The ongoing dispute between Timi Dakolo and Pastor Femi Lazarus has intensified, with the singer making fresh allegations against the Light Nation Church’s founder.
What initially began as a debate over whether gospel artists should charge for their performances at church events has now escalated into a broader conversation about financial practices in religious spaces.
Dakolo has openly criticized what he sees as double standards in the way gospel musicians and preachers are treated when it comes to earning a living.
The controversy first gained attention after Pastor Femi Lazarus shared a video in which he condemned gospel artists for demanding payment to minister in churches.
In his view, gospel musicians should focus on their spiritual calling rather than financial gain, trusting God to provide for their needs. “Gospel artists are ministers of the gospel, not just performers. If your focus is on money, then you are no different from entertainers,” he stated.
His comments sparked a heated online discussion, with some agreeing that ministry should not be commercialized, while others argued that gospel artists deserve fair compensation for their work.
Timi Dakolo was one of the loudest voices opposing Pastor Lazarus’s stance. The R&B singer, who has a strong Christian background, strongly disagreed with the idea that gospel musicians should offer their services for free.
He argued that churches benefit from their performances and should be willing to pay them accordingly.
“Pastors should stop manipulating gospel singers into performing for free. These artists have bills to pay, families to feed, and lives to live. If a church values their presence, they should compensate them,” Dakolo stated firmly.
Taking the debate further, Dakolo suggested that if churches cannot afford professional gospel artists, they should focus on training their own choir members instead of expecting free performances.
He highlighted how gospel artists invest in their craft, spend time rehearsing, and often travel long distances to minister. In his opinion, expecting them to do all this without financial reward is unfair and exploitative.
As the discussion gained momentum, Dakolo clarified that his disagreement with Pastor Lazarus was not personal but rather a matter of principle.
“All this was said in love and with respect, sir. I am not a gospel artist, but I am a Christian who was raised in the church. Let’s not shift the goalpost,” he said.
He wanted to emphasize that he was speaking from a place of experience and deep understanding of the realities that gospel musicians face.
However, the debate took a dramatic turn when Dakolo accused Pastor Lazarus of charging students to attend his ministry school, where he teaches about Jesus.
According to Dakolo, the school requires an enrollment fee of $150 per person, with over 1,000 students reportedly signed up.
This revelation sparked further controversy, as many began to question whether the pastor’s position on gospel artists charging for their work was consistent with his own financial practices.
Dakolo did not stop there; he went further to accuse Pastor Lazarus of profiting from a spiritual gift that was given to him freely.
He argued that if gospel musicians were wrong for charging to minister through music, then pastors should not be charging for ministry training either.
“Are you not selling the gift and revelation freely given to you? Again, let’s not keep shifting the goalpost,” he said, pointing out what he saw as hypocrisy in the pastor’s stance.
To support his claims, Dakolo shared a screenshot of an email allegedly detailing the fee structure of Pastor Lazarus’s ministry school. According to him, the school not only charges a standard fee but also has premium and standard pricing options, which further raised eyebrows.
“You even have premium and standard for God’s house?” he asked sarcastically, questioning why ministry training was being commercialized if gospel artists were expected to offer their services for free.
The revelations have triggered a wave of reactions from the public, with people divided on the issue. Some supporters of Dakolo argue that gospel artists deserve to be paid just like pastors and that churches should stop expecting free labor from musicians while collecting tithes and offerings.
They believe that pastors should not impose financial expectations on others that they do not apply to themselves.
On the other hand, supporters of Pastor Lazarus argue that ministry schools and music performances are not the same. They claim that teaching about God requires structure and commitment, which justifies the school fees.
They also suggest that pastors have other responsibilities beyond preaching, such as leading their congregations and managing church operations, while gospel singers only perform and leave.
Despite the ongoing debate, neither Dakolo nor Pastor Lazarus has shown signs of backing down. Both continue to stand by their beliefs, with Dakolo insisting that gospel artists should not be pressured into offering free services and Pastor Lazarus maintaining that ministry should not be driven by money.
As the controversy unfolds, it raises larger questions about the role of money in religious spaces, the expectations placed on different types of ministers, and whether there should be a standard policy on financial compensation in gospel ministry.
One thing is certain: this heated debate has sparked a necessary conversation about fairness, transparency, and the financial realities of gospel ministry.
Whether it leads to changes in how gospel artists and churches operate remains to be seen, but it has certainly made many people rethink the financial expectations within the Christian community.
