Public romance becomes public nightmare

ATLANTA — Juanita Bynum is known and admired by thousands as a fiery evangelist whose no-nonsense, lead-by-less-than-perfect-example message of self-improvement was seemingly illustrated by her fairy-tale marriage to a man who also is a widely known minister.

The romance, which included a million-dollar wedding, became a nightmare last week when Thomas Weeks III was charged with choking his wife, pushing her to the ground in a hotel parking lot and stomping on her.

Bynum's example, of living one's life as an empowered Christian single woman-turned-spouse, shifts to spouse-turned-survivor.

"The very thing she's been preaching and proclaiming has now blown up in her own life," said Duke University theology professor J. Kameron Carter. Since their marriage in 2002, Bynum and Weeks had worked out of Global Destiny Church but had their own independent and successful ministries, attracting tens of thousands to their conferences and selling thousands of books and CDs. She is the star preacher in the marriage, with her successful career as a media personality, gospel singer, author and playwright.

They had become estranged, and on Aug. 22, they met at a hotel to try to reconcile. Within hours, police were called to Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta, where they found Bynum with bruises. According to the police report, she told officers Weeks "choked her, pushed her down, kicked and stomped her ... until a bellman pulled him off of her."

Two days later, Weeks turned himself in to the Fulton County Sheriff's Office. He was released on $40,000 bail with the condition that he have no contact with his wife or her sister. On Friday, he was indicted on charges of aggravated assault and making terroristic threats.

Weeks' attorney, Ed Garland, didn't respond to calls. A request to speak with Bynum through her publicist was declined.

Bynum's MySpace page has a message for her followers: "I am currently recovering from all of my injuries and resting well. There are so many great things happening for me in my future, and so much to look forward to concerning my destiny, this too shall pass."

Bynum, a former hairdresser and flight attendant, gained wide attention after she preached her breakout sermon, "No More Sheets," at a Christian singles event in 1998 about breaking free of sexual promiscuity. An audience of thousands applauded her raw, no-nonsense delivery, peppered with first-person accounts of her struggle with her spirituality and secular ways.

"I find it very difficult to listen to anybody preach to me about being single when they got a pair of thighs in their bed every night ... telling me to 'Hold on,' " Bynum roared. "I wanna hear 'Hold on' from somebody who's really holding on! I wanna hear 'Hold on' from somebody who knows about struggle!"

She admonished the women in the audience to improve themselves before seeking husbands, saying, "What are you bringing to the table? God is calling you to accountability today! Get yourself together!"

For Bynum and Weeks, the allegation of domestic violence could have meaning beyond their marriage.

"For all of the strides that have been made to overcome the male dominance that is associated with fundamental Christian expression, this throws light on the ways in which women have been overshadowed in problematic and troublesome ways in the charismatic movement," said Carter, the theology professor.

At a forum Thursday at Spelman College, a historically black women's college in Atlanta, many in the audience said they were shocked and saddened to hear of the Bynum case.

"It just hit me like a wake-up call, that even the strongest can be victims," said sophomore Elizabeth Alexander.

Alexander said she sought the opinion of her own pastor, who is male, expecting him to condemn Weeks' actions. Instead, he responded with Scriptures and said nothing of domestic violence being wrong.

Support for Weeks has been strong on his MySpace page. One message posted Aug. 28 reads: "Bishop Weeks, don't be discouraged, but be encouraged. Stand firm and know that the Lord is mighty in battle."