After working for the church for about a year, I was recruited into the head pastor’s company, Big Shine.

Big Shine is an LED lighting company with one subdivision manufacturing and selling products and another providing retrofit services for businesses to convert to LED lighting.

I had heard of Big Shine in connection with a lawsuit the church was involved in, but Big Shine was generally supposed to be a secret.

The company employed solely WMSCOG members and we were not supposed to openly talk about it where non-employees might overhear.

The salesmen were all church leaders and there was intense pressure on them to rake in money to “support the gospel.”

I came to the office on my first day—a big warehouse with a concrete floor and open layout, work desks and partitions set up in rows.

My daughter was about a year old and I wasn’t making enough to afford childcare, so with permission, I kept her in the office with me.

I had a desk in the corner and would set up an alphabet mat for her to sit on instead of the cold concrete floor. Much of the time she spent lying in her car seat.

I spent at least eight hours a day working at the office, then I’d relocate to the church and spend the rest of the day working there, to midnight and beyond.