Crosses, Fistfights and a Planted Lizard: 15 Church Service Meltdowns Captured on Camera
Crosses, Fistfights and a Planted Lizard: 15 Church Service Meltdowns Captured on Camera
A viral compilation video shows moments ranging from the tragic — a scaffolding collapse that killed 36 — to the absurd, including a pastor who appeared to play soccer as a demonstration of “the anointing.”
A new compilation video circulating online documents 15 disruptions inside churches during active services, captured by live cameras and smartphone footage. The incidents range from a deadly structural collapse in Ethiopia to a fistfight that broke out on a Sunday morning while a pastor preached just feet away.
The most severe event occurred during an annual religious festival in Ethiopia, according to the video. A large wooden scaffolding structure erected inside a church collapsed without warning while hundreds of worshippers stood on it. The video reports that 36 people died at the scene and over 200 were injured. Rescue teams worked through the wreckage as families searched for loved ones.
In a separate incident widely covered in American media, Bishop TD Jakes of The Potter’s House in Dallas suffered a heart attack during a live-streamed service. The video notes that Jakes lowered his microphone, his body began to shake, and he slumped in his seat. Church leaders initially described it as a “minor health episode.” Days later, Jakes confirmed he had suffered a heart attack and that the right side of his heart had stopped circulating blood. Doctors told him that without immediate intervention, he would not have survived.
Other clips show less serious but striking moments. At a church in Nigeria, the video alleges that Prophet Shepherd Bushiri attempted to deliver a prophecy but was undermined when a man in the congregation confirmed they had spoken privately earlier that day. [Unverified] In another Nigerian clip, Prophet Jeremiah Omodo Fufan is shown approaching a woman during a prophetic session; viewers observed him appearing to pinch her when she resisted confirming his statements. [Unverified]
A Catholic priest, Reverend Father Chigosi Mestus Chilaka, instructed his congregation to look at the clouds during a deliverance session, the video claims. A person recording from a different angle allegedly captured an aide dropping a dead lizard on the ground — an apparent attempt to make it appear the possessed man had vomited the animal. [Unverified]
The compilation also includes a gospel artist who referred to Jesus as “the only stripper I’m in love with,” a pastor who danced to explicit secular rap music during a New Year’s Eve service, and a church fight over $238 in allegedly stolen cash that turned a sanctuary into a tug-of-war over a microphone.
At New Mount Calvary Baptist Church in Southeast Houston, surveillance footage showed a driver crashing a car through the entrance, past the pews, and stopping at the altar. No injuries were reported, and the driver was taken into custody.
The video ends with a pastor in Africa dribbling a soccer ball inside a church while members collapsed dramatically around him, which he described as “football in the spirit.” [Unverified] According to the narrator, the clip was widely shared online as an example of performance over genuine religious practice.