An Ohio pastor declared that teaching a man to have only one wife is unbiblical. Tony Dungy answered with Scripture.
The Super Bowl-winning coach stepped into the controversy Oct. 27 after an X user challenged Christians to produce a biblical prohibition against polygamy. Dungy pointed to the marriage covenant and the relationship it represents: Christ and His church.
His response cuts to a question the church cannot afford to dodge: What happens when a spiritual leader claims God has authorized something that contradicts His Word?
A Second Wife and a Stunning Claim
Israel Ford, a leader of LifeWorks Church in the Cleveland area, publicly announced his second wife in a video posted Oct. 25. His first wife, Lydia Ford, introduced Shakayla Ford to the congregation.
Ford defended the arrangement in the accompanying social media caption.
“As a nation we have been taught that a man should have one wife only. This is unbiblical.”
He cited Exodus 21:10 and presented his decision as obedience to what God had revealed. The church’s archived website identified him with the title of prophet.
But a prophetic title carries no authority to rewrite God’s design for marriage.
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Dungy Takes the Argument Back to Scripture
Dungy cited Ephesians 5:31-32, which describes a man joining his wife and the two becoming one. Paul connects that union to Christ and the church.
The coach also cited Jesus’ teaching about adultery in Mark 10:11, then pressed the argument:
“Do you think if divorcing your wife and then getting married is a sin it would be ok to get married again while still married?” Dungy wrote.
When another commenter argued that Jesus having many followers justified a man having multiple wives, Dungy answered:
“But Jesus has only one bride — the church.”
He followed with Ephesians 5:6, invoking its warning against deception and excuses for sin.
Revelation Must Answer to God’s Word
The Holy Spirit does not contradict the Scriptures He inspired. A claim of divine revelation demands examination, especially when it comes from the pulpit.
First Corinthians 14:29 instructs the church to weigh prophetic speech. First Timothy 3:2 requires an overseer to be above reproach and the husband of one wife. Spiritual leadership brings accountability.
Ford’s appeal to Exodus also requires context. A law regulating an existing practice does not establish that practice as God’s ideal. Scripture records polygamy and its painful consequences. Jesus grounds His teaching on marriage in creation, pointing in Matthew 19:4-6 to a man and woman becoming one flesh.
Dungy was right to bring the discussion back to Scripture. The church must exercise that same discernment when someone claims spiritual permission to cross biblical boundaries.
We should pray for repentance and restoration while refusing to surrender the authority of God’s Word. The pulpit belongs under that authority, too.
James Lasher, a seasoned writer and editor at Charisma Media, combines faith and storytelling with a journalism background from Otterbein University and ministry experience in Guatemala and at the LA Dream Center. A Marine Corps and Air Force veteran, he is the author of The Revelation of Jesus: A Common Man’s Commentary and a contributor to Charisma magazine. For interviews and media inquiries, please contact [email protected].
Sorry, argument is weak tea.
A law regulating an existing practice does not establish that practice as God’s ideal” So is it sin? Or not sin? Since when does God allow “existing practices” even if they are sinful? So what other “existing practices” can we allow even though they are not “God’s ideal”?
A better argument is that social norms in the Roman world had shifted to a single wife and the New Testament reflects this. And 1 Timothy 3:2 is just good sense, given the Old Testament experiences with polygamy (messy, to say the least).