adminShame Isaki
The fallout between popular pole dancer Beverley Sibanda, popularly known as Bev, and PHD Ministries has been so topical in recent months to the extent of attracting mixed reactions from different sections of society.
For those not in the know, especially with regard to Bev’s type of business or career, here is a bit of background. Bev is a raunchy dancer whose performances are enticing to most show-goers, especially men.
She has most men eating from her palms once she gets down to business and her sexually suggestive moves are said to be on the extravagant side coupled with her revealing dressing. She is a sister who grew up in very difficult circumstances and did not enjoy family life from a very tender age.
The difficult circumstances she grew up in taught her to be tough and to fight for survival and for survival she has fought. As soon as she got her breakthrough in dancing she made sure she would give it her all and it seems things are working out for her, at least for now.
To the disappointment of many of her fans one day the whole country woke up to the news that she had turned to Christ and so had quit pole dancing.
This move of hers again attracted mixed reactions from the public with some rightly predicting that the dancer was just playing a publicity stunt because before the dust settled she surely would be back to her usual business and back she is. Her conversion to Christ through PHD Ministries was not very clear as to whether it was she who realised her sinfulness and felt the need to give her life to Christ or it was PHD Ministries through its leader Walter Magaya who felt that she needed salvation and offered it to her with some incentives of course.
The latter scenario seems to be the one that found Bev temporarily quit her profession because she said she was promised a good life once she joined the church.
Among other things, she was given capital to start up a business and that her dancers would also get monthly allowances to pay their rentals and buy food maybe until they could now stand on their feet.
Given the economic crunch and several other boutiques dotted around Harare business was not as good as it was hoped and Bev being one used to making as much money per week by just wriggling her body for a few hours could not resist the temptation to go back to her old ways.
Ever since her ‘‘backsliding’’, strong words have been exchanged between she and her former church with the former insinuating that “PHD Ministries is a well-orchestrated money-spinning venture and that she would never go back ‘‘kumadhaka’’ to quote from last week’s edition of The Manica Post.
On the other hand PHD Ministries has also come out guns blazing accusing Bev of being a problem girl who had gone to the extent of fighting other church girls, over what, no one knows.
Founder of PHD Minstries Walter Magaya once described Bev as childish and that he was ready to welcome her once she came back to her senses.
As this has been unfolding I was fortunate enough to listen to one live radio discussion where Bev was giving her side of the story.
Problem started when it was phone-in time and a lot of people started attacking her and defending the ‘‘prophet’’ and his church.
It is from this interview that one paper got one of its headlines that claimed Bev had said ‘‘Satan is good’ which to me appeared to be not the true account of what exactly transpired.
Here is a young lady who is being bombarded by ‘‘angry’’ Christians for dragging the name of their ‘‘prophet’’ through the mud and in the heat of the moment she just burst out and said ‘‘aah, kana zvakadaro, satana atoribhoo’’. Surely objectively we cannot deduce that because of this she is a Satanist.
This brings me to my point. The church belongs to Jesus Christ and he calls the shots as to how it should be run.
In the church, according to Jesus, the most important person is not the pastor, bishop, prophet or any other leader but the congregant. Jesus Christ preferred to call the congregants ‘‘the sheep’’ while the leader is referred to as the shepherd. In the book of Luke 15 Jesus gave three consecutive parables which highlighted the value God places on a congregant or his sheep.
He spoke of the lost sheep, lost coin and finally the popular lost son or prodigal son.
Jesus’ teaching and emphasis in these parables was that the loss of one sheep or believer was not acceptable and everything was supposed to be done to recover him or her and once that person is found there is celebration in heaven.
The shepherd protects and feeds the sheep and not vice-versa.
When Jesus resurrected, his final instruction to Simon Peter was ‘‘Peter Peter, do you love me more than these?’’ Peter answered ‘‘Yes Lord, you know that I love you’’. Jesus said ‘‘Feed my lambs’’. Three times he asked Peter the same question and when Peter answered in the positive he was instructed three times to ‘‘Feed my lambs’’.
Today’s church or the new phenomenon in the church presents the ‘‘man of God’’ or ‘‘prophet’’ as the main man almost to the level of ‘‘untouchability’’, almost to the level of being equal with God if not being God himself. These ‘‘men of God’’ or prophets cannot be criticised because if you dare do that, you risk the wrath of their bouncers or ‘‘armour-bearers’’.
Shame Isaki is a socio-political commentator, business consultant and preacher. For feedback call 020-68818/0773 018 662. Email: [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>.
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