MIXED FEELINGS ON PAYING PASTORS FOR PRAYER

MBABANE – Church leaders and the general public have shared differing views on compensation for prayer by some pastors.

The debate on this matter emanates from the case of a pastor, who has taken his client to the Small Claims Court for allegedly failing to pay him for spiritual services when applying for a loan. The prophet said he charged his client a sum of E8 000 for the loan prayer and he said he also charged him E2 000 for attracting customers to his business. Church leaders were engaged to share their general view on pastors who anticipate compensation for rendering spiritual services and their opinions differed. African League of Churches President Archbishop Samson Hlatjwako said when one gets the spiritual powers from God; it is a free gift that has not been paid for.

Commercialise

He mentioned that God does not expect one to take those powers and commercialise them, because the intention was not to make it a tool for generating income but to serve his people through those powers. However, Hlatjwako mentioned that there is absolutely nothing wrong with a believer giving his or her church leader a token of appreciation for contributing to their success through prayer. “The only powers that come at a price are those that involve black magic and the use of substances that do not conform to the worshiping of God. With those powers, the expectation is that clients will pay because the powers were also paid for,” he said.

Hlatjwako then drew the attention of this reporter to Mark 16 verse 15, where Jesus, upon rising from the dead, said to his disciples: “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. Whosoever believes and is baptised will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.” Hlatjwako said Jesus did not instruct his disciples to demand payment for preaching the gospel of God but that they would do it for free.

Mbabane Church of the Nazarene Leader, Reverend Grace Masilela, shared similar sentiments, stating that when a pastor prays for a church member or anyone needing prayer, they should not expect to benefit from that, because the intention was, among other things, to plant the seed of success through prayer. She said it should be after the individual has received the blessings from God, through the pastor’s prayer, that they can, if they want to, give the pastor something in appreciation. She said there is no wrongdoing if the individual prayed for by the pastor, decides not to give back to the man of the cloth, because the latter is not an inyanga where one is expected to pay for consultation.

Masilela said if the pastor makes it known that he is expecting to be paid after praying for a believer, then the expectation is that the believer should come through with the payment.
However, she did say that such agreements do not align with the gospel of God, because God did not expect church leaders to commercialise spiritual powers.

Institution

Apostle Justice Dlamini from Worship Centre, had a different view on the matter. He said every church or Christian institution had its own constitution and these are different with each church.  He said each leader has their own way of operating, which is supported by the biblical phrase ‘one Holy Spirit, different operations’, which means that while there is only one Holy Spirit, it can manifest itself in various ways, giving different individuals different spiritual gifts or abilities to operate within the church, although stemming from the same source.
This concept is primarily explained in Corinthians 12:4-11.

Every church leader has the right to run their ministry the way they deem fit and introduce their own policies. Who can parent all churches, it is not possible,” he said. Traditionalist and Church Leader Makhanya Makhanya, said it is only tinyanga that can charge their clients for services rendered, because they use some substances that require them to dig deep into their pockets when sourcing them.

When asked if there is any relationship between tinyanga and worshiping God, Makhanya said there is. He said there are pastors who double as tinyanga and use their powers to help heal sickly congregants among other things. Meanwhile, the general public also shared their take on the matter through this publication’s Facebook page. One of the users shared that one must respect pastoral agreements and honour their commitments after being blessed, while another said those who believe that someone’s prayers can actually do them wonders are not mentally stable.

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