While modern-day Catholic priests are relegated to the "pedophile" section of the library of life, modern-day Charismatic ministers are consigned to a section that carries almost as much shame: the "embezzler" section. In the 2012 Chichi Films production of Dirty Pastor, we witness what can happen when a spiritual leader goes unchecked.
This film, albeit extremely exaggerated, does beg the question: do these pastors actually exist?
Since the 2008 IRS investigation into popular American televangelists
like Joel Osteen and Creflo Dollar, the so-called prosperity movement has become
highly scrutinized.
Are preachers in ministry just for the bucks? Do they really care about their parishioner's soul? Why is there always an appeal for donations?
Suspicions such as these may surface for viewers after watching this independent film.
While Dirty Pastor
may not have satisfied my artistic palate in terms of editing (there were
several jump cuts in the films), scripting (there were visible flubs and cheap
attempts at humor in the dialogue) or acting (many of the actors were
untrained), it pushed past the stereotype of the white American preacher man to
unveil a new kind of villain.
Chichi Njoku played the caricature of a greasy,
money-grubbing female pastor. What's more, her character - Pastor Hannah - was
Nigerian, pastoring a tiny, predominantly Nigerian church in Midwest America.
As an immigrant herself, one would think that the pastor
would attempt to empower her fellow compatriates, not fleece them out of their
savings by selling them "blessed handkerchiefs" at the end of every service.
While it may seem outlandish to some, the sale of blessed oil, anointed prayer cloths and holy water are some of the sordid acts that do go on within a church that couples the Charismatic gifts with the prosperity gospel.
In fact, the film borrows elements from the highly dramatic plot, pacing and physical comedy of a Nollywood film. Frankly, the kind of fraud displayed in Dirty Pastor has even been labeled in Nigeria under the code term: 419. These kinds of fraudulent acts may be more prevalent in Nigeria - the country that is home to the world's largest churches and wealthiest pastors - than in the U.S.
Pastor Hannah, however, wasn't just a greasy preacher. She
was a hustler.
While I can't give credence to the fact that any preacher I
know dabbles in the cartel, sells goods on the black market, gets freaky in the
club and still has the guts to preach a coherent message about the gospel, I'm
sure that not all preachers are, shall we say, "clean." Undoubtedly, some do
dabble in secular affairs that fatten their own pockets at the expense of their
congregants.
I'm almost glad that the pastor's character was caricatured
in the film, though. If she were too true-to-form, then Dirty Pastor would have given critics ammunition with which to
crucify "prosperous" spiritual leaders that fit a close profile like Pastor
Paula White, Pastor Joyce Meyer or Pastor Chris Oyakhilome. And, I for one, do not believe that they, or even most,
have gone off the deep end.
Despite the film's shortcomings, it exposes the hidden
dangers of "the love of money." Indeed, it is the root of all evil.
Dirty Pastor can be seen at a pre-screening at North Side
Tabernacle of Praise at 2447 Granville Ave. in Chicago, IL. on April 28th at 4
p.m.
Dirty Pastor earns
1 Miami and 0 New Yorks.