Just when the media spotlight was fading on national evangelist Juanita Bynum, the pastor found a new forum where her star could shine again —-reality TV.

Frankly, Judge Lynn Toler of Fox TV's "Divorce Court" had no idea who Bynum was when producers asked if they could invite her on the popular courtroom show. Creative minds behind the scenes of the show wanted to tackle a serious topic —- spousal abuse.

Toler's staff thought Bynum's national story of surviving domestic violence would help others living with abuse find the strength to leave violent relationships —- and attract some solid ratings.

"I had never heard of her before," Toler said of Bynum on Wednesday. "The executive producer came to me and said I know you don't like to do shows on domestic violence, but this is a way we could do it responsibly.''

Footage of Bynum's two-part interview on "Divorce Court" has been posted on www.divorcecourt .com in anticipation of her appearance today. And if ratings hit a home run, Bynum could be invited back.

A spokesman for Bishop Thomas W. Weeks III on Wednesday said he, too, was asked to go on the show but declined the offer. In March, Weeks pled guilty of assaulting Bynum last summer and was given probation as a first offender.

Attempts to reach Bynum through her representatives were unsuccessful.

Bynum's decision to appear on "Divorce Court" after the media blitz surrounding the domestic violence trial has some metro Atlantans wondering whether the Pentecostal "prophetess" is trying to extend her stay in the limelight.

The Rev. Cynthia Hale, who pastors a flock of 5,000 at Ray of Hope Christian Church in Decatur, is also puzzled. "I am not sure how going on 'Divorce Court' is going to extend her ministry," Hale said. "I believe that something as sensitive and as personal as divorce should not be aired in public."

However, David W. Key, director of Baptist Studies at Emory University's Candler School of Theology, says since Bynum has no formal church of her own, that reaching out to souls through "Divorce Court" couldn't hurt her. Bynum developed her ministry based on her life experiences as a woman looking for love. "I think she will find a new audience on 'Divorce Court,' " he said.

Judge Toler said she also had some concerns about Bynum but later came to understand her. "I asked her if she was trying to stay in the limelight," Toler said. "She said the fact that I got into a domestic violence dispute with my spouse was more of a threat to my ministry than anything else."

Bynum tells Toler on TV about her decision to leave Weeks: "I said to myself, I love him, but I love me more."

Toler said she learned something from watching Bynum minister to a couple dealing with domestic violence on the episode. "She was able to speak to the offender in a way that I couldn't," Toler said.

Meanwhile, Bynum's divorce is still pending. An attorney for the evangelist tried twice to get a tell-all book about the Weeks-Bynum marriage yanked before the divorce could be resolved arguing that it contained "false statements" about Bynum's alleged drinking and drug use, among other things, according to court documents. Two judges denied an appeal for a retraining order to stop Weeks' book, "What Love Taught Me."