Rich and his wife DawnChere Wilkerson, stars of the reality show “Rich in Faith” (premiering at 9 p.m. Wednesday on Oxygen), are proud to have come from families led by pastors for several generations.But during a recent promotional visit to Chicago, the Wilkersons also seemed very happy they now have split off from Rich’s father’s ministry in Seattle to launch their own mega-church in Miami.“It is a bit like the chicks leaving the nest,” said DawnChere, “but we know it’s the right thing to do.”The Rev. Rich — known in celebrity circles as the man who officiated the wedding of Kanye West and Kim Kardashian — said launching a church in the early 21st Century is not without its challenges.While there may be a common impression that younger people don’t attend organized religions’ churches in the numbers earlier generations did, Rich Wilkerson said, “I think our generation today is discovering authentic, real, transparent experiences — faith-based and otherwise.“So when people talk about millennials, there’s always those buzzwords —’Let’s be relevant’ — but I think relevancy comes down to authenticity. The message we’re preaching is 2,000 years old. So if relevance is a trend, then we’ve got a problem. Because I don’t think relevancy is a trend.“Actually, it has to do with you being genuine about what you’re conveying in your message. People are coming to faith all over this country. And they’re doing it not because their mom is making them do it, or their grandma is making them do it. Now it’s because people are saying, ‘I want to have a genuine relationship with God.’ “The Wilkersons are hoping their new 10-part reality series will convey that message. While he may have said vows for the famous parents of North West and the baby brother newly named Saint, both Rich and his wife made it clear their show will be nothing like “Keeping Up With the Kardashians.”
“You will see we are not perfect, but I hope our love of Jesus and our commitment to faith is what people will take away every Wednesday night,” said DawnChere.Her husband made it clear, “I preach God’s word, but when it comes to injecting ourselves into God’s messages, let’s just not show one aspect of who we are, let’s show the full gamut: the good, the bad, even the ugly.”Rich often believes he connects best with his parishioners “not always where I give a sermon where I was so polished and so sharp.“I often think the ones where I shared doubts, where I shared fear, where I shared anxiety were the ones people could relate to. I think every human being can relate to things like weakness and fragility.“The idea of this reality show is not take the opportunity to preach, but to show our lives as they really are.”In addition to the Kimye couple, the Wilkersons have other strong show business connections. Thanks to a youthful friendship with entertainment journalist Jason Kennedy, the couple came to be friends with Kennedy’s longtime colleague at E!, part-time Chicagoan Guiliana Rancic and her husband Bill — themselves no strangers to the world of reality TV. Now Kennedy and Guiliana Rancic have become executive producers of “Rich in Faith.”As Rich Wilkerson put it, “Life is not just about loving what we do, but doing it with people we love and respect. This project is the perfect example of that.”As for the Kanye connection? “He came to my father’s church in Seattle, and we just became friends.”Not only did that friendship evolve into West asking Wilkerson to preside at his wedding, but the rapper also created the graphic design on the cover of Wilkerson’s new book, “Sandcastle Kings.”From Wilkerson’s perspective, he hopes the book will convey a spiritual message, via a series of stories and anecdotes.“I’d like to show how people, whether they are Christian or not, can take lessons from the stories I tell here and see how Jesus can invade our popular culture in contemporary ways and make us all better people in the process.”
