But to UK-based Ghanaian Afro-Gospel musician Joseph Matthew, also known as JM, the church today is not living up to its true billing. According to the award-winning musician, the Church has rather become one of the major places causing bountiful traumas for people.“The Church is one of the places that cause a lot of trauma for people. One of the environments that causes trauma is the church but we are in the church, in the choir, and you are singing and your pastor or senior pastor is constantly talking down on his members .this is actually the dangerous type of trauma people experience in the church. It starts off with acute, then becomes persistent so over the years do you know how many people go through mental health issues in the church,” Matthew said.
He continued, “because your senior pastors talking down on pastors, your church leaders talking down on the youth – constantly, these kids go home and they feel the pressure to perform or to attend to do things …it’s one of the places where you have clicks, you have gangs in the church and then they gang up on people and secretly crashing and breaking them …people don’t even know about all these things all in the name of God.”
Joseph Matthew who is well noted for hit songs such as “Hallelujah“, “Nyame Ye” and “My Story” which has currently earned him a nomination at the 2021 Ghana National Gospel Music Awards made these comments while speaking as a special guest at the ‘I unravel event’- a youth worship night and seminar which was hosted by Anna Efah in London.
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