Pastor suspended after raunchy dance moves go viral
SAVANNA-LA-MAR, Westmoreland — An assistant pastor has been suspended and his fellow congregants are praying for him after a social media post surfaced showing a scantily clad woman pressed up against his pelvic area in a risqué dance.
When contacted by the Jamaica Observer, Deoanite Kwane Foster admitted to being the one caught in the compromising position. He is affiliated with the Sacred Heart Spiritual Church of Jesus Christ International, located on Cook’s Street, Savanna-la-Mar.
“Yes, it was me. I was not even aware of the video. I stopped by [the venue] for less than five minutes and then I saw the video surfacing afterwards,” he said.
The social media post juxtaposed a video of him delivering a sermon with photos of him in what appeared to be a club.
“I was already disciplined by the church so… You know when you make a mistake and just want to move on? That’s what happened. It was a mistake, and I learned my lesson,” he added.
Some social media users raked Foster over the coals in their comments under the post and speculated about what the church’s reaction would be.
“Watch the church members now going to talk about he was tempted or he had a moment of weakness or indiscretion and them going to pray about it and move on… kmt,” one user commented.
The senior pastor for the church, Apostle Ray Foster (no relation to the assistant pastor) confirmed that the fallen member of their flock had been punished. But, he stressed, they have not given up on him.
“He is suspended. We would never keep him in a position of leadership but will not be kicking him out. He has been serving [in the church] since 2008 and he has never given us a reason to suspend him before. As a church we will be praying for him, but we will not turn our backs on him,” he said.
Apostle Foster added that there were many lessons that could be learned from the incident.
“Everyone is human, and we make mistakes and we fall. But as a church we should not be trying to make matters worse and disgrace him. We see posts like this all the time because people don’t highlight the good. They highlight the mistakes and the failures,” he argued.
“The lesson that everybody can learn from this situation is that we need to keep away from things that will cause us to fall. Do not think that you are strong enough. As leaders we have to apply wisdom in everything that we do,” added Apostle Foster.
— Daina Davy