Singles at the Crossroads: A Fresh Perspective on Christian Singleness - Paperback

by Albert Y. Hsu (Author)

• One of the 1998 Academy of Parish Clergy Top Ten Books of the Year

Nearly half of adults today are unmarried. But most churches emphasize marriage and family, leaving many Christian singles feeling marginalized or alienated. Though they look to Jesus and Paul as role models, many suspect they would be more acceptable to the church--and God--if they settled down and got married.Albert Hsu challenges this view. Christian singles don't need tips on finding a mate or advice on suffering through the single life. What they need is a truly Christian understanding of singleness--a biblically grounded, theologically informed perspective that honors singleness equally with marriage and family.Moving beyond pat answers, Hsu

• debunks the myth of the "gift of singleness"
• chronicles how the church has overemphasized both singleness and marriage
• works through discerning God's will as a single Christian
• explains why searching for the right marriage partner can be misguided--even unbiblical
• grapples with loneliness, aloneness and community
• warns of common mistakes regarding dating, love and sex

Hsu draws insight from an interview with John Stott aswell as from the stories of other Christian students and professionals. Ultimately, singleness is not a problem to be solved by marriage, he says; rather, like marriage, it is an opportunity in which to follow Jesus. Singles at the Crossroads points the way to a Christian community where all members are valued, Jew and Gentile, slave and free, male and female, married and single.

Back Jacket

Nearly half of today's adult population is unmarried. But most churches emphasize marriage and family, leaving many Christian singles feeling like marginalized, second-class citizens. Many suspect they would be more acceptable to the church - and God - if they "settled down" and got married. Albert Hsu challenges this point of view. Christian singles need neither more how-to books for meeting the perfect mate nor trite advice on suffering through the single life. What is lacking is a truly Christian understanding of singleness - what it means to be single and Christian. Hsu suggests that a balanced, biblical view is one that honors singleness as a status equal to marriage. Moving beyond pat answers, this book debunks the myth of the "gift of singleness"; works through issues of discerning God's will as a single; explains why searching for "the right one" can be misguided and even unbiblical; grapples with loneliness, aloneness, community, dating and sex; gives practical guidance for temptations singles face; and provides questions for individual or group study.

Author Biography

Albert Y. Hsu (pronounced "shee") is associate editorial director (trade) at InterVarsity Press, where he acquires and develops books in such areas as church, culture, ministry, and mission. He earned his PhD in educational studies from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois. Al is the author of Grieving a Suicide, Singles at the Crossroads, and The Suburban Christian. He has been a writer and columnist for Christianity Today and served as seniorwarden on the vestry of Church of the Savior in Wheaton, Illinois. He and his wife, Ellen, have two sons and live in the western suburbs of Chicago.