Brian Tamaki t-shirt

This t-shirt features a portrait of Brian Tamaki, the head of Destiny Church which was officially launched in Auckland on 4 July 1998. It is an evangelical Pentecostal Christian movement led by Apostle Bishop Brian Tamaki and his wife Pastor Hannah Tamaki. Tamaki was ordained as bishop of Destiny Church in 2005. The t-shirt was worn by David Graham (Taranaki, Waikato) who was a founding and key member of Destiny Church Wellington from 2003 to 2013.

Tamaki has described himself as an apostle, pastor, bishop and spiritual father. In this t-shirt, his image takes on an iconic bearing (some printings of this image have included the word ‘legend’). His ordination as the bishop of Destiny Church in 2005 was a great occasion for members.

Tamaki was the model on how to be a strong man and encouraged men in the church to imitate him. He provided the concept of ‘spiritual fathering’ which was particularly important for many members who didn’t have fathers present in their lives.

David Graham notes that there were ‘a lot of good things but it became more about what Brian could do for you – he had to lay hands on us to impart the blessing’, which was an old covenant approach. In the new covenant, Ephesians 1:3 states: ‘Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.’

References: Personal communication between David Graham and Te Papa curator Stephanie Gibson, 7 October 2022.