Super Bowl winning quarterback Russell Wilson told a crowd at a San Diego church over the weekend that he and his superstar girlfriend Ciara are waiting until marriage for physical intimacy because that’s “God’s plan.”

The topic of sex came up when Pastor Miles McPherson of The Rock Church asked Wilson about his life and beliefs and how he lives out his faith in daily life.

“I met this girl named Ciara who was the most beautiful woman in the world, the most kind person, the most engaging person, everything that I could ever want,” he explained. “She was on tour and I was looking at her in the mirror, and she was sitting there. And God spoke to me and said ‘I need you to lead her.’ And I was like, ‘Really? Right now?’ And he goes, ‘No, I want you and need you to lead her.’ And I asked her, ‘What would you do if we took all that extra stuff off the table? And just did it Jesus’ way?’”

Pastor McPherson then had him clarify Wilson was talking about sex.

“Yeah, we’re talking about sex… Can we love each other without that? If you can really love someone without that then you can really love somebody… I ain’t gonna lie to y’all now. I need y’all to pray for us. Because I know y’all have seen her on the screen now. If there’s a 10, she’s a 15. Pray for me, keep my mind clear, keep my heart clear.”

The stance of Wilson for God’s way of dating and dealing with sex has made him a target in some media outlets.  Entertainment channel E! posted an article on its website mocking Wilson.

“He is better than you, he is better than me, and he is better than possibly even Jesus himself,” writer Seija Rankin posted at eonline.com.