The Sisterhood Exclusive: Preacher's Wives Reveal Why They Took to Reality TV
The lives of preacher's wives may have been a mystery to many in the past, but five women are participating in TLC's groundbreaking reality television show "The Sisterhood" to kick off the new year and dispel some misconceptions about women of God.
While TLC Networks started the first day of the new year with the brand new series that will highlight women who are pillars in their faith-based communities, some of "The Sisterhood" cast members also spoke to The Christian Post about their participation in the show filled with the good, bad and realities faced by preacher's wives in Atlanta, Ga.
Although the first episode of "The Sisterhood" may entertain both Christian and non-Christian viewers with everything from a pastor teaching his daughters about sex with the use of fruit, dealing with interracial relationships and the struggle of women fitting into a new group, first lady Christina Murray admits that she was apprehensive about joining the show.
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Christina, the first lady of Oasis Church who is not afraid to say "I'm Dominican and I don't play," admits that she was not initially comfortable venturing into the world of reality television. However, she felt compelled to be a part of a different type of reality television series.
"I chose to appear on the show for a few reasons. Its completely out of my comfort zone," Christina admitted to CP. "But I really felt there was a need to show something that so many people don't know about. Christians and non Christians alike can watch and gravitate to somebodys story, somebodys life and somebodys journey that they've gone through."
Despite her initial apprehension, Christina said her church welcomed the opportunity for their first lady and pastor to take part in the television series.
"The church was very excited and ecstatic. First of all they know we're crazy, they know we're wild. They know we are definitely just trying to put something out there that's going to be beneficial," Christina told CP. "One of things that I can say is our church one of our mottos is we're going to the edge and that's educate, demonstrate God effectively. So sometimes you've got to go to the edge to reach those people that nobody else is trying to reach."
For Ivy Couch, the first lady of Emmanuel Tabernacle church led by her husband Pastor Mark Couch, the church took a little bit of time to warm up to the idea of having their first family appear, potentially becoming reality television stars.
"It was something that my husband and I fasted and prayed about because it is such a delicate endeavour. And after fasting and praying about it and seeking God he really kind of let me know that this was an assignment that we were supposed to follow that really gave us a groundbreaking opportunity to be transparent and I think that's what's often lacking in the Christian world," Ivy told CP. "We got mixed reviews at first because I think initially we have a church that is made up of half and half, really traditional older people and the other half is the young, hip, push the envelope generation. They are really excited about it right now. And we also talked openly about it from the pulpit."
While Christina and Ivy admitted that they were familiar with reality television programs already in existence, their fellow cast member DeLana Rutherford had no idea what to expect. DeLana, first lady of Worship With Wonders church, never watched a reality television show in her life but believes that God called her to take part in "The Sisterhood."
"In my perspective I personally 100 percent have never sat home and watched any of the reality shows. Even at the beginning of the show, a few people mentioned that I should to kind of get an idea, but I just felt in my spirit that I didn't really want to watch them," DeLana told CP. "Nothing against anybody else watching them but personally myself I've never seen one. But God spoke to me at the beginning of this show and said don't just give the world what they want, give the world what they need. What they need is some real women of God to be real and transparent."
The transparency of the women, their faith and individual stories are what makes "The Sisterhood" stand out from other shows about the spouses of high-profile individuals, Christina told CP.
"One thing that this show has that's going to be different is amazing stories that you'll be able to follow. Besides that it's groundbreaking, never been done," Christina told CP. "We're very open about our faith. A lot of people hide that on t.v. and hide that but we're very open about our faith and what we believe in."
Viewers can tune into "The Sisterhood" premiere on Jan 1 at 9 p.m. ET.
