NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / New Zealand

Millionaire pastor slammed over 'racist, homophobic' sermon

NZ Herald
17 Jun, 2020 03:40 AM5 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

The millionaire founder of Celebration Centre church in Wainoni Murray Watkinson has come under fire for calling bisexuals "gutless" and calling George Floyd a "villain". Photo / Celebration Centre

The millionaire founder of Celebration Centre church in Wainoni Murray Watkinson has come under fire for calling bisexuals "gutless" and calling George Floyd a "villain". Photo / Celebration Centre

A video of a Christchurch pastor's sermon that has recently gone viral on social media, with many slamming it for being racist and homophobic.

The millionaire founder of Celebration Centre church in Wainoni, Murray Watkinson, has come under fire for calling bisexuals "gutless" and calling George Floyd a "villain", among other comments in his June 9 sermon.

The millionaire founder of Celebration Centre church in Wainoni Murray Watkinson has come under fire for calling bisexuals "gutless" and calling George Floyd a "villain". Photo / Celebration Centre
The millionaire founder of Celebration Centre church in Wainoni Murray Watkinson has come under fire for calling bisexuals "gutless" and calling George Floyd a "villain". Photo / Celebration Centre

However, Watkinson claimed his sermon was taken out of context.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Almost 20 minutes in his 50-minute sermon, Watkinson talked about the death of African American man George Floyd, who died on May 25 after a white Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee into his neck for several minutes.

"He has been lifted up as a hero around the world and suddenly became a saint – the same man when you go in and actually see his criminal record, he spent four or five stints in jail," he said.

"This ain't no saint, he's a villain."

Later on, he spoke about division and referred to people who "want" to be bisexual, and "whites that pretend to be black or brown".

"Yo man, their pants are down here. Not because they're well endowed, their pants are just down there. They've got the black clothes, the black hair, the black attitude going on bro. They've got it all going on and you look at them and you think, 'oh my goodness'. Talk about an identity crisis."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

He added that white people supporting Māori issues are nuts and are more Māori than Māori people are.

He spoke about division and referred to people who want to be bisexual, and "whites that pretend to be black or brown". Photo / Celebration Centre
He spoke about division and referred to people who want to be bisexual, and "whites that pretend to be black or brown". Photo / Celebration Centre

He then said it's "so uncool" to be heterosexual, and said people who are bisexual "don't know who they are".

"I reckon they're gutless, they don't want to offend anybody, so they're going to go every which way. We're neither black, we're not white. We're neither righteous or ungodly, we're not this we're not that. We don't know who we are."

He then went on to say that the whites are villains, in the world of the riots, along with the rich, the employed, the educated, the invaders, the employers.

Discover more

New Zealand

Hannah Tamaki announces policies for 2020 election

18 Jun 01:22 AM
World

One dead, 11 injured in Minneapolis shooting

21 Jun 09:03 AM

Speaking about the employed, he said workers most likely see their employer as the enemy.

"The employer is probably doing 80 – 100 hours a week and you're whining about your 40. You're hiding for half of the time in the toilet."

He then spoke about US President Donald Trump and how he makes him laugh.

"He entertains me. Not only is he entertaining he's standing for against abortion. Good on you Donald."

He praised him for him pulling funding for abortion clinics and also for taking funds off the World Health Organisation after the Covid-19 pandemic.

He then trailed off and revealed his anti-vaccination views.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Six former members of the church have contacted Newstalk ZB host Chris Lynch, revealing they left the church because there was too much of a focus on donating to the church.

Others said some of Watkinson's teachings were "far removed from the word of God, and more about his outdated opinion on life".

One Christchurch woman and ex-member, Trina Watkins, told Lynch she left the church when she felt the church was preaching a message, not of love and acceptance, but of homophobia and racism.

Former Celebration member Trina Watkins (centre).
Former Celebration member Trina Watkins (centre).

She said she found the recent sermon, sent to her by family and friends, racist and homophobic.

She said there was a lot of racial stereotyping in the speech and that she found it "disturbing" that churchgoers were laughing through the sermon.

"Being an ex-member and knowing that a huge proportion of the congregation is Pacific Island and Māori, I can't imagine how that felt for them.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"I have been through those internal battles and they are not nice."

Speaking about the LGBTQI+ community she said: "I'm privileged to have a whole range of friends and family and a lot of them include [the LGBTQI+ community]

"I can't speak for all of them, but they are already marginalised; they already go through internal battles many can't understand.

"So what are you trying to achieve by mocking people in their struggles? I don't understand."

She claims that the pastor has the view that people who don't agree with him are offended.

"I'm not offended by the church. I'm offended by [his] disregard and disrespect of all the parts of me.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"I have family and friends there of all different cultures and all of their cultures should be valued."

In an email obtained by Lynch, Watkinson urged church members "not to enter into the debate" and "keep sharing God's love and his word."

"It seems I may have caused some controversy and a lot of what I said is being taken out of context," the email reads.

"At this time I'm not planning to make a public statement or enter into a public debate.

"The message of the word is not racist so we welcome every tribe, every tongue, every race, and every people.

"When our views are challenged, it causes us to go back to the word and discover God's wisdom."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Save

    Share this article

Latest from New Zealand

New Zealand

Noel Edmonds to marry again: British TV star proposes in hot tub in NZ

05 Jul 09:00 PM
New Zealand

French fare leaves sour taste after bakers vanish leaving unpaid bills

05 Jul 08:41 PM
Premium
New Zealand

Businessman loses $11.5k in bank transfer error, wages 5yr legal battle to ID recipient

05 Jul 08:00 PM

There’s more to Hawai‘i than beaches and buffets – here’s how to see it differently

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from New Zealand

Noel Edmonds to marry again: British TV star proposes in hot tub in NZ

Noel Edmonds to marry again: British TV star proposes in hot tub in NZ

05 Jul 09:00 PM

The Deal or No Deal host has plans to do up a chapel on his Tasman estate.

French fare leaves sour taste after bakers vanish leaving unpaid bills

French fare leaves sour taste after bakers vanish leaving unpaid bills

05 Jul 08:41 PM
Premium
Businessman loses $11.5k in bank transfer error, wages 5yr legal battle to ID recipient

Businessman loses $11.5k in bank transfer error, wages 5yr legal battle to ID recipient

05 Jul 08:00 PM
Region's first learning hub for migrant parents a 'transformative step'

Region's first learning hub for migrant parents a 'transformative step'

05 Jul 06:00 PM
From early mornings to easy living
sponsored

From early mornings to easy living

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP