Part 1 of 3 in our series on polygamy and the church: Faith, Leadership and Family.
On Sunday, October 25, a congregation near Cleveland, Ohio, stood and applauded as a pastor’s wife introduced her husband’s second wife. The video spread within days. It also stirred up a question many believers assumed was settled: is one husband with one wife truly God’s design for marriage?
What is happening
Israel Ford founded LifeWorks Church in the Cleveland area, and the church describes him as a prophet and co-pastor. His wife, Lydia Ford, introduced Minister Shakayla Talley Ford as her “sister in marriage” and described the household as a polygynous marriage. Israel Ford shared the video online, said the teaching that a man should have one wife is unbiblical, and cited Exodus 21:10. Reports say the arrangement had lasted nearly three years. He also promised a full sermon explaining his position, which had not been published at the time of the reports we reviewed.
It is unclear whether the second marriage was legally registered. Ohio law bars a married person from marrying another or continuing to cohabit, and a violation is a first-degree misdemeanor. A Missouri pastor, Rich Tidwell, made a similar public defense in 2025. Two publicized cases in about a year tell us the topic is loud right now. They don’t tell us how common it is.
Fact versus opinion. The announcement, the Exodus 21:10 citation and the open legal question are reported facts. Critics online have used words like devilry and cult. Those are judgments, not findings. So is the claim that God endorses the arrangement, and so is the prediction that polygamy is about to become normal in Protestant churches.
Why it matters
Marriage is the first institution God built, and what a church teaches about it shapes homes, children and legal protections. In Zimbabwe the question is practical, not abstract. The Marriages Act of 2022 recognizes registered customary marriages that may be polygamous, and pastors can solemnise them. What we teach from the pulpit meets real households on Monday morning.
Biblical perspective
The case for polygyny rests on real texts. Exodus 21:10 regulates a man’s duties to a first wife when he takes another: “her food, her clothing, and her marriage rights he shall not diminish.” Deuteronomy 21:15-17 governs inheritance in a home with two wives. Abraham, Jacob, David and others had more than one wife, and 2 Samuel 12:8 is often cited by defenders.
The mainstream Christian reading is that Scripture records these households without endorsing them, and that the law regulated a practice to limit harm. Several threads point toward one man and one woman:
- Genesis 2:24. “A man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.”
- Matthew 19:4-6 and Mark 10:6-9. Asked about marriage, Jesus pointed back to “the beginning,” not to the patriarchs.
- Ephesians 5:31-33. Paul quotes Genesis 2:24 and applies it to Christ and the church.
- Deuteronomy 17:17 and 1 Kings 11:1-4. Kings were warned against multiplying wives, and Solomon’s wives turned his heart.
- 1 Timothy 3:2 and Titus 1:6. Overseers are to be “the husband of one wife.”
Scholars do disagree about that last phrase. One Crossway article argues Paul is not addressing polygamy there, since the matching phrase for widows in 1 Timothy 5:9 would then mean something odd. Adventist scholar Ekkehardt Mueller reads it as excluding polygamy. Nearly every reading still requires leaders to be faithful to one wife. Defenders of polygyny also point out that the New Testament never lists a direct command against it for ordinary believers. That is true, and it is why the Genesis and Gospel texts carry so much weight in this debate.
Practical lessons
- Read narrative carefully. What the Bible records is not always what it commands (Romans 15:4).
- Test every teaching, as the Bereans did (Acts 17:11, 1 Thessalonians 5:21).
- Speak truth in love, including toward people you disagree with (Ephesians 4:15).
- Wait for the full argument before judging. Ford’s promised sermon deserves a full hearing.
Conclusion
The Bible is honest about the patriarchs’ households. It is just as honest about the pain inside them. From Genesis to Ephesians the thread points to a man and a woman in covenant, and the church’s calling is to teach that with both conviction and compassion.
Take the next step
Open Genesis 2, Matthew 19 and 1 Timothy 3 this week and read them slowly. Then share this post with someone who is asking the question, and tell us in the comments what you think Scripture teaches. Part 2 looks at what these headlines mean for church leaders.