Aderemi Dabiri, the founder of a Celestial Church of Christ branch in Lagos State, defended his decision to invite secular artists Pasuma and Portable, stating it was to attract deviants and grow church membership.
In a video addressing the church’s task force, Dabiri explained the purpose was to engage notorious youths and change their hearts, highlighting that traditional evangelism in such communities hadn’t been effective.
“It is not our first time inviting guest artistes. We have been doing it without a problem and I can give you a series of instances. We cannot go where they sell palm wine or alcoholic drinks and ask them to accept Jesus Christ. If I don’t apply wisdom, they will hit a bottle on my head. That was why I thought of a way to bring them into the church.
“I also noticed that there are some notorious boys who cause trouble in the community, disturbing the authorities and engaging in cultism. I wondered how can we draw their attention so that they would have a change of heart. We have gone to places where they are and they ended up beating us. Most of the members of my church are new converts and it was through that pattern that I converted them,” he said.
Acknowledging criticism, Dabiri preferred secular musicians, praising their respectful demeanor compared to some gospel ministers who he claimed were rude.
“Some gospel ministers are rude. If you talk to some of them, they respond rudely, but the day I called Pasuma, he sounded respectful on the phone and also agreed with my stance.”
Despite the controversy, he stood firm on the invitation but promised to rein in the artists’ behavior, especially Portable’s, at the event.
He assured measures to steer Portable towards gospel music, and said he will be advised against inappropriate dressing and behavior.
His word, “We will tell Portable not to dye his hair and he should not sing vulgar songs but to sing gospel music. We will also caution him not to dress inappropriately or climb the speakers.
“We will also warn him not to allow his boys to smoke here. We have invited close to 30 military personnel to man the event.”
Dabiri urged global Celestial Church support for his evangelism style.
