Pastor Mason Betha
Monique Murray, Staff Reporter
'God is about to do a new thing... He's not going to wait for you Christians. He will go into the crackhouses, into entertainment and find men and women who are willing to preach the gospel!'
- Elder Gus, Salvation Deliverance Church, Harlem, New York.
EVER HEARD of Pastor Mason Betha? How about Ma$e, former rapper and Bad Boy member? I thought so. It turns out that Ma$e is now a pastor and has written his first book, Revelations: There's A Light After The Lime, which chronicles his radical transformation. Ma$e left the entertainment scene at the height of his career to follow what he says is a higher calling upon his life.
RISE TO SUPERSTARDOM
The book, written in the first person, gives a peek into the rap industry and the struggles of a young man growing up in Harlem, New York, surrounded by violence, sex, hustling, music and basketball. It tells of his affiliations with the Notorious B.I.G. and Sean 'P. Diddy' Coombs and his rise to superstardom. He was on the verge of signing a multi-million dollar deal with Bad Boy Records (the record company operated by Sean 'P. Diddy' Coombs) when he got his call.
He said he had no idea how he ended up in church that day (being the regular Christmas/Easter churchgoer) "I had spent the night before (having sex) and drinking. I woke up that morning smoking weed when my girl asked me totally out of the blue if I wanted to go to church. Church?! I don't think so! But my mouth said, 'yeah.' So I put on some jeans, threw on a hoodie, finished my joint and went to church smelling like weed." That same Sunday he was at the altar, bawling no less.
"It was like God was saying to me 'get up out of that seat Mason, you're tired of being Ma$e, tired of complaining about what comes with the industry. Tired of doing shows... tired of people around you only because you have money'."
So Ma$e 'died' that day, leaving behind four cars, (a Range Rover, a silver BMW, a black Tahoe, a black Mercedes SL convertible), more than US$200,000 worth of jewellery, women, fans and groupies.
It was a struggle at first because of the pressure he received from friends, fans, business partners and even himself. "The hardest thing for me in the beginning was when people would compare me to other entertainers who came out of the world. But we ain't the same... I'm Pastor Mason Betha. Not Pastor Ma$e... When you become a new creature old things are passed away and all things become new. Ma$e is the old thing. If you're done with the old thing be done with it all the way," he said.
Pastor Mason also expresses his desire to see many more secular artistes come to know God and move toward full-time ministry.
He is now an inspirational speaker and founder of a non-denominational movement called S.A.N.E. (Saving A Nation Endangered) Ministries. He's now married to a firm believer who also had to leave behind a US$50-an hour job to go into ministry. They met at (where else) a prayer meeting at their church. "Twyla is everything I ever wanted," he says.
SHE LOVES GOD
He describes her as "beautiful in every sense of the word", but it's the fact that she loves God that stands out and qualifies her as his wife, he says. Scripture verses are quoted at the beginning of each chapter.
The language is definitely simple and Mason's voice come through quite clearly. The 200-word book is certainly an interesting read, even for the not-so-avid reader. One of his sermons on iron sharpening iron runs throughout the book at the beginning of each chapter, which in my opinion, breaks the flow and can become tedious to read when all you really want to know is what he's up to. That's the book's only snag, but it only goes to show that he's not about to entertain you but to bring his message and his testimony across.
But the real question is: is he really transformed, or is this just another publicity stunt? My answer: it is an uncut version of Mason's new life and beliefs. He uses situations from his life to illustrate his convictions.
The first person narrative gives a personal feel of what he went through in the years leading up to his conversion as well as those after. The book has me convinced that he's for real and it could serve as a source of encouragement for people who want to get closer to the Lord. For those who are already Christians it's a reminder of the power God has to change a life totally.
