ANDERSON, Ind. — In a culture where a $10 million wedding results in a 10-week marriage, the idea of a lifelong commitment may seem like a storybook fantasy.

Until you meet Bob and Imogene James.

Married for 71 years, they have discovered the secret to the phrase “ ’til death do us part.”

“We work together, we play together, we make decisions together,” said Imogene, seated in their small home near 38th Street. “And we pray together. That’s probably the greatest secret of our marriage.”

“I don’t know that we ever thought of being any way but together,” said Bob, 94, retired from 37 years of pastoring Church of the Nazarene congregations in the Northeastern Indiana District. “Never did we consider anything else.”

That simplicity has seen the couple through difficult times, raising a family and pastoring several congregations. When asked how they stayed married all these years, Bob’s answer was as basic as they come.

“We just did,” he said.

Both grew up in Delaware County in central Ohio and can remember when they met. She lived on a farm, and he was a city boy. On Saturday nights, young adults would roam the streets meeting one another, as no one had money to spend on activities.

Her friends knew his friends, and they were introduced. Quickly smitten, the couple began courting.

“I thought he was the tallest guy I ever saw,” said Imogene, 93, with a glint in her eye at the memory. “He was humorous and fun to be with. Later on, as I got to know him better, I liked his principles. He was a cut above all the other guys as far as his character was concerned.”

She insisted he attend church if they were to date, and he quickly agreed. Wanting to worship but having no one to accompany him, he was happy for the ultimatum. They dated five years before tying the knot.

“We felt like you had to have at least a little bit of money to get started,” said Bob. “You didn’t even think about moving in with your parents.”

Choosing April 13, 1940, primarily because rain prevented planting crops, the couple began their married life. Although Imogene had hoped to leave farm life, Bob became a farmer during their courtship.

“Farming was the last thing I wanted to do, but I knew if I wanted to keep my man, I’d have to go where he went,” she said.

One child later, Bob felt called to preach. Imogene was by his side.

“I was happy as I could be farming,” he said with a shake of his head. “But I just knew. We stopped everything.”

“We sold everything and went to Olivet (Nazarene University),” Imogene said. “Our other two children were born while he was in college. He worked part-time all year and full-time during the summer. We were very frugal — VERY frugal.”

After college “they” pastored six churches.

“We’d go visiting people together,” Bob said. “Back when we started, people didn’t just want to see the preacher, they wanted to see the preacher’s wife. She was the brains of the whole thing.”

“We just loved every bit of it,” Imogene said. “We loved all the people and the friendships.”

Even though they are now retired, they haven’t stopped working together. Knowing of missionaries in Africa who are without Bibles and theological books, the Jameses travel rummage sales to find appropriate materials and ship them to Sierra Leone and Liberia through the organization Christian Literature for Africa.

“In Liberia, we have over 70 pastors and when they started even the pastors didn’t have Bibles,” Imogene said. “When a person is illiterate, their memory is very, very good. They would visit a pastor with a Bible, memorize some Scripture and preach it to their group. Then they would come back and memorize some more.”

For 25 years, Bob and Imogene have been boxing up books to aid the spread of the Gospel.

“Our goal is to get Bibles to all the leaders,” Bob said. “And now they are trying to establish a lending library in the interior where they can have access to a number of books.”

As the couple winters in Florida, they recruit their Southern friends to lend a hand.

“It has enhanced our married life,” Imogene said. “We get so excited when we get a bunch of books in. He is the theologian and the last word on whether the books meet our standards or not.”

Although you may have the privilege of sitting in a room with Bob and Imogene, you will be left out of at least part of the conversation. As you ask questions and they look at one other, you will know a telepathic message has crossed the room. They both laugh before deciding to divulge the proper information.

“We can pretty much look at each other and know what the other is thinking,” confessed Imogene. “We are a unit. And the older we get, the more dependent on each other we become. The minister says the two shall become one, and that gets more real as you go along.”

More active than some people half their age, the Jameses have no plans of slowing down. Bob continues to teach Sunday school classes at New Life Church of the Nazarene and visits people in the nursing homes and at hospitals. Imogene sews Raggedy Anns and Andys and sells them to raise money for mission work.

“I don’t want to slow down,” she said. “There are too many good things in life to see and do.”