Street Pastors founder Rev Les Isaac and his wife Louise have been married for 45 years, and have what he would describe as a “good” marriage”, even when it’s “not perfect”.
Speaking at an internet event hosted by Keep the Faith magazine, he recalled how “tough” the primary three years of marriage were, but says they’ve learnt so much over time and are passionate to support and encourage other married couples with their very own wisdom and insight, describing this as their “motivation and ministry”.
Furthermore, they’re enthusiastic about encouraging and equipping churches to strengthen marriages, noting that even Christian couples struggle.
“Some years ago Louise coined this phrase: ‘The length of a wedding isn’t evidence of the health of the wedding,’” he said.
He continued, “Lots of marriages within the church and Christian marriage behind closed doors need some serious help and repair, which the Church isn’t responding to.”
Louise Isaac touched on how necessary it was to recognise the “spiritual context of marriage”, highlighting the enemy’s tendency to focus on anything God has labelled ‘good’.
She recalled an interesting conversation with a non-Christian friend: “A friend of mine some years ago said to me I really like my partner but I won’t ever marry him. As I asked why, she said her commentary is that when her friends live with their partners, they’re effective. The minute they get married something changes and there’s friction and conflict at a far greater degree than there was before.”
She continued: “I feel what this non-Christian woman was identifying was a spiritual dynamic that affects marriage.”
Louise Isaac said that the Church’s first response should be prayer and she or he asked the net audience if prayer for marriage was “consistently on their church’s agenda”.
Continuing on, she said that the Church must be “intentional” in the way it supports relationships and invests in couples through marriage ministry.
In support of this, Rev Isaac, who received an OBE in 2012, urged church leaders to be honest with their congregations when talking about relationships, and take time to examine in with married couples before it’s too late.
“Sometimes we’re struggling in our communication, struggling sexually, struggling financially. All this stuff are a part of the journey. I often say to ministers that we only get to know there are problems in the wedding after they have gone to the solicitors to file for divorce,” he said.
He went on to watch that there’s an inclination for congregations to consider that pastors and church leaders don’t face obstacles inside their very own marriages, fostered by a “culture of silence” inside the Church. Honesty from leaders about relationship issues will encourage church members to confide in them about their marital struggles, he believes.
“I feel there needs to be a relationship teaching series on a Sunday morning for everybody. I feel the Church must have a series on family relationships and really bring up that biblical perspective of what a great relationship looks like,” he said.
Louise Isaac said while the Church has “so much to do” and “plenty of challenges”, “God’s help can actually make journeying easier if we tap into what God is saying but in addition tap into where persons are at and where they must be.”
Rev Isaac was keen about how the Church can support marriages, especially if pastors learn to tap into the resources at their fingertips – the very people of their congregations.
“We aren’t suggesting that the pastors or the leadership has to do all the pieces. We have plenty of expert, gifted, and educated people inside the church,” he said.
He added: “One of the things that we continuously encourage the Church to do is to seek out these people, empower them [and] set the framework in order that they will function and be a source of encouragement to people.”
 Street Pastors founder Rev Les Isaac and his wife Louise have been married for 45 years, and have what he would describe as...){kind=link}