If there’s any more disappointing feeling than being let down by our moral leaders, the ones who we expect more from, and who teach us to expect more from ourselves, I don’t know what it is. That’s the sort of hypocrisy that really makes your skin crawl.
One Instagram account is calling into question if maybe some of America’s moral leaders aren’t being hypocritical right in front of our eyes, without our realizing it, and it’s starting quite the discussion.
Should preachers and pastors be wearing expensive designer clothing and shoes?
That’s the question posed by the @preachersnsneakers Instagram account. But it’s also one that the account seems to answer with a pretty firm “no.”
The account is a recent addition to the ‘gram, only firing up in March 2019, but it’s already attracted quite a following, with 171,000 people paying attention.
They come to see posts like this, calling out pastor Ron Carpenter, who takes the stage at San Jose’s Redemption Church every Sunday, for preaching the gospel while wearing $1,100 Jordans.
The account started out as a joke, but quickly became something more serious.
“I hold to the idea that pastors should be aware of the message their clothing is sending and at least consider the massive impact they are having in all areas,” Tyler, the 29-year-old man behind the account, told Insider .
A lot of preachersnsneakers followers agree with Tyler.
“This account is like the 21st century version of Martin Luther nailing his theses to the church door,” wrote one commenter.
“What ever happened to being humble? Learn to live just like your Congregation and not above. What a shame, it’s people like this that make it difficult to preach the word of God,” wrote another.
“The two pair of Yeezy x Nike’s that PJG has, could pay my rent for a year (in Denver),” wrote someone else.
But of course, many come down on the side of the preachers, too.
“I’m confused first of all y’all worrying about this mans shoes if you watch his show you will see this man helps people out on a daily who has faced issues or going through things in their life,” wrote one person.
“This page is pretty awful! Judge not lest you be judged. You don’t know how they paid for this. It’s not because you are in ministry that ministry is the only source of income,” wrote another. “Too many unknowns. Leave them alone what good does it do to post these?”
Lest anyone think this is all just someone harping on religion, note that Tyler himself identifies as Christian.
And a sneakerhead, too. “I’m a Christian and [have] been so for a long time and feel really strongly about the leaders of the church and how high of a calling they have,” he told BuzzFeed News . “I started questioning myself, ‘What is OK as far as optics…as far as pastor wearing hype or designer clothing?’ I don’t have an answer. I’m just saying the people in the church should at least be asking the question.”
He’s also hoping folks will wonder, as he does, “Is the money I’m giving the church going to the salary, or spending on sneaks?”
Indeed, some of the pastors featured on Tyler’s account have been called out for lavish lifestyles in other arenas.
Pastor John Gray, who preaches at Relentless Church in South Carolina — founded by Ron and Hope Carpenter — came under fire in the Greeneville News for some questionable expenditures including a $1.8 million home and a $200,000 Lamborghini Gray purchased for his wife. Greeneville’s reporting led Hope Carpenter to allegedly make threats toward the paper during a service, saying “I cut people.”
However, amazingly enough, the discussion Tyler was looking for is starting to happen.
“Just had a super encouraging, in-person hang with one of the people featured on PnS,” Tyler wrote in an Instagram story . “We got to discuss how he moved from being truly angry at me about my posts to legitimately examining his heart behind why they wore certain things and the message it communicated. We agreed that this has been messy, imperfect and freaking insane, but that hopefully something redeemable will come from it.
“2019 has been weird.”
h/t BuzzFeed News , Insider
