Syndicated columnist Mike McManus urged Samford University graduates to choose their marriage mates wisely during his speech at fall commencement activities on the campus Dec. 14.
“Who you’re going to choose to be your soul mate for the rest of your life is one of the most important decisions of your life,” he said.
McManus, whose “Ethics & Religion” column appears in dozens of newspapers around the nation, is the author of “Marriage Savers: Helping Your Friends and Family Avoid Divorce.” He and his wife, Harriet, are founders of Marriage Savers, a nonprofit corporation designed to push down America’s divorce rate.
According to McManus, Alabama has an extremely high divorce rate, and Baptists have the highest divorce rate of any denomination.
People who are married live longer, he said. “People who are married are healthier, wealthier and have better sex,” said McManus, who cited five ways to insure a successful marriage.
- Be the right person.
- Choose a godly mate.
- Take a pre-marital inventory to assess strengths and weaknesses as a couple.
- Seek out a church with mentoring couples who can share from their experiences.
- If the marriage gets troubled, go back to the church for help.
He urged parents in the audience to consider becoming mentor couples in their church congregations. “Churches need to be marriage savers, not just wedding factories. A network of mentoring couples creates a safety net for marriages,” he said.
McManus spoke against cohabitation, a subject he said is seldom addressed from the pulpit.
“Culture says that the way to find out who you should marry is to sleep around and cohabitate before you marry. Scripture has a different idea,” he said, adding that sociology backs up Scripture, not the Playboy philosophy.
“Those that play by Playboy’s rules are the losers. Those that play by God’s rules are the winners in the game of life,” he said.
About 250 graduates received diplomas during commencement.
Business professor Edward L. Felton Jr. was attending his final Samford commencement as a faculty member. Felton, who has been Margaret Gage Bush University Professor since 1989, retired at the end of the fall semester.
“What he does for students outside the classroom is as important as what he does inside the classroom,” Samford Provost J. Bradley Creed said of Felton, who is known for his mentoring of students and service as faculty adviser to Omicron Delta Kappa leadership society.
Graduates included Deidre Downs, a history major who was one of two students to represent Alabama as a finalist for the Rhodes Scholarships.
She was among 12 college students from the Southeast region invited to Atlanta Dec. 6–7 to participate in final interviews for the prestigious awards.
Downs, who pursued a double minor in biology and chemistry, plans to enter medical school and specialize in pediatric oncology.
A Pelham High School graduate, she is the daughter of David and Susan Downs and a member of Riverchase Baptist Church, Birmingham.
Downs, who graduated magna cum laude, is a third-generation Samford graduate.
Graduates receiving degrees also included 33 from Beeson Divinity School. Those from Alabama were:
Master of divinity — James Sinclair Bass IV, Bessemer; Clara Lynn Bledsoe, Bryant Kenneth Bush, Jason Matthew Roberts, Adam Scott Robinson, Dean Eric Smedley, Greg Michael Williams and Robert Dewayne Wood, all of Birmingham; Donald Clifford Boshell, Jasper; David Clay Carroll, Fort Payne; Christopher L. Cottingham, Vestavia Hills; Glenn Edward Davis, Bessemer; Zana Alice Free, Cullman; Samuel Christopher Horton, Northport; Walter Scott Jeffreys, Fultondale; Calra Evette Jones-Stallworth, Montgomery; Archie Morris II, Harvest; Jonathan Lawrence Munson, Sterrett; James Kamau Muriuki, Montgomery; Danson Kinyua Mwaniki, Kerugoya, Kenya; and Robert Lee Plemmons III, Pelham.
Master of theological studies —Latondra S. Lewis, Birmingham.
Doctor of ministry — Bobby Earl Hopper, Gallion; Jeffrey Luther Redmond, Tallassee; and William Lester Russell, Mentone. (SU)
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