This is a classic case of God throwing in confusion among thieves
I’ve been ignoring the war between pastors and their junior colleagues on the latter charging fees for their services for a bit now.
Then I saw a clip of a popular pastor who in ‘righteous anger’ displayed a contract from a top gospel musician and even I opened my mouth
N15m honorarium, private jet, economy tickets for band members, feeding, massage and all sorts that would make Davido green with envy
The pastor was mad as he quoted the bible on the gospel musicians and his hapless mumu audience responded with claps intermittently
Some of these pastors are angry with gospel musicians and their Fees
Legendary artiste Timi Dakolo chimed in in very strong support of his colleagues even though he described himself as a Christian who sings
My people, let me say at this juncture that my support is firmly with the gospel musicians who I must say do much more work of conversion of the hypnotised flocks than the pastors with their old stories and fake miracles and empty admonitions
See we all have shouted ourselves hoarse as to the lifestyles of these ‘men of God’
The other day one was gifted a Rolls Royce costing billions for his 70th and one of his boys came out to say that he personally gave out N250m and ‘my own was the smallest’ and since then, he has been earning daily, what he used to earn monthly
So the question is from where? No visible source of income, no business running, full-time pastoring, so from where are the millions rolling in daily if not from church curfers
So if your gospel musician now asks for a paltry N15m, you will be crying?
When you have dashed your father in the lord N250m for doing nothing but wearing a white suit and white socks and proclaiming abundant blessings on you and your family
The musician, on the other hand, will spend weeks rehearsing, running costs on equipment, session men, travel and logistics, costumes, and IP rights and is expected to come and prance the stage to keep the flock happy so you can pilfer from them for free?
Una no get sense. The gospel musician is the poorer cousin of the two. He works harder and sweats more but just because he doesn’t own the platform or doesn’t have his flock, is seen as a scavenger coming to feed where he does not own
If you have a large congregation that keeps you in a Davido lifestyle complete with PJ and enough jewellery to make your wife compete with Hollywood starlets, then you must add to your cost of running your ‘business’ the gospel artists fees cos he is very important to you.
The babas who have generational wealth remain in the old cathedrals of the Methodists, Anglican, Catholic and Olumba Obu, leaving the young children to flock to the psychedelic churches.
What this means is that the gospel musician is no longer an irritant but a necessary evil.
The church auditoriums must be turned into dancehalls with captivating music and an infusion of street culture although the gospel variant to keep the audience interested
You think if you are preaching – Hell fire and Judas Iscariot these young children will listen to you
They want to see Davido on stage, want to dress like Burna Boy to church and walk like Wizzy in service and the church must as a matter of compulsion give them their replica
You see my own pastor in Ilupeju with plated hair, earrings and tattoos with his sister singing like Beyonce and a conveyor belt of reigning gospel singers coming and going.
What you notice is the growing youth-denominated membership.
The old pastors who sat beside his father and who helped his father build the Fountain are gone and you have younger ministers who understand the new trend of pastoring
Sermons and initiatives are all that I want to call ‘gospel street’
You hear topics for single and searching, teenagers in love, service for single and searching and what keeps all of these together is music
The gospel artists is what makes the whole thing fun and keeps the zombies coming back every Sunday
So you will now be driving G wagon to church, dressing like Denzel Washington and flying like Davido and the gospel artist who is your partner in crime will now be jumping Uber and begging for money to pay school fees?
If you understand the new generation Pentecostal Nigerian pastor, you will not be surprised at this battle
They are greed led, spiritually empty and would not even recognise Jesus Christ if he stood in front of them at the CMS bus top, showing them the point where the nails were driven in during the crucifixion.
The gospel artists should immediately push for a state of emergency and call for a suspension of their services and not come back until the pastors stop maligning them and come back to their senses.
Two peas in the same pod – rubbish
Come and beat me
Duke of Shomolu