Catherine Strode Parks and her mom, Linda Strode, have done the church a great service by writing the excellent book A Christ-Centered Wedding: Rejoicing in the Gospel on Your Big Day.
There has been a growing proliferation in the last few years of books applying the gospel to all areas of life. But this is the first I’ve seen applying the gospel to the issue of planning a wedding. This is significant because marriage is intended as a display of the relationship between Christ and the church. Hence, of all areas of life that the gospel needs to be applied to, the way to plan a wedding needs to be a central one.
Catherine and Linda have done this at long last, and have done an excellent job. The book is very theologically solid, while at the same time going into the practical details of wedding planning.
Further, while learning about planning a gospel-centered wedding, you also learn a lot about the gospel itself. In fact, this is perhaps the only book on the planet on planning a wedding that is both practical and edifying! But that’s what happens when you rightly apply the gospel to any specific area of life — the gospel itself is seen to shine brighter.
For that reason, the importance of this book goes beyond the fact that it sounds the call for Christ-centered weddings and how to plan them effectively, as crucial as that is. It is also a model for how to apply the gospel to every area of life, and that applies to everyone.
It is also very well written and fun to read, and so hopefully this will not be the last book from Catherine.
Here’s what Tim Challies had to say about the book, which summarizes the main point and thrust of the book very well:
It’s your big day, at last! This is the day you’ve waited for, the moment you’ve dreamed about. But what if you’re not meant to be the star of the show? This book will prove to you that Jesus Christ is meant to be the center of your wedding, and, best of all, it will help you put him there.
You can also see Tim’s full review here, and see Catherine talk about the book in the short book trailer below. Also, don’t forget to check out her blog.