10 minutes with… Louise and Les Isaac

Les: Scripture, both Old and New Testament, record many intercultural marriages. Our book refers to God’s conditions for the marriage of His people. A common thread in scripture, however, is that God leads and connects people in marriage for His own divine purposes. The Bible shows that those connections are sometimes not what we would expect, such as the marriages of Rahab, Ruth and others; but God’s divine will, nonetheless, is played out. Likewise, today, intercultural Christian marriages we see as God bringing people together from diverse backgrounds, for His purposes.

Israel: Can you tell us why you think this book is important for our churches?

Louise: The world today is a global village of peoples interacting and doing life together from the variety of world cultures. Urban contexts especially exemplify this mixture. Consequently, we are seeing more multicultural churches, and more potential for intercultural relationships. Given such cultural diversity, this book is important for encouraging the Christian community to address the opportunities and challenges that developing intercultural relationships and marriage presents.

Sponsored

Israel: Rev Les, you and your wife Louise, who are both Black, have written a book on intercultural marriage. Can you help people understand the dynamics of your marriage as an intercultural marriage?

Les: In our book we have tried to unpack the importance and distinctiveness of culture in relation to marriage. Because we are both Black, there is often an unspoken assumption that culturally we are the same. Similar skin colours mask the truth that we each have differing cultural norms and background experiences by virtue of being born and raised in the Caribbean and England, respectively. 

There are many cultural similarities between us, but in the early years of our marriage, there were also many cultural differences which we had to navigate. Sometimes our cultural differentness enriched our relationship, and sometimes they raised challenges which we had to talk through and resolve. For example, there were times when we differed in opinion about what each of us regarded as ​’normal’ and came to realise that our cultural expectations were affecting our stance. 

This book details some of our stories, and that of others, in dealing with the intercultural elements of marriage relationships – addressing and working through them for a mutually satisfying and healthy marriage.

Israel: What are the conversations intercultural couples should be having before marriage?

Louise: In our book, we encourage couples to have conversations which are ​‘intentional’ and ​‘explicit’. The chapters highlight areas of married life where sometimes assumptions and expectations need to be unpacked and discussed. Couples will then be better able to assess the cultural norms they want included, adjusted or excluded to ensure that their married life is intentionally a celebration of what they choose to embrace from both cultures. 

Israel: From your experience of ministry and intercultural marriage, what advice would you give any young couples in an intercultural marriage that want to enter ministry?

Les: Over the years, we have known many intercultural couples take up Christian ministry positions, both in the UK and abroad. It has been our pleasure to observe that the cultural sensitivity that they have acquired in their marriage has complimented and added value to their ministry roles in many ways. Our encouragement to new couples is to talk, pray together, and know that God has brought you together for His purposes, so let Him lead you on your marriage and ministry journey.