Sometimes the Lord creates a stirring within the hearts of His people to spur them on to give to the church. Other times, the preacher just decides to resort to kidnapping and extortion of his congregation to fill the offering plates.
That's what seemingly happened at the Pentacostal Assemblies of the World seminar in July 2024, where gospel singer Marvin Sapp appeared to hold the people in attendance hostage until they gave a collective $40,000 in the offering.
"Ushers, close the doors," Sapp is shown saying as he issues a plea for the 1,000 people in the audience — and the 1,000 people watching online — to each give $20.
Social media users turned out in droves to call Sapp out on his tactics:
For his part, Sapp said in a post to his Facebook page that he was not guilty of anything.
As the assigned ministerial gift for this international gathering, one of my responsibilities was to help raise the conference budget. That's not manipulation; it's stewardship.
Ah, yes, stewardship.
Because, as we all know, the Lord loves a cheerful — and forcibly detained — giver.
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