In case you haven�t heard, Black female spiritual leader Juanita Bynum is divorcing her husband, Thomas W. Weeks III, pastor of Global Destiny Church. Weeks has been charged with aggravated assault after allegedly stomping and kicking her in an Atlanta hotel parking lot on August 21. [Weeks has pleaded not guilty to criminal charges stemming from the alleged attack.] Now, after a media baptism by fire in which her spirit and credibility have been put to the test, Prophetess Bynum tells what happened that night and how she�s trying to move forward with a new ministry and message about domestic violence that may change the Black church, forever. Read excerpts from the first of her two-part exclusive interview in the December issue of ESSENCE.
By Denene Millner
Juanita Bynum
Credit: Matthew Jordan Smith
Prophetess Juanita Bynum
On Breaking Her Silence:
�All of what I�m going through right now has to do with the loss of my marriage, the love of my husband, and the jeopardizing of my integrity at the hands of my husband. I don�t want anyone to think that my silence meant consent. My silence was meant to wait for the cool of the day. This is not about anger or retaliation but integrity and truth on behalf of my name.�
On Why She Stayed in the Marriage:
�I don�t want anybody to think I was stupid for staying; I stayed because of who I was�I had to be careful. My thoughts were, I can�t get a divorce. What would people say? How would they view me? I just felt like I needed to pray more. And I did, and it did get better. We went three years without him getting physical, but then the verbal rage would still be there.�
On What She Says Happened With their Million Dollar Home:
�I came back from a trip and was getting ready to tape for television when he walked in and said he had already moved us out and all of our furniture was in the church warehouse. I cried for two days. My sisters said, �Nita, you�ll get another house,� and I said, �It�s not about the house.� This was the place where I had the presence of God. That�s the one thing I had. And I felt like that�s what [my husband] took.�
On What She Says Happened on August 21:
�He just grabbed me, and he grabbed me around my throat and threw me to the ground. I said, �Oh, my God, my head!� because the whole sky was spinning. And when I turned around, that�s when I got the first kick. I screamed out, �Please don�t kill me!� That�s when the bellman grabbed him, and they were going at it. I don�t know what was happening, but the bellman was going into his pocket, and I grabbed his arm and got between them and said, �Please don�t hurt my husband,� and that�s when the bellman let him go. And I took maybe two or three steps over and I collapsed on the ground.�
On Previous Incidents of Alleged Abuse:
�He pulled off on the side of the road to a gas station, and there were a lot of people out there, and he pulled the van up and told me to get out. He went in the back of the van and threw my Louis Vuitton luggage out in front of the people. I was sitting in the car and looked back to see what he was doing. When he started throwing my luggage out, I said, �Wait!� He was snatching the other door open to get the rest of my luggage out and the door knocked me to the ground. And he left me there. He had my purse, my phone, my money. I had nothing.�
On Her Marriage:
�People will say, �If you love your husband and you forgive him, why can�t you just reconcile and go to counseling?� And I wish with all my heart that it could be as simple as that. I have faith that God is a miracle worker, because I�ve seen him work miracles. But I�m not sure, not 150 percent sure that the person I saw in the parking lot that night won�t ever show up again.�
On Her New Mission:
�When people can see where you came from and see what you are today and know looking at where you came from and know that there is no real legal reason why you should even be left standing and you�re still standing, that is when God gets the glory. That�s when people say there must be a God somewhere. That�s where my stand is right now.�
Read part one of our entire interview with Juanita Bynum in the December issue of ESSENCE.
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4 comments:
To my friend, Juanita bynum....
I am so sorry for what happened to you!I was not beaten up by my husband or something like that,I was beaten up by my family,my Mother. I prayed and asked God to help me,and then I turned away from him.Years later after I grew up,I went into the Military,and went on all tours,I traveled the world.Later,of my horror, I was sent to Iraq,and then I was shot in the head and my buddy was killed.I was in a coma for six months,and then I heard one of your cds,I think it was behind the veil,that is what I first heard when God gave me back to the earth.Then,I wanted to get to know you on the spiritual level,I bought all your cds and I listened to your preaching. You came off to me as a strong woman in faith that had changed her life around.The same with me.I did not go preaching,but I went to the Pentagon,and the Whitehouse.I underwent a lot of surgeries for my broken ankles,hey I even endured not having a place to live after I came back from Iraq,but you kept me encouraged. Finally your words touched me,when I bought an old Dvd,Megafest 2006. I was having some anger with God,for what I saw in my years in the Military,and in Iraq especially,since I was on the frontline,because my Job(M.O.S) was a Military police,and we had to do convoy attacks and watch some horror of suicide bombers,but you helped me Juanita,You said on that DVD,that God told us to rise,and I did,then you said God said that we should shout,and I did.Little do you know,I forgot that I was out of the wheelchair??Once again, God used you to draw me closer to him.You are a prophetess or what God have chosen you to be.I will always love you and thank God.I will send whatever you need,if I do not have it,I will raise the money up,through my college,and Vets home. We care!Go with God,and God will go with you. Be strong,nita.Much love from the young adults,Inky.
Woman of God, greetings to you in the name of our Lord and savior JESUS CHRIST, I heard what you are going through presently.
God has used you to touch and change lives in our generation and the enemy, the Satan and his agents are not happy and he’s trying to hurt your feelings especially your marriage.
Please read the following scriptures; Psalm 34:19 says many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the lord delivereth him out of them all and 2conrinthian 4:8 says we are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;
You might be having pains right now, but I strongly believe that there is God’s hidden agenda using the present situation to prepare you for war against divorce in this generation. This might be a new move of God in your ministry.
Please seek the face of God strongly before taking a decision
I am praying fervently for God intervention in your situation because I know all these are plots from the pit of hell to dent your image and integrity but God will not allow it.
Take some time out to seek the face of God not the face of men.
God bless you!
Pastor Dave O. Itoya
Divine Intervention Mission, Abuja-Nigeria
Dear Juanita, you are the woman that i love so much and i always wish you were my woman. However, what you went through in your marriage is just the trick of the enemy to make sure that you lost your ministry but thank God that He's grace kept you. Concerning your ex-husband, there is nothing you can do than to forgive him with your whole heart and pray that he will be delivered from the bondage of the enemy that has taken control over him so much that it led to all the asault on you. I still wish to meet you one day and pray that God will give me someone like you for a wife. Continue to swim in the river of HIS goodness and mercy and my your ministry florish day by day. Emmanuel .E.E from Nigeria
when i was growing up before i became a pastor, my senior pastor use your home as example for us. until i came to seminary in 2006 that i really know your person your preaching on Tabernacle, and the book you wrote on the same matter touched me. when i read about you and your husband i knew that the devil want to ruined your testimony, and silence you. i prayed for you then that God uphold you and keep you in faith. George Adetoyi from Nigeria
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