Review Gary Chapman - A Couple's Guide to a Growing Marriage

Gary Chapman, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Five Love Languages and many other books on marriage and love, such as The Marriage You’ve Always Wanted (2009) and the Four Seasons of Marriage (2012). He now issued a Couple’s Guide to a Growing Marriage. It’s a Bible study, meant for couples to explore during a quarter. The book has both questions and tips for personal reflection, conversations as a couple, as well as topics to exchange with a study group. Some of the 12 chapters seem common sense, Christian discipleship principles or competencies of emotional intelligent people. Of course, these are applicable within the context of marriage as well. Think of a living relationship, and so conversation with God, dealing with human emotions, overcoming anger, listening skills, Chapman touches the importance of learning to agree, forgive, and conversations with your spouse, intercession prayer, love, attitude towards money (spending, saving, giving) and serving. Developing mutual sexual fulfillment comes as 12th and is only shortly introduced.

Chapman aims better relationships, both you & God, you & your spouse, and eventually ‘all your relationships’, which sounds odd, given the focus of this study. I didn’t discover brilliant new insights, though it may certainly help others to figure out what lasting relationships are meant to be built on. Enjoy your marriage, let it grow in oneness.

About the author

Married more than 45 years to Karolyn, Dr. Gary Chapman is just the man to turn to for help on improving or healing our most important relationships. His own life experiences, plus over thirty-five years of pastoring and marriage counseling, led him to publish his first book in the Love Language series, The Five Love Languages: How to Express Heartfelt Commitment to Your Mate. Millions of readers credit this continual New York Times bestseller with saving their marriages by showing them simple and practical ways to communicate their love to their partner.
Since the success of his first book, Dr. Chapman has expanded his Five Love Languages series to specifically reach out to teens, singles, men, and children (co-authored with Dr. Ross Campbell).
He is the author of numerous other books published by Moody Publishers/Northfield Publishing, including The World’s Easiest Guide to Family Relationships, Anger, The Family You’ve Always Wanted, The Marriage You’ve Always Wanted, Desperate Marriages, God Speaks Your Love Language (Jan 09), Parenting Your Adult Child, and Hope for the Separated. He co-authored The Five Languages of Apology with Dr. Jennifer Thomas.
Chapman speaks to thousands of couples nationwide through his weekend marriage conferences. He hosts a nationally syndicated radio program, Love Language Minute, and a Saturday morning program, Building Relationships with Dr. Gary Chapman, that air on more than 100 stations. Dr. Chapman also serves as senior associate pastor at Calvary Baptist Church in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
Dr. Chapman holds BA and MA degrees in anthropology from Wheaton College and Wake Forest University, respectively, MRE and PhD degrees from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and has completed postgraduate work at the University of North Carolina and Duke University.
Dr. Chapman and his wife have two adult children and two grandchildren, and currently live in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.