BYNUM, WHITE & BROKEN MARRIAGES: THE PUBLIC PAIN OF A PASTOR'S DIVORCE

Below is one of the best articles I've seen written about the painful implications regarding the pain of divorce among pastor.---Sister Content Woman

This summer, two prominent preaching duos filed for divorce, stunning the evangelic community. Nationally acclaimed TV evangelist Paula White and her husband, Randy White, announced to their congregation last month their plans to split after nearly 18 years of marriage. The Whites are the founders of Without Walls International Church in Tampa, Fla., one of the nation's largest and fastest-growing churches. Paula White is also an author and appears regularly on "The Tyra Banks Show" as a life coach. The Whites' news came on the heels of famed African-American TV evangelist Juanita Bynum Weeks' own decision to file for divorce from her husband, Pentecostal preacher Bishop Thomas W. Weeks III, after he allegedly attacked her in an Atlanta hotel parking lot.

Weeks is the pastor of Global Destiny Ministries in Duluth, Ga. The couple married in 2002 and co-founded the church in 2006, where Bynum was the "first lady." She is a gospel singer and author. Together the couple wrote the marriage guide Teach Me How to Love You: The Beginnings.No one is immune to divorce, not even pastors, who devote their lives to God and are often the source of wisdom and comfort for couples going through marital strife. Newsweek reports that the divorce rate among pastors is about 50 percent, no better than the national average. The reason most cited for pulpit breakups is the demands of ministry.

For both the Whites and the Weeks, their ministries involved consistent travel and constant commitment to the congregation, which tends to leave little room to build personal relationships. Another reason is evangelic congregations seeking a pastor often prefer married to single candidates, which results in some ministers entering into the marriage commitment prematurely. For clergy, divorce is a dual tragedy affecting both their personal and professional lives. A minister undergoing divorce must contend with divided and disillusioned children, church members, communities and, for prominent pastors, the general public.

Paula White said she knows her followers are disappointed given that evangelical Christians hold marriage as a sacred institution and a cornerstone of a godly life. Randy White acknowledged the couple's announcement would let a lot of people down and predicted that the attendance of the 23,000-member church where the two served as co-pastors "will take a hit."Divorce can also jeopardize a pastor's job. Some denominations, such as the Assemblies of God Pentecostal Church, require that the minister provide just cause for the divorce "before ministerial credentials can continue."

Keith Madsen, in his book Fallen Images: Experiencing Divorce in the Ministry, gives his opinion for such widespread condemnation: "One view is that a minister cannot show any major flaw or failure. The minister has to project the image of a person who has been strong enough to resist the evil with which others struggle."This expectation of perfection is unrealistic and pastors who attempt to portray such an image cause serious damage to the church congregation and the community of faith in their times of personal crisis. The Apostle Paul reminds us in Romans 3:10, "There is no one righteous, not even one."As the White and Weeks families each go through divorce, it is important to remember that their crisis, whether justifiable or not, is no less painful.*

Courtesy of the Salt Lake Tribune By Corey J. Hodges

Paula White Is The Princess Di Of The Faith Based Community: So, What's Her Story?

Honestly, before all this discussion about Juanita Bynum and Thomas Weeks getting divorced, I had never even heard of Pastor Randy and TD Jakes prodigy Paula White.

Our sister is the one who started blogging about the White's impeding split, which made me curious about this Kelli "American Idol Southern Belle" Pickler look-a-like who speaks in a language that Black folks can relate to.

Paula White Is Handling Her Split From Her Husband And Pastor Well, But Juanita Bynum Needs A New Media Strategy

The Pastor Randy And Paula White Divorce: Lessons From The Pulpit

What sometimes seems like a case of the dueling divorcing female evangelists, last week it was Paula White's turn to appear on TBN since the announcement of her divorce. Like Prophetess Juanita Bynum - who also calls Bishop T.D. Jakes a mentor - TBN was the first stop for White after the very public announcement of her divorce from Randy White with whom she served as co-pastor of their Without Walls International Church in Tampa, Florida.

For me, if Juanita Bynum "hit it out of the park" with her appearance on TBN, Paula White "hit the game-winning home run" with hers. She was amazing!

Interviewed by contemporary Christian music artist, Carman, White sat poised and humbled as she communicated the power of her spiritual life which she credited with keeping her strong during this very challenging time for rarely is the loss of a marriage ever easy.

Upon first coming on to the program, Carman referred to her as a life coach as well as a minister of the gospel. I found the usage of this secular characterization interesting, yet powerful. I enjoy seeing people evolve in their gifts. White's powerful preaching and teaching cannot be denied.

What I also found interesting was...

This sistah has so much more to say>>>

Paula White, Juanita Bynum And The Hypocrisy Faithful Black Women Face In the Church Pews

THE REAL TRUTH BEHIND THE CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP CRISIS

Why are so many, particularly women, taking this news concerning the dissolving marriages of female televangelists Juanita Bynum and Paula White so hard?

The issues surrounding these two women of God are far beyond just them, their spouses or their respective ministries. It is forcing people in the "Body of Christ" to examine some real issues that have gone unchecked in the church for far too long.

For those of you who know nothing about me, I use to work for a mega church about 9 years ago. What I saw and experienced shocked me "on the regular" - to coin an urban phrase.

From a professional and career standpoint, my experience in working for this church was one of the best experiences and career milestones of my life. Upon first working there, I saw the opportunity as a blessing. I loved working for my pastor; a humble, smart man who clearly was spiritually driven to serve as a way of being in God's will and following God's calling for his life. While not a perfect man, he most certainly was a good man with a heart for people.

However, working for the church and my pastor also meant working for congregants and the community. This part of my job at times was like working in hell.

Mind you, I will be the first to take full responsibility for the role I played in my being emotionally hurt and feeling spiritually defeated that led to my eventual departure from attending Sunday service regularly. As it is often said, if I knew better, I would do better.

I was 29-years old when I first starting working at the church and so incredibly naive to the infrastructure and unspoken rules for being part of inner workings of a large, sophisticated ministry. The church does so many incredible things for the community and I have no problem defending the value of service it has been and continues to be for the people - both members and non-members alike.

However, like most adults who find themselves attending a formal worship service on a regular basis, I chose my church based on a deep spiritual need. I sought the essence of who God really was. I wanted to know deep spiritual truths in addition to the purpose of my life as intended by God. For awhile, I found that for where I was on my spiritual journey in life, that this particular church served its purpose.

Yet, in time, I began to recognize some very disturbing social trends within the church that caused me to pause, that left me confused and made it more difficult to reconcile within my heart and spirit and justify my existence within a formal worship environment.

Comprised of mostly women, the church - especially the Black church - can be a very difficult place to grow spiritually and survive emotionally and psychologically. Once I had the opportunity to serve as an employee, I can still recall all the joy I had.

However, many women didn't like seeing such joy. So many were mean, vindictive and jealous and I...

You can't stop now>>>

Paula White Divorcing Pastor Randy: Another T.D. Jakes Prodigy Has A Come To Jesus Moment

Wow! What a week if you are a follower of the modern day Christian movement. First, it was the news of Juanita Bynum and her husband, Bishop Thomas Weeks III playing Wrestlemania, now the news that world-renown mega pastors Paula and Randy White of Without Walls Church International are divorcing.

This is particular heavy news for Black folks who, like me, really like Paula's ministry. I've got more on this drama here.