An Ohio pastor stunned her church congregation as she announced that her self-proclaimed ‘prophet’ husband had married a second wife.
Lydia Ford, 45, the pastor of LifeWorks Church in Cleveland, Ohio, revealed to her flock that she and her husband Israel Ford, 47, had begun a polygynous marriage with another minister at their church, Shakayla Talley, 28.
‘And I want to share that, know, Prophet and I, you know, we are living even right now in what we would call a polygynous marriage,’ Lydia told her church.
‘My husband, our prophet, he has a second wife. Y’all know her. Y’all love her. Y’all benefit from her ministry every week.’
Lydia then welcomed her ‘sister in marriage’ onto the stage, and Talley admitted to the congregation that she understood they would have ‘questions.’
She described the reveal as an ‘elephant in the room’ as the church sat silently, and conceded that she could tell ‘people have comments and concerns.’
‘But I want to address that it is amazing to know that this is the will of God,’ she said, as Israel and Lydia stood around her, adding that the trio are ‘family.’
The LifeWorks Church was founded by Israel, real name James, in 2009, and the self-described ‘prophet’ claims to give his followers ‘deliverance and miraculous healings.’
It is unclear if Israel officially married Talley or if his references to her being his ‘wife’ were meant as a ceremonial opening up of his marriage.
In Ohio, state law prohibits entering into another marriage while a previous legal marriage remains in force in the eyes of authorities.
Polygyny differs from polygamy, which is the umbrella term for marriage involving multiple spouses, in that it refers specifically to one man married to multiple wives at the same time
After footage of the polygynous reveal went viral, Israel took to social media to defend the ‘unpopular’ move with his followers.
‘As a nation we have been taught that a man should have one wife only. This is unbiblical,’ he wrote.
‘I understand that this is an unpopular truth that we have gotten away from and many Pastors will not preach. I have no plans to choose pleasing man over what God has revealed.
‘People may not accept this and choose to disconnect, and that is ok! This life will be over soon and we can all laugh about it in Heaven. Until then, God bless.’
In July, Lydia also shared a gushing social media post about her ‘chosen little sister’ Talley, describing her as ‘a very special person in my life.’
Sharing the post before she announced Talley had joined her marriage, Lydia wrote that Talley had ‘shined’ at an event called ‘So, you wanna be a wife?’ run by the church.
‘The event that so many were blessed by could not have been what it needed to be without her help… the eagerness to help without any need for mentions or special attention,’ she wrote.
The posts were met with outrage and ridicule by the church’s followers, with one responding to the clip of the polygyny reveal in the church: ‘Where is the cross to fall on top of them?’
‘This is an abomination,’ responded pastor and TV host Tim Walker.
The Daily Mail has contacted LifeWorks Church for comment.
Will Potter, Daily Mail
