Femi Lazarus Vs Timi Dakolo: Solomon Buchi Reacts, "Gospel Music Ministry Isn’t Biblical"

• Social critic Solomon Buchi sparked debate on X by asserting that gospel music ministry lacks a biblical foundation
• He argued that the Bible outlines specific ministries like teaching, pastoring, evangelism, prophecy, and apostleship
• Buchi’s post, shared on March 19, 2025, has drawn attention amid ongoing discussions in Nigeria about the role of gospel music

Social critic on Elon Musk's X (formerly Twitter), Solomon Buchi, has shared his thoughts regarding the recent tension in Nigeria’s Christian community over gospel music’s commercialisation.

His comments come days after Pastor Femi Lazarus criticised gospel singers for charging fees for appearances, prompting a sharp rebuttal from Timi Dakolo, a prominent Nigerian gospel artist.

Dakolo defended musicians, highlighting the financial investments required for their craft, such as studio costs and promotion, and questioned why churches expect free services while spending heavily on other areas like architecture and pastoral salaries.

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Buchi’s stance amplifies this debate, suggesting gospel music should be a service or business, not a ministry, and urging musicians to diversify income through roles like session musicians or songwriters.

His post has resonated with some Nigerians while triggering a backlash from others defending gospel music’s spiritual role.

See the post here;

He went on to suggest the gospel can continue without his music. In his words,

"Church numbers would drop if we yanked off ‘good music’ from most modern Pentecostal churches; take off the guitars, pianos, drums and strip it down to just a worship leader and a congregational choir. We have made an idol of music, thus, making music ministry an essential disaster."

"It’s easy to agree that gospel music ministry is hugely compromised. They compete for awards “best worship song of the year”; they chase Spotify and Apple streams and end up copying world sounds and trends to produce marketable songs solely for profit, and they charge for their ministrations."

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Reactions to Solomon Buchi's comment about gospel music

@oadefisayo said;

"Cool! There were music ministers in the Bible though. Asaph was one."

@AgentZuwas said;

"Why should a Pastor leave his church choristers to go hire someone else and expect free services? Use your choristers. Appreciate the ones you have. We so much love to import. The moment you're requesting for the services of a hired person, then don't complain of the fee"

@bjroyale said;

"This post needs to be archived. This is a clear opinion from the Bible and not man's opinion. I remember Pastor Chris Oyakhilome said this year's back. It's indeed a wake up call for Christians. We do not commercialize the gospel. Thanks for this brother. The challenge, as rightly noted, is when we started commercializing music"

@FojoBass said;

"This conversation is a very nuanced one, and you can't just say one party is wrong the other is right. Your conclusion that music ministry is similar to other unitsin church is erroneous."

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@BinalayefaG said;

"If the churches don't patronize them we won't have all these issues. It is like a lion being feed and now wants to eat up his owner. Churches will still invite and pay huge amount and still come to complain. So to me there's nothing to talk about concerning this issue."

@emediong_eric said;

"This isn't a controversial take like you said. It's the plain truth and it only seems controversial because the "lie" became the norm."

@Ajiboyeadeola3 said;

"See Wetin our gospel musicians don cause 🤣"

@oge_hub said;

"True, music has become an idol among the Pentecostal."

Solomon Buchi’s Earlier Controversy on Legit.ng

In July 2024, Legit.ng reported Solomon Buchi criticising gospel singer Yinka Alaseyori for incorporating secular, trendy phrases into her sermons, labelling it “emotionalism” rather than true gospel music.

Buchi expressed disgust at the blending of secular trends with sacred performances, urging a return to authentic worship.

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Timi Dakolo vs Pastor Lazarus: Gospel singer's alleged rate card with $10k honorarium emerges online

The story highlighted his consistent stance against the commercialisation and secularisation of gospel music in Nigeria, reinforcing his reputation as a provocative voice on social media.

Source: Legit.ng