Today’s ‘men of God’ have become “superheroes”, renowned preacher, Dr Mensa Otabil has said.

“When I was growing up as a Christian, there were no powerful men of God, so to speak. The biggest churches were probably about 100 or 200 people in attendance…those days there were no major men of God…and nobody called themselves prophet.

“Everybody called themselves brother and sister; brother so and so, sister so and so. We were all brothers and sisters. Then, you know, we became pastors, which is not bad, and then people felt that, you know, we have to go beyond that. So now, you know, preachers, pastors have become superheroes for the congregation and people go to church not on their own faith but believing in a man Of God," the influential motivational speaker said.

Teaching his congregation about ‘growing your faith’ at his International Central Gospel Church (ICGC) on Sunday September 21, 2014, Dr Otabil said it was important Christians developed their own faith independently of their men of God."

“You cannot grow your faith by just believing in a man of God. It’s good to admire a man of God, appreciate his ministry, love his ministry, but your faith must stand on its own. It’s not what Mensa Otabil can do for you, it’s what God can do for you when you trust Him, because when you are in trouble in your house at midnight, you’re not gonna call upon me; if you call on me, my phone will be off, and even if my phone is not off, I won’t listen, I won’t answer…”, Otabil said.

He added: “You must stand on your own faith, not the faith of a man of God. The job of a man of God is to equip you to stand on your own faith, it’s not to make you climb up on their faith and go along."