Pastor Keion Henderson says that he has made amends with the woman critics say he publicly shamed for causing an un-Godly disturbance in the sanctuary.
The Christian leader recently told “97.9 The Box” radio hosts that while he is accustomed to the critical views within the church, becoming a staple on the gossip site the Shade Room, has been a completely different experience.
The Lighthouse Church founder has become somewhat of a celebrity in his own right thanks to his marriage to Shaunie Henderson, formerly O’Neal, the ex-wife of retired NBA star Shaquille O’Neal.
The former basketball wife married her second husband in May 2022. The couple shared their love story and journey down the aisle on their show “Shaunie & Keion’s Destination I Do.” The reality TV producer and pastor have a blended family of six, with five children belonging to the “Undefeated” author and Keion’s daughter from a previous relationship.
In early May, a clip of him telling a worshiper to “hush” and “silence in the name of Jesus” during a livestreamed service went viral. Both he and the woman faced a barrage of commentary about the incident, some of which included condemnation of his actions and the woman’s alleged wailing for attention instead of bringing glory to the Holy Father.
One perspective on the exchange read, “She’s always loud like this and he’s never stopped her. Finally, he got fed up and did.. he saw through it. He’s let her have her moments.” A second stated, “I get both sides…We can cry out for Jesus to get His attention but sometimes we have to silence the noise to hear to heed His attention.
pastor keion henderson shh someone for praises God too loud pic.twitter.com/OvAxcC4Uow
— What's Da Bizness (@whatsdabizness) May 5, 2024
Some others felt she should have been shown some grace. “I am concerned about the lady,” fellow Pastor Deitrick Haddon shared during an interview. “As a shepherd, your responsibility is to cover the sheep.”
Another individual shared, “I would like to hear from her!!! Her side of the story. Because, no matter what she is a soul to save. This approach was dead wrong. It is embarrassing and could have been done differently.”
Pastor Keion previously said that he and several members of the church have addressed the woman’s disruptive behavior over the span of four years, but she has continued to be a disorderly fixture during times of worship.
pastor keion henderson says the woman he shh has been doing this for four years, he said he spoke to her in private, had ushers, prayor warriors speak to her and she still decided to do it , says he can tell the difference between disturbance and worship and he would donit again pic.twitter.com/wxoGspbwyF
— What's Da Bizness (@whatsdabizness) May 7, 2024
“All noise in church ain’t the Holy Spirit, and all I know for sure is that what I did in that moment was appropriate, whether somebody outside of The Lighthouse Church or not understands that,” he explained in the recent discussion regarding the matter.
“Now what I feel bad about is what happened to her in her life because I live this space she doesn’t,” he continued, speaking to the nature of his status as a public figure. “This is the difficulty of this internet sensationalism. The only reason it went viral is because people made money. Because I have asked people to be quiet before y’all knew who I was, but nobody played it.”
He added additional context by sharing that Shaunie shared that he had gone viral while service was ongoing.
Pastor Keion also admitted that his own “dogmatic” church upbringing greatly influenced how he handled the situation with the churchgoer.
“I understood in that moment OK well some of what took place was my roots, which I’m gonna have to address ‘cause it was a reflex reaction to something I grew up seeing and I recognize that the world has changed, people are a lot more sensitive than they used to be,” said the author of “The Lazy Love.”
“So I didn’t go through the moment without learning, and I don’t want anybody to think that my head was in the sand and that my feet was dug in like I shall not be moved.”
Furthermore, the former aspiring professional basketball player stated, “I learned in the process that I pastor in a generation that is not the one I grew up in and that I pastor in the world that does not look like the one I grew up in. So now I have to adjust as a leader. I do ask that the people who think she deserves an apology, which she got, give — I ask for yours too. So don’t ask me to be forgiving and you’re not either.”
Thus far, the wailing worshipper Pastor Keion has not come forward with any social media posts explaining her side of the story.
