Grammy Award winning gospel musicians turned church leaders Pastor Warryn and first lady Erica Campbell are addressing the matter of married people having friends of the opposite gender.

In a video posted to Erica’s YouTube page, the couple discussed the importance of forsaking relationships with members of the opposite sex. Warryn, the pastor of California Worship Center revealed how some men could struggle when they remain friends with women that they dated in their youth.

“…I can’t speak for women but as a man there’s a clause in the wedding vows, that phrase that says forsake ye all others. Now that is very very key and for some men it’s not like we’re trying to have our cake and eat it too,” the pastor explained. “ It’s just that you don’t want to rupture a relationship that you had.. maybe let’s say you’ve been friends with somebody your whole life and you dated at one point. I had friends like that we dated when we were kids or something.”

According to Warryn, it isn’t wise for married men to have a best friend that is female.

“I don’t think you ought to have a best friend that’s a female. I don’t think you ought to have a female friend that ain’t your wife’s friend,” he said. “I ain’t going to say that’s not healthy, I’ll say it’s not smart. … We focus a lot on right and wrong and we focus so much on that we don’t get to the real question, is it wise?”

Gospel singer and syndicated radio show host of Get Up! Mornings With Erica Campbell chimed in to the conversation with her husband to say she believed it was unhealthy to have a best friend of the opposite sex when getting married. She encouraged people to take a look at their vows when making these types of decisions about their relationship.

“Ask yourself what is God’s design for a relationship. What is God’s purpose for a relationship and are you prepared for that,” she said. “Look at what the vows say and spend time with each one of them and ask yourself can I do that?”

 

(Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images)