COURSE DESCRIPTION:
A careful examination of the modern problems inherent in marital and family relationships leading to suggestions for treatment on an individual and church-wide basis.

I. RATIONALE:
Most of the minister’s time is spent dealing with families. He must be well prepared to deal in an effective way by being totally familiar with the dynamics of marriage relations.

II. PREREQUISITES:
None

III. PROGRAM OBJECTIVES AND RELATED SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES:
A. Cognitive:

1. Have a working knowledge of the concepts and terms associated with marriage and family life.

2. Grasp the dynamics of interpersonal relationships and roles.

3. Gain awareness of the dynamics involved in successful adjustments in friendships, dating, marriage, and family relationships.

4. Be familiar with concepts relating to human sexuality.

5. To integrate understanding of dynamics with the Word of God.

B. Performance:

1. To be able to develop a teaching outline for a class on family in the local church.

2. To be able to apply the knowledge of interpersonal relationships to the counseling situation with a family.

3. To be able to do pre-marital counseling and effectively discuss such matters as dating, sex, etc.

4. To be able to discuss openly the concepts of sexuality in the family counseling situation or in premarital counseling.

5. To integrate understanding of dynamics with the Word of God.

IV. PREASSESSMENT:
A. The student is to write a history of his family of origin detailing the interpersonal relationship between the parents and between the siblings with each other and with the parents.

V. INSTRUCTIONAL/LEARNING ACTIVITIES:
A. The student will read the text completely.
B. The student will complete the study guide.
C. The student will write a detailed teaching outline of each chapter. Outlines must be typed and submitted for grading.
D. The student will write a 5–7 page paper on the subject “The Biblical Concept of Family in Contrast to the African Concept of Family.”

VI. SELF-EVALUATION:
N/A

VII. POST ASSESSMENT:
A. The student is to reread their family history to see what changes in thinking have taken place as a result of taking this class.

VIII. CORRECTIVE LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES:
N/A

IX. LEARNING RESOURCES, MATERIALS, TOOLS, ETC.
A. The Bible
B. Marriage and Family Life, Dr. Stan DeKoven, Vision Publishing, Ltd., Ramona, CA