Back in 2021 we ran an article about one of Africa’s most famous self-appointed prophets, Shepherd Bushiri. Over the past couple of months we’ve received a variety of written requests from Bushiri’s “representatives” asking us to take that article down. Most recently, someone duplicated our article, published it on Tumblr, backdated that post to the day before we published the original article, and then accused us of copyright infringement. It’s a commendably inventive tack that might’ve worked if Tumblr didn’t use Snowflake IDs, but we won’t bore you with those details. Instead we’d like to consider another approach taken by Bushiri’s ardent defenders. Until Tumblrgate all the other emails honed in on the emotional distress and reputational damage our article is causing Shepherd Bushiri. And that brings us to the question of this article: should we publicly name and critique false teachers?
Should we publicly name pastors or preachers who peddle a false gospel?
Let’s reiterate that question using some of the other articles we’ve published at TGC Africa, lest this one be labelled a personal attack on Shepherd Bushiri. Were we misguided to call T. B. Joshua a wolf that devoured God’s sheep? Was it wrong that we implied that Joel Osteen’s message is more akin to Satan’s than Jesus’? Are we out of line for identifying Lee Man-hee’s Shincheonji as a cult? More recently, should we have reflected on Joshua Mhlakela’s #RaptureTok and what it reveals about false prophecies and TikTok prophets? More broadly, are our ongoing criticisms of the man of God movement misguided?
Again, should we publicly name movements and leaders, pastors or preachers who peddle a false gospel? And what if the articles that do this are responsible for personal distress and emotional harm?
Public Naming in the Early Church
Even a cursory glance at the New Testament indicates that there is a place and a time to publicly name threats to God’s people.
Consider the pastoral epistles. In three separate places, Paul names and warns the church about other leaders: Hymenaeus and Alexander (1 Timothy 1:19-20); Demas (2 Timothy 4:10); and Phygelus and Hermogenes (2 Timothy 1:15). Apparently, when Paul deemed that influential leaders had the potential to harm believers he named them. Likewise, the apostle John did the same with Diotrephes (3 John 9).
Had one of Alexander’s representatives reached out to Paul—or if Diotrephes insisted that John retract his statements—we’re fairly confident the apostles would’ve stood by what they wrote.
The New Testament supports the public naming of false teachers and movements.
Another example we might consider is found in Galatians 1:10, where Paul issues a warning about the “circumcision party” (similarly Philippians 3:2). Naturally, that identification doesn’t mean much to modern readers; however, Paul’s original audience would have known exactly who Paul meant, since it’s very likely Galatia only had one local church at the time of writing. Remarkably, Paul goes on in Galatians 2 to recount how he publicly rebuked the apostle Peter.
In sum, the New Testament supports the public naming of false teachers, preachers, movements and Christian cults.
False Teaching Imperils Souls
That Paul or John publicly name people is one thing. Why they do so is another: they alerted the church to protect them from danger. False teaching, distortions of the gospel and profit-driven shepherds are a threat to local churches and—using social media—Christians across the world.
It’s for that reason that in his pastoral epistles Paul also highlights the need for Christian leaders who defend the gospel and correct those who deny it (Titus 1:9; 1 Timothy 5:20). His wording could hardly be stronger than what he writes in Titus 1:10-11, “there are many who are insubordinate, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision party. They must be silenced, since they are upsetting whole families by teaching for shameful gain what they ought not to teach.” False teaching must be challenged. Sometimes this involves calling out false teachers, such as Shepherd Bushiri or Lee Man-hee.
The urgency behind true or sound doctrine isn’t theological pedantry but salvation.
Elsewhere, Paul exhorts elders: “Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by doing so you will save both yourself and your hearers” (1 Timothy 4:16). It’s a verse we hear often, only we don’t always consider its implications. The urgency behind true or sound doctrine isn’t theological pedantry but salvation. What’s at stake when we insist on “sound doctrine”—and identify distortions of it—is nothing other than “the gospel of the glory of the blessed God with which I have been entrusted” (1 Timothy 1:10-11). To trade the gospel in for promises of health and wealth or a lazily baptised self-help message is to abandon the message that saves. It is to abandon the gospel.
In the case that false teachers can’t be silenced, God’s people should be warned. Therefore it is very right that we publicly name such men and their respective movements.
Shepherd Bushiri’s Dangerous Message
Admittedly, we don’t have the time to listen to the considerable hours of Shepherd Bushiri preaching available online. Therefore we can’t absolutely claim that he never preaches the glorious gospel, through which God turns sinners from idols to serve him (1 Thessalonians 1:9; see Colossians 1:13-14). However, going on both a sampling of his preaching and comments from Malawian pastors in our network, we can confidently reiterate from the original article: “Bushiri preaches a salvation indistinguishable from being wealthy or successful.” That is not the historic, biblical good news. And as Paul puts it, turning to a different gospel is to turn to no gospel at all (Galatians 1:6-7).
Consider the sermon he preached on the 7th of June, 2026. Speaking at length about the “Melchizedek anointing” Bushiri fervently insists that:
- money will listen to our voices (2h41m), as we rearrange the disorder of poverty and decree wealth over our lives (3h22m)
- we can command suffering and struggling out of our lives (3h27m)
- like Melchizedek, believers who share in his anointing will be materially blessed and successful (2h48m)
- we shouldn’t see ourselves as mere priests (2h54m), definitely not servants (2h56m), but as kings and queens.
Should we even pray to a God who has to wait on humans and their planning?
Perhaps worse than Bushiri’s prosperity gospel is his astonishingly low view of God. Commenting on Proverbs 21:5 Bushiri says, “As much as God is powerful, he is powerless in the presence of a poor planner” (3h13m). This claim is as remarkable as it is abhorrent. Could such a God speak the universe into existence? Could he raise his Son from the dead? Can this God give life to those who’re dead in their sins? Would such a God have been able to break Egypt and bring about the exodus? Should we pray to a God who has to wait on humans and their planning?
“They Must Be Silenced”
In closing, with the Africa Statement on Prosperity Gospel and Word of Faith Theology, “We deny that our Heavenly Father has guaranteed any material blessings such as health and wealth to his children on account of their being his children and having faith. We deny that health and wealth in this life are a mark of our sonship to him and that the lack of such blessings are a mark of failure to tap into the fullness of his design and desire for our earthly life.” Shepherd Bushiri and so many others like him teach the polar opposite. Therefore we must name them, for the sake of God’s people; for the sake of the gospel; and so that God rather than the man of God is glorified.
