Angela said, "It was a blessing to the church, that’s for sure. You started with less than one hundred members and now, you have over ten thousand." She shook her head. "You are amazing," she said, looking straight into my husband’s eyes.

"No," he responded, though he still wore his double-dimpled smile. “God is. God is the one who’s amazing.”

"Well, Amen," Angela said with a chuckle.

'Amen," Jeremy said.

Heifer, if you keep playing me. That’s what I wanted to say, but I kept on my First Lady’s smile.

"Well now, let’s talk about some of the juicy stuff."

Juicy? Where was she going with this?

Angela scooted to the edge of the chair, bringing herself closer to Jeremy. "Reverend Williams," Angela sang my husband’s name. "Tell me," she said like they were about to share a secret. "How have you managed to stay above the drama we often see accompanying megachurch pastors."

My husband’s smile faded and he shook his head. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Oh come on,” Angela said. “Megachurches are often rocked with everything from abuse of power, to misappropriation of funds, and then,” she paused and looked at me, “the affairs. We’ve seen and heard it all. But never do we hear Jeremy Williams' name associated with any of that.”

“Well, first of all, I’d take offense with you stating that as a fact.”

“Oh, I didn’t mean....”

“No, I’m actually glad you brought that up. Because so many people have that impression of the church. And yes, there are a small number of pastors who’ve gotten caught up, that’s a fact. But it’s no greater number than men, or women, in any profession.”

“True.”

“One thing people must remember is that pastors are no better than anyone else. We are held to a higher standard because of what we were called to do, but we are still men.”

Angela sat back in her chair a bit. “Well, Amen.”

“Amen,” Jeremy said. “Now, I do have to say that my wife and I,” he squeezed my hand, “know that God has given us a gift and it is our job to continue to provide spiritual leadership, guidance, and support to the members that God has given to our care. We would be dishonoring Him,” he pointed toward the ceiling, “if we were to do anything other than what He has called me to do."

I nestled in closer to my husband when I said, "And we would never abuse that gift. Neither one of us.”

Angela gave me a long stare, then nodded before she glanced down at her pad filled with notes and questions. “So, ten is a special number for you. You will be with New Kingdom for ten years and you will be...married for the same number?”

“Yes!” I said, putting as much strength into my voice as I could. “Jeremy and I didn’t have a chance to have a long engagement and we didn’t have a big wedding. We got married the Sunday after his installation and we’ve been on this journey ever since.”