A reader here sent the following (see below) to be me about the church pastor who recently bought his wife a Lamborghini for their 8th wedding aniversary. As appaling as it sounds, and is, it is no different than Gerald Flurry buying a Gulfstream jet just so he and his family can travel without touching the unwashed masses. It is not like it is being used to fly to nations around the world to meet leaders so he can proclaim a message about a "strong hand from someplace" like his hero Herbert Armstrong did. No, Flurry does no such thing. He uses it to fly back and forth to England, transport his grandkids to Irish Dance contests, and to fly to the occasional public lecture with 50 or 60 people present (of which 30-40 are PCG members.)Flurry's private jet is the perk he claims he deserves as God's prophet and King that he now proclaims himself as. After all, his hero HWA could live in a multi-million dollar mansion surrounded by gold and silver objet d'art's, fine 17th and 18th European and American art and antique furniture. 
HWA's Regency Silver-gold gilt Candelabra 1812
Sold for $222,500.00
All of these treasures, whether HWA's, Flurry's or Gray's are items bought while associated with a church. Unlike Jesus who set out when he preached without food, money or a place to sleep, and just like he sent the apostles out without any money or food, all whom had to rely upon the kindness of strangers of each day that went by, not months and years worth of money being collected as the "profits" of the Church of God and religion today demand. They expect to live like royalty while some of their members live in poverty. Whether being conned by prosperity gospel preachers or tithe-demanding church leaders, the money is all ill-gotten and certainly does nothing to glorify the God they claim to follow. ================================================
Pastor John Gray of the Relentless Church in Greenville, S.C., has been skewered for splurging on a $200,000 Lamborghini for his wife. A husband surprised his wife with a car for their eighth wedding anniversary. He posted the joyous moment on Instagram. Probably no one would have cared — except in this case the husband is a minister at a megachurch and the car cost as much as a home. It was no ordinary gift or husband. Pastor John Gray of the Relentless Church in Greenville, S.C., has been skewered for splurging on a $200,000 Lamborghini for his wife. Gray is also an associate pastor at Lakewood Church under the leadership of Pastor Joel Osteen, a megachurch minister who has also been criticized for living too well. The video of Gray presenting his wife with the car has been taken down, but you can view snippets of it in an entertainment report by Inside Edition. The rebuke for Gray’s largesse was swift and brutal.
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Gray went back on social media to defend the right to spend his money on anything he wants. “First of it all, it wasn’t a pastor that bought the car,” Gray said in a video responding to the controversy. “It was a husband that bought the car. Get that in your spirit, I’m a husband first — don’t confuse what I do with who I am. What I do is I pastor God’s people. Who I am is a husband and a father, and I’ll do anything to honor them and I won’t ask permission from anybody to do it. No man should.” Gray also addressed accusations that he used church money to buy the car. He says the money came from the success of his books and reality show on the Oprah Winfrey Network. “I have created and been patient my whole life for this moment — I’m 45,” he said. “I’m supposed to wait until I’m 70 to live my best life? And my best life is seeing my wife happy.” Aventer Gray also took to social media to respond to the criticism. "I don't see anyone screaming about how basketball players drive what they do while you paying $$$ to see them play in arenas and on fields,” she wrote. Michelle Singletary responds: Here’s my take on the controversy. Personally, I don’t care what Gray does with his money. If he has the cash to buy a $200,000 vehicle, more power to him. We have no business in his business if the funds didn’t come from the church coffers or because of some malfeasance. “Not a nickel, not a penny from this church, Relentless Church, went toward the gift that I gave my wife,” Gray said. Further, Gray is not a priest who took a vow of poverty. If his books, speaking engagements and TV show afford him and his family a life of luxury, that’s called living the American Dream. And being a Christian does not mean you can’t have expensive things. In Proverbs it says, “All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty.” Still the question for many people of faith is how much profit is too much for a pastor? Should ministers be living their best lives when so many in their congregation are struggling to make ends meet? The same is said about top corporate executives who earn multimillion-dollar salaries while many of their workers don’t make a living wage. Or why are athletes paid insane amounts of money when teachers often have to take part of their modest salaries and buy supplies for their students? The answer: Life is just not fair. Some folks can sing, dunk or preach their way to prosperous lives. We can only hope that they give generously out of their abundance. I believe to whom much is given, much is required. But having said all this, I do fault the Grays for one thing — bragging. Why did he feel the need to make a public display of his present? When you hold certain positions, like that of a pastor, you should show restraint in the exhibition of your wealth. The optics of the anniversary gift was a mistake. It took the focus off his ministerial work and put it on his material wealth. I’m not suggesting that Gray should hide his fortune, but in the video, as he’s presenting his wife with the car, he struts around and yells, “Lamborghini Urus.” Later, when addressing the critics, Gray defiantly says, “I don’t really care what you think.” That’s not true. He does care what the masses think. There were invited onlookers, and he posted the gift exchange online. If Gray didn’t want to show off, he would have presented the vehicle to his wife in private. Yet the Grays aren’t alone. Social media is all about showing people what you have, where you eat or the amazing vacation places you go. Inevitably such displays of affluence make others feel less than. Perhaps the lesson to learn from Gray’s conspicuous consumption is this: Live your best life without having to show the world how rich you are. |
