Pastor John Gray defended gospel singer Bishop Marvin Sapp regarding Sapp’s actions last summer when the bishop asked worshippers to give $20 each and instructed ushers to close the doors as he did so. Gray, however, also acknowledged a problem with the incident and implied blame on “a culture that would allow that to be a language that’s expressed across pulpits.”
“I’ve known Marvin Sapp for many years. He’s a great human being. He loves God. Those are unquestioned things. He loves his children, he loves the church,” Gray said in an interview with TMZ about the controversy. “I think the challenge is context, cultural context, because within the construct and the context of the people he was speaking to at that particular service, they would understand his language.”
“Within that construct, I’ve seen much, much worse. I’ve seen $1,000 lines, $500 lines,” Gray continued. “‘Don’t leave—no one’s leaving until.’ And I think what he was saying was more for order, and I have to take his word for that, but I understand how culture sees a moment like that, particularly when it comes to faith.”
John Gray Addresses Viral Video of Marvin Sapp
Marvin Sapp is a gospel artist who has been nominated for 11 Grammy Awards. He is a Dove Award-winner and nominee, and his other awards include BET Awards, Stellar Awards, and Soul Train Music Awards.
According to Sapp’s website, he is cofounder of Lighthouse Full Life Center Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan; the senior pastor of The Chosen Vessel Cathedral in Fort Worth, Texas; and the suffragan bishop-senior advisor to the presiding bishop of Global United Fellowship.
Last week, a clip of Sapp went viral, drawing criticism. The clip showed Sapp leading a worship service last July at a convention of the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World in Baltimore. During that service, he asked 1,000 people in person and 1,000 people online to give $20 each, telling worshipers they had an “obligation” to God since they had benefited from his Word that evening.
While Sapp was exhorting people to give, he repeatedly told ushers to close the doors and said that the whole group would “leave together.”
“This is an easy miracle,” said Sapp. “We should be able to raise $40,000 tonight just from ya’ll giving.”
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