African Pentecostalism: Arrogant Pastors And Humble Ones....the Zimbabwe Example

"Ghanaians are religiously religious", a College mate of mine at Accra Legon once remarked. When I asked him why he said that, he explained, please look around you, everywhere there is church, mosque and traditional faith devotees and practitioners. He seemed to make sense because every keen Ghanaian knows that this is a fact, the Ghanaian passion for explaining everything with religious reasons. One noticeable happening in Ghana today is the mushrooming of Pentecostalism in the country with so many "one man churches" all over the place. One interesting observation is that some of the leaders of these Pentecostal churches are so arrogant and live in opulence at the expense of their poor members that sometimes, many of us question these leaders' humility before God.

In Ghana, without mentioning names, some men of God have openly boasted about the wealth, condemning the poor in the society, live luxurious lifestyles while of their congregations are suffering. Others have openly been contesting each other on radio, TV and other social network on who has the most potent miraculous power from God. Then there are also the doom prophets whose prophecies are always about "This man will die"; That King will die",; There Will be war in Ghana".... But are all the church leaders the same? Not with this wonderful minister of God in far away Zimbabwe. His story is reproduced from MyZimbabwe for readers to enjoy his humble service and lifestyle so that they can share with friends, families and colleagues who are working for God.

Enjoy a good read:
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HE has all it takes, but bling is not at the top of his priorities - instead, he chooses to be down to earth unlike most of the new generation of charismatic preachers.

His name is Walter Magaya, a prophet and founder of the fast-growing Prophetic Healing and Deliverance (PHD) Ministries.

Since he launched PHD a couple of years ago, Magaya has given out more than 10 houses and pays rent for more than 100 disadvantaged people as part of deliverance but he chooses to be a tenant.

"I do not have a house myself and you can verify that with the Deeds Office. I rent a house in Marlborough and I have converted part of this house into church offices," he said adding he rents a house in Harare's Marlborough suburb.

Currently, he is making headlines in the media for “empowering” strippers with various lucrative projects of their choices, including opening clothing boutiques for them in the capital but it is said he has no business of his own.

"I spend most of my time occupied with church business; I wake up very early and retire to bed late. I do not even have enough time for my family," said Magaya adding he is not rushing to get "luxury things at the moment" because it is obvious that he is destined for a better life in future.

"My time is coming but at the moment it is time to bless and deliver people — my principle is simple: less for me and more for them," said the PHD Ministries founder.

Magaya said he will not easily change his “simple lifestyle” despite his rapid growth in popularity in the prophetic ministries world.

"I chose to remain the same Magaya who people knew before PHD. I love spending the day putting on sandals and I can even go shopping in town wearing them. I do not have a bank account and I cannot afford to put on a neck tie, maybe because I cannot afford to buy one," he said.

Magaya said despite having rich partners, he chose to drive a simple car.

"I drive a Nissan Murano and I am satisfied with it," he said.

Despite leading one of the biggest congregations in the country, Magaya said he chose to be “worth as little as possible.”

"I choose to be worth as little as I can. I am more satisfied in blessing people, like I said before my principle is simple: more for them and less for me," said Magaya whose spiritual father is the renowned Nigerian prophet T.B Joshua.

SOURCE: MY ZIMBABWE Weekendpost