Jon Connor & Larry Hart

Not long ago I came across a book by Ben Kirby, Preachers N Sneakers. Ben Kirby is the creator of the viral social media sensation PreachersNSneakers, where he caused an uproar across the globe after showing the values of the clothing preachers were wearing on television. It all began when Kirby, an evangelical church goer in Dallas, Texas was listening to a song on You Tube by Elevation Worship, a megachurch based in Charlotte, North Carolina and noticed the lead singer’s Yeezy sneakers were worth nearly the amount of his first rent check. Kirby posted to his 400 followers on Instagram, “Hey Elevation Worship, how much you paying your musicians that they can afford $800 kicks? Let me get on the payroll!” Since then Kirby has saterized Seattle pastor Judah Smith’s $3,600 Gucci jacket, Dallas pastor T.D. Jakes’s $1,250 Louboutin fanny pack, and Miami pastor Guillermo Maldonado’s $2,541 Ricci crocodile belt. Kirby considers Paula White’, a Trump “advisor on religion and politics, a “content goldmine.” I am only sorry he had nothing to say about bishops of affluent denominations  (or those who abet them) who sell out parishes serving the poor so they can buy houses for themselves by the water of the bay. Nevertheless, Kirby’s book does go beyond just poking fun to ask some serious questions:

• Should pastors grow wealthy off of religion, and why do we get so angry when they do?
• Is it okay to stoke envy among others with curated “lifestyle” images on social media?
• Do we really believe that divine blessings are monetary, or is that just religious wallpaper to hide our own greed?

Knowing our friend and colleague Fr. Jon Connor, D.Min. Ph.D. had once upon a time been enticed to serve in a megachurch ministry with the promise he would be in a unique position to do an enormous amount of good, I asked him (even though for the sake of personal integrity Jon didn’t last long in that environment) for his reaction to Brian Kirby’s book. He responded soon after like this:

Thoughts on Preachers N Sneakers

Preachers N Sneakers: Authenticity in an Age of For-Profit Faith and (Wannabe) Celebrities by Ben Kirby is interesting and timely when the author stays on topic. When he drifts to some asides, he loses my interest although some of that may be a generational gap.

In any event, his basic premise triggered some memories from my association with a “prosperity gospel” ministry. Here are some random occurrences that I observed:

• The pastor had a Bentley that he would use when guest preachers were visiting.
• He had a custom bass fishing boat with a matching tow vehicle.
• His private, gated estate had a fish stocked lake.
• “Pastor’s Birthday” & “Pastor’s Anniversary” were official dates on the church calendar. Parishioners were expected to provide a monetary “gift” on these occasions. One associate pastor, who had just had open heart surgery, literally got up from his hospital bed to make his gift. The pastor sat on his presider’s chair and everyone came up to the microphone to declare their gifts publicly. Mind you, this was in 2008 in Sacramento which had one of the highest foreclosure rates in the country.
• A visiting “evangelist” regaled the congregation about his new Ferrari that his Texas congregation had “gifted” him.
• Another visiting preacher did a twice per day “crusade” for 5 days. He wore a new $2000 suit for each occasion (10 changes of clothes) with matching watches and jewelry for each change.
• Creflo Dollar did a two day “crusade” in which he bragged about his private jet and berated the congregation for not providing a private jet for its pastor.

When I left that environment, I sought out a professor from UC Davis who had done his dissertation on this particular church. He had been an active member and had seen the same sort of things that I did. When his monograph was published, he was ostracized, shunned and threatened with legal action. The congregation was told he had “fallen” and was not to be contacted.

Somehow, I missed the Scriptural references supporting these beliefs and behaviors. My education must be incomplete!!! LOL

Jon