As churches continue to grapple with shifts to the religious landscape, unmarried Christians are speaking up and demanding changes to how singleness is perceived in several new books.
The church has focused on families for too long, often overlooking single Christians, writes Alisha Plummer in Confessions of a Christian Spinster. (Kregel, May 16). The book tackles questions single Christians have, including where they fit in, whether the church wants them, and what happens if they never marry. Plummer then calls on churches to shift from a couple’s-centric culture, embracing instead that unmarried Christians are valued by God and important members of the church community.
Offering an academic approach, The Meaning of Singleness: Retrieving an Eschatological Vision for the Contemporary Church by Danielle Treweek (IVP Academic, May 16) draws on the work of ancient and contemporary theologians to examine singleness in the Bible as well as through history. The book argues that singleness is sacred, and that it can lead to a rich religious life.
A Single Life to Live: Stop Waiting for Your Life to Begin and Thrive Where God Has You Today by Hannah Schermerhorn (Baker, out now) examines the lives of single people in the Bible as well as the author’s own life to argue against “the pervasive feeling that a person can’t really begin their life until they’re married,” according to the publisher. The book offers different perspectives of external pressures and feelings of loneliness, hopelessness, and impatience, with Schermerhorn asserting, “A single life is worth living.”
As a bonus to this list, 100 Devotions for the Single Mom (Zondervan, out now), which is part of a series centered on motherhood that also includes 100 Devotions for the Working Mom and 100 Devotions for the Stay-at-Home Mom, features short readings on topics such as raising children, self-care, and empathy. Each passage includes a Bible verse and a prayer, as well as journaling lines that are intended to support unwed mothers.
“Are you fearful? Know that God is good, and He loves you and your kids,” reads a passage from 100 Devotions for the Single Mom. “Conquer your fears by connecting with God through prayer. Then with hope-infused anticipation, look forward to what is coming.”
