Bishop William Murphy Jr., the lead pastor of the dReam Center Church in Atlanta, faces backlash on social media after a now-viral video shows attendees swag surfing at a New Year’s Eve service Sunday night.
According to the Atlanta Black Star, the service had a live DJ with a playlist of songs, including the 2009 hit single “Swag Surfin’ by hip-hop group Fast Life Yungstaz. As the song began to play, church members gathered together and started swaying left and right, preparing to ring in the new year with a fun and party-like atmosphere.
Singer-producer Travis Molloy, a member of dReam Center, shared a 41-second clip of the service on his TikTok account, showing Murphy and his congregation doing the popular dance before the clock struck midnight. In the comment section, he defended the 50-year-old pastor, saying that Murphy had a powerful message for his members to bring in 2024.
@travismalloy New Years service at @dReamCenterATL with @William Murphy 🔥👏🏾🔥👏🏾 #TravisMalloy #MillionsBillionsTrillions #thedReamCenter #Atlanta
“Walk It Out” by UNK was also played during the service.
“My pastor preached about walkin it out this year no matter what & NOT LETTING the DEVIL take ur swag while we go to the next level! So we played swag surfin. nobody drank, smoked or fought. We praised,” Molloy wrote.
Meanwhile, other users criticized Murphy for using what appeared to be the unedited version of the hip-hop song, using the N-word while promoting alcohol and drug usage.
“This tew much. I get fresh , new strategies, creative thinking, planning, themes and productions but there still has to be a separation. It has to be a standard,” one user said.
“😬 I’m over here clutching my pearls!! I never looked at myself as an old church head until this moment!! I’m only in my 30s, but grew up when church was churching!!! I’d have to excuse myself! ☝🏽🤣,” a third user wrote.
“on hypnotic, exotic for the Lord is wild,” another said, quoting some of the song’s lyrics.
The dReam Center responded to the online criticism, stating that 150 people had dedicated their lives to Jesus Christ during the New Year’s Eve service.
“This is bigger than 30-second clips, followers, or clickbait. We’re still building something that matters,” the church said in an Instagram post.
While some people found Murphy’s use of the song disrespectful, others supported him for taking an untraditional approach to bringing more people to church. Jesseca Harris-Dupart, the wife of rapper Da Brat, said the church encourages members to “come as you are” and establish a relationship with God.
“If [you] don’t understand it cool, it’s [definitely] come as you are and just reassures you that EVERYONE can have a relationship w/ God no matter where you are on your journey,” she explained, per Black Enterprise. “So many people have left church / religion [because] of all the restrictions when you are supposed to welcome the sinner and GUIDE them.”
On Tuesday, Murphy addressed the backlash during an interview with The Bigg Tigger Morning Show on V103. The award-winning recording artist said he and his congregation were “proud” to “honor” God in a different way. He also said he used the song to encourage his congregation and got the idea after looking up what swag surfing meant online.
“And so we put our hands around each other and started swag surfin,'” Murphy said. “There was no cursing in our church. There was nothing that desecrated the house of God.” He also acknowledged that his congregation is full of old and young folks. “This is not your grandma’s church.”
