What Marvin Sapp's Unholy Apology Reveals

What Marvin Sapp's Unholy apology reveals about the church, the black church more specifically, should be a wake-up call.

It’s been a few days since I posted that article on the Pastor Marvin Sapp $40,000 scandal, and I’m still reeling from it all.

A couple days ago, he went on Ricky Smiley’s radio show to try and explain himself—first, why he demanded $40,000, and then why he locked God’s people in the church until his greed got fed.

I could barely make it through the one-minute-and-thirty-second video of his whiny church hustle. Yet, the video of his quasi-apology—or whatever he’s passing it off as—on Smiley’s show, was no such thing and surely not repentance.

What it truly was is simple; "I am smarter than everyone ele and because you are o sumb, you just don't understand how God is moving!" I have been around these men and to a man, they believe that God's people are too stupid to understand much and they use bad theology to justify it!

It may not be presented like that, more often it sound like, "we (preachers) just have to pray for them" or "they are just sheep and don't understand."

Sapp, and the religious gangsters who support him, are text book cases of an abusive pastor and church leader.

This is why I refuse to listen to the "sorry not sorry" fake apology because, honestly, it’ll shove me right over the edge.

Marvin Sapp showing up on Ricky Smiley’s platform is damage control, plain and simple. Here are three things I know to be true about Sapp’s fakery, even without hearing it.

First, he’s convinced he was right and probably thinks this is all just a giant misunderstanding. More plainly, yall are just to uneducated and unannointed to "see the vision" God gave him to reap a harvest.

As I wrote in this series of books titled Black Church Chronicles, the black preacher pities you to such a degree, they believe you to be nothing more than a spiritual vegetable, laying in a hospital bed (pew), unable to perform even the most basic functions to sutain yourself.

The Negro preacher—especially the older ones, men of flash over substance—is rarely, and I mean rarely, humble enough to admit fault.

These guys think they can get by with little substance and still talk their way out of anything, no matter how wrong they are.

Years ago, my pastor at the time—John U. Minion Sr., the man who licensed me to preach—pushed me to my limit with this exact nonsense. He got caught in a lie, I hit him with biblical truth, and he still wouldn’t own it.

Instead, he tried to spin why his evil was acceptable. It set me off so bad I got openly hostile with him. I know the Scripture says the wrath of man doesn’t work God’s righteousness, and I’ve repented for my reaction since then.

But my concerns were righteous, even if my response wasn’t. If you listen to Sapp’s video—and I haven’t—I’d bet my life he’s pulling the same move: explaining away his mess instead of confessing it.

Second, he’ll imply, one way or another, that what he did was godly—that God led him to it or signed off on it ahead of time.

Church leaders are quick and loose with that “God gave me a vision” line, but here’s what God’s people need to know: 90% of the time, those visions are straight out of their own heads, cooked up for their own greedy purposes.

All a preacher or pastor like Sapp has to do is say, “God said,” and most folks jump in line. He knows this, and exploits it. It’s a corner pimp hustle—claim divine backing, and the crowd eats it up, no questions asked.

Third, he’ll dance right up to the edge of sounding repentant and sorry without ever saying it flat-out, much less seeking reconciliation or restoration for mocking the cross of Jesus Christ in front of over 100 million people.

This guy hit the front page of TMZ—the most visited website in America, pulling hundreds of millions of views—and he’s still playing games. If that wasn't bad enough, sports talk personality Shannon Sharpe, on his podcast, Club Shay Shay, produced an episode on it as well.

All three of these things I can tell you, without even listening to his crooked words, come from not believing the gospel he preaches, a reprobate mind, and total cognitive dissonance.

Put it plain: you’re looking at a man who doesn’t believe the God he’s preaching about, who’s in it for personal gain, and who’s got no fear of the living God.

It’s not about what any Christian says about their loyalty to the cross—it’s about how fearful they are of God and how dedicated they are to Holy Ghost repentance. Their lifestyle shows it. God doesn’t usually expose folks this publicly the first time they step out of line.

When the Bible says He suffers long, it means He puts up with a lot when His righteousness gets trampled—but He won’t hold off forever.

Sapp’s been getting away with this for decades, and that’s why he did it so freely, staring into the camera, knowing full well people outside of the gathering would see it. He even admitted people were watching online and simply did not care.

His conscience, as Scripture says, is seared with a hot iron, and he’s got no clue how much he’s offending God’s righteousness.

Here’s some Black preacher and pastor inside baseball you won’t hear much outside clerical circles; every other crooked preacher—and even some truly called to preach who know Sapp—are texting and calling him right now about this outrage.

But they’re not demanding repentance.

No, they’re asking, “What’s going on? Is the devil attacking you?Keep on living for the Lord Man of God!” The devil’s not attacking Marvin Sapp—he’s already lured him over!

This stuff happens all the time because the same leaders who stood with him on that stage that night, patting him on the back, either cheered him on or secretly admire him, wishing they could pull off that kind of evil too.

The Bible warns that people who love money get lured away, denying the faith through their greed. In the Black community, especially those 45 and up, we treat these preachers like royalty—untouchable, above correction.

Some will lie for them, protect them, even turn on their own husbands to shield these men! Women have done it and will keep doing it. It’s why 33% fewer men are in church today than 40 years ago—the brothers see the pimp game for what it is and won’t play along, even if their wives do.

But here’s a word for every preacher reading this: if you haven’t privately and publicly confronted your crooked colleagues when you know what they’re doing, don’t you dare say a word on social media about Marvin Sapp.

You’re part of the problem too.

I’ve been wrestling with this Marvin Sapp mess for days now, and my zeal is past waxing hot. That $40,000 scandal—locking God’s people in a church till his greed got its fill—isn’t just a one-off; it’s a glaring neon sign of a deeper rot.

For 20 years, I’ve been calling out wayward church leaders, begging them to turn back to Jesus through repentance, reconciliation, and restoration. And let me tell you something I’ve learned, bone-deep: most of these men don’t think they’re wrong.

They’ll spin, dodge, and duck, but confess? Humble themselves?

Rare as a unicorn.

To every preacher reading this, every pastor who’s stayed silent while the Sapps of the world fleece the flock—repent. Now. Quit texting him your sympathy and start calling him to the cross.

And to Marvin Sapp himself: fall on your face before God Almighty, confess your greed, and seek His mercy before it’s too late. The clock’s ticking, and the Lord’s patience has a limit.

Turn back to Jesus—repent—or the fire you’ve stoked will consume you. This is your clarion call. Heed it.

God is not playing with any of you.