Dating with Discernment: 12 Questions to Make a Lasting Marriage (Andreades)

Done with dating? Don’t know where to start? Wondering if your date is the one to marry? Pastor-scholar Sam Andreades brings single Christians in that vulnerable life moment the practical, theological help to make the dangerous decision confidently. Bringing the Bible’s wisdom on relationships to bear on the dating scene, he helps you lay a foundation for a love that lasts.

This book will teach you how to:

• Confidently say good-bye to ill-suited suitors
• Deepen your relationship with God as you date
• Find, and make a lifelong commitment to, a worthy, compatible mate
• Understand the role of gender in developing intimacy

Author

Dr. Sam A. Andreades is an Associate Pastor of Iron Works Church of Phoenixville (PCA), and holds degrees from Yale University, Reformed Theological Seminary, New York University, and Covenant Theological Seminary. He has been a minister for twenty years, serving congregations in Pennsylvania and in Greenwich Village, Manhattan, and is founder of Higher Ground, a New York City ministry of Christian discipleship serving those with unwanted same-sex attractions. Sam has spoken around the country on the Christian view of gender and his first book, enGendered, won the World Magazine Book of the Year Award for Accessible Theology. He and his wife, Mary K., have four children. Two are married and two are single and dating with discernment.

Endorsements

“This is a brilliant book! Much like he did in enGendered, Sam A. Andreades has found the sweet spot in reading both Scripture and culture simultaneously to anticipate, articulate, and answer the questions that young people (and their parents) are now asking. He then directs them on how to live faithfully and proactively in the creation ordinance in a post-Obergefell world, where everything from sexual difference to biblical marriage is vexed with Orwellian confusion and despised by those with cultural capital. I especially loved how he opens the book with “How to Break Up” and then directly confronts the pros and cons (and sometimes necessities) of on-line dating services. The writing style is both informal and compelling, and Sam’s pastor’s heart (and the tire-treads on that heart) are evident throughout.”
— Rosaria Butterfield, Author, The Gospel Comes with a House Key

“Sam Andreades offers provocative and profoundly insightful advice for men and women about dating. This book is sure to make its readers think and rethink how they go about seeking a spouse.”
— Dr. Joel R. Beeke, President, Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary, Grand Rapids, Michigan

“Sam has done it again! He has taken his pioneering, countercultural work on gender in his last book, enGendered, and applied it here for the church to one of her most misunderstood topics: dating. The Church in America is between a rock and a hard place with regard to this topic. On the one hand, she struggles to disciple people in an overly sexualized culture which views relationships as disposable and transactional. On the other hand, the Church is still grappling with the damage of past teaching on dating that was unBiblical, reactionary, and legalistic. Between that Scylla and Charybdis, Sam offers this refreshing and super-practical book—from teaching on how to break up with someone to 12 questions for knowing if you are Mr. Right or if your date is Mr. Wrong. I will be mass distributing it in my church once this comes to print!”
— Geoff Bradford, Senior Pastor of Christ the King Presbyterian Church, Raleigh, and Philadelphia church-planter

“As a Pastor, it breaks my heart to see, on the one hand, so many marriages fail and then, on the other, to see marriages never take place as people are finding it increasingly difficult to find a suitable spouse. Even though online dating promises an abundance of “matches,” I hear story after story of how difficult it is to date successfully. I’m deeply thankful for Dr. Andreades, a reliable guide in assisting men and women to navigate the complexities of dating in our present cultural context.  The author skillfully avoids legalism while at the same time providing an abundance of practical help that is deeply rooted in Scripture in general, and in a theology of gender in specific. I highly recommend this important book and would love to see the book have a massive impact.”
— Darin Pesnell, Senior Lead Pastor of Iron Works Church, Phoenixville, and Head of the Iron Works Church Planting Network