage truly become one.

Shane Stanford, senior pastor of Gulf Breeze UMC and author of A Positive Life and The Seven Next Words of Christ

If youve ever seen Ted Cunningham speak, you know hes a gifted communicator who will make you think, laugh, and love God more deeply. His new book will challenge you and reignite your passion for marriage.

Margaret Feinberg, author of Scouting the Divine and The Sacred Echo, www.margaretfeinberg.com

Ted Cunninghams gift of humor, wisdom, and practical teaching gives us a wonderful guide to create a culture of marriage and lead young lovers into the bliss of marriage. Young and in Love is a must-read for young adults, for those who lead these groups, and for anyone who is married or longs to be.

Rev. R. Scott Weatherford, lead pastor of First Alliance Church in Alberta, Canada

For those truly in love and meeting the biblical and practical criteria for finding a great mate, Pastor Cunningham will help them move ahead as God intended. I really hope that pastors and counselors will integrate Pastor Teds insights, so the phenomenon of unnecessary prolonged adolescence can be reversed.

Lesley Hurst, program director and host of Vocal Point on GraceFM Radio Network and pastors wife

I intend to have my premarital mentors read this book so they can incorporate some of this information in their mentoring process. It would be a great gift for any single person or seriously dating or engaged couple.

Sandy Bolen, director of marriage ministry at Savannah Christian Church

This book is packed with simple and profound principles that when applied offer a foundation for a forever marriage. Teds passion for the family comes through in every chapter, and his gift for application to real life is undeniable.

Dr. Alex Himaya, founding pastor of The Church at BattleCreek

This book is hands down one of the most compelling and practical arguments Ive read for getting to marriage in a timely yet responsible way. Get ready to shatter your assumptions about marrying young, and expect to be called out by Ted if youre standing in the way of a good match. Young and in Love will make champions of marriage cheer.

Lisa Anderson, Focus on the Familys director of young adults and host of The Boundless Show, www.boundless.org

YOUNG AND IN LOVE

Published by David C Cook

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Colorado Springs, CO 80918 U.S.A.

David C Cook Distribution Canada

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David C Cook U.K., Kingsway Communications

Eastbourne, East Sussex BN23 6NT, England

David C Cook and the graphic circle C logo

are registered trademarks of Cook Communications Ministries.

All rights reserved. Except for brief excerpts for review purposes,

no part of this book may be reproduced or used in any form

without written permission from the publisher.

The Web site addresses recommended throughout this book are offered as a resource to you. These Web sites are not intended in any way to be or imply an endorsement on the part of David C Cook, nor do we vouch for their content.

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com. Scripture quotations marked nlt are taken from the New Living Translation of the Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. Scripture quotations marked gnt are taken from the Good News TranslationSecond Edition. 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by permission. Scripture quotations marked nasb are taken from the New American Standard Bible , Copyright 1960, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. Scripture quotations marked esv are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright 2000; 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

LCCN 2011923887

ISBN 978-0-7814-0447-1

eISBN 978-0-7814-0689-5

2011 Ted Cunningham

The Team: Alex Field, Sarah Schultz, Caitlyn York, Karen Athen

Cover Design: Amy Kiechlin Konyndyk

Cover Images: iStockphoto, 8240870; 1244186, royalty-free

First Edition 2011

To my children,
Corynn and Carson,
and their future spouses

Acknowledgments

I am so grateful to the team at David C Cook. Thank you for believing in this message. Alex Field is a great friend and wordsmith. Thank you to Don Pape, Terry Behimer, Ingrid Beck, Caitlyn York, and the sales and marketing teams for their expertise. This book sparked many spirited conversations at Cook, so thank you for agreeing to put this message into print.

God has blessed me with many tremendous friends and mentors in ministry. Gary Smalley has been a constant encourager and mentor for ten years now. Thank you, Gary, for picturing a special future for me. Joe White shakes his head at me a lot but believes in his pastor. Thank you, Joe, for trusting me to share with Men at the Cross. Margaret Feinberg has been a gracious writing mentor. I PROMISED her that I will never again use all caps in my writing. She hates being yelled at. Michael and Ali Hall, Steve and Barbara Uhlmann, Marc and Jennifer Harris, and Mark and Kay Connelly are all promarriage and have been fantastic partners in ministry.