Word on the street and on the Internet is there’s a new reality show slated to debut January 1 at 9PM ET/PT on TLC called “The Sisterhood,” featuring pastors’ wives in Atlanta, Georgia. Sound familiar? The Real Housewives…Basketball Wives…you get the picture. With this new show, however, TLC attempts to clean up the reality wives’ genre with church hats, gospel music, and Bibles. “The Sisterhood,” according to TLC is an “honest, behind-the-scenes look into the struggles, triumphs and unique experiences that shape these bold women as they ditch their Sunday hats and morph into the dynamic and influential figures they have become and aim to be.” Sounds promising, doesn’t it?
Not too fast. . . reality television just wouldn’t be reality if it didn’t have any drama. As the official press release states, “Tensions will run high as their faith and relationships are challenged through a dramatic season of disagreements, betrayal, criticism and exposing inner demons. Will they work together to support each other or will differences lead to tarnished friendships that are beyond salvaging a true sisterhood?” Watch the trailer below to view it for yourself.
Make no mistake about it; TLC is not in the soul-winning business. Let me repeat: TLC is not in the soul-winning business. They aren’t even in the marriage-saving business. So, lower your expectations that a reality show featuring pastors’ wives is about saving souls or encouraging folks to stay married. It’s not even about the struggles within a “real sisterhood.” For many black women, sisterhood is not something you play with or throw together for a video shoot. Sisterhood is serious, and sisterhood is sacred. It has nothing to do with a title or a position, and everything to do with trust and loyalty. So, from the beginning, we must remind ourselves that this is NOT real life.
It’s television.
It’s business.
Therefore, it’s about ratings . . . and money.
That’s all.
Don’t get me wrong, there isn’t anything wrong with making money, and I am not knocking entertainment. But, in my opinion, there is a line. Just as I wouldn’t want to make money by glorifying violence, drugs, and sex, I also wouldn’t want to make money selling my Lord and Savior to an industry that’s more concerned with ratings than with my relationship with God. But, that’s me.
So, as a pastor’s wife myself but also as a black woman who longs for more realistically positive images of us on television, I have my reservations and questions about “The Sisterhood.” Will it be similar to Mary Mary’s reality show in its ability to be entertaining, raw, and real, while simultaneously representing Christ, marriage and family? Will it highlight the mission work, the prayer meetings, and the changed lives that are the fruit of real pastors’ wives and the ministries in which they serve? Will it highlight the day-to-day reality of being a pastor’s wife and the impact that has on marriage and family? Will the pastors’ wives actually be wives? Now, that would be a step in the right direction.
Regardless of how pastors’ wives, their marriages, the church, and Christ are portrayed, one thing I know for sure is that the God I serve is bigger than a reality television show. If “The Sisterhood” is a disgrace, that’s all the more reason for everyday pastors’ wives, along with every other Believer, to represent Christ in the real world how we should be representing him in the first place. Reality tv shows come and go. And this too shall pass, but, the God I serve and the marriages and ministries rooted in him will not. In the end, whether you watch “The Sisterhood” or not, agree with it or not, reality television is no match for a real God.
BMWK family, do you plan to watch “The Sisterhood?” What are your pre-show impressions?
Be sure to check back on January 2 for a review and to share your thoughts.