Why a man opened an Instagram account showing the wealth of churches

For The Washington Post 5h ago

“At first, it was easy for me to make jokes about it,” he said. “Some of the outfits are absurd, so it’s easy to laugh at some of the designer pieces. The prices are outrageous.”

In his feed, Kirby has featured Seattle Pastor Judah Smith’s $ 3,600 Gucci Jacket, Dallas Pastor TD Jakes’s $ 1,250 Louboutin Fanny Pack, and Miami Pastor Guillermo Maldonado’s $ 2,541 Ricci Alligator Belt. And he considers Paula White, former President Donald Trump’s most trusted pastoral adviser, who is often photographed with designer items, a “gold mine of content” from PreachersNSneakers, posting a photo of her wearing $ 785 Stella McCartney sneakers. .

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As the Instagram account grew, Kirby began asking more serious questions about wealth, class, and consumerism, including whether it is appropriate to generate massive income by selling the gospel of Jesus.

“I started asking, how much is too much?” Kirby said. “Is it okay to get rich by preaching about Jesus? Is it okay to earn double the median income of your congregation?”

The Washington Post attempted to contact several pastors listed on the Instagram account for comment, including Carl Lentz, White and Jakes, but none responded.

For the past two years, Kirby has published and podcast without sharing his real name, but recently decided to share his real identity with The Post with the launch of his new book, “PreachersNsneakers: Authenticity in an Age of For-Profit Faith and (Wannabe) Celebrities “.

Kirby, 31, who grew up in a Christian homeschooling family in Rustin, Louisiana, has a degree in marketing management and an MBA. He attends a nondenominational church and considers himself an evangelical, he said, “not like ‘Trump is the chosen one,’ but I believe in sharing my faith.”

When Kirby started showcasing shepherd haute couture, he was putting dollar signs on designer items so everyone would see how expensive the garments were valued, said Whitney Bauck, a journalist who writes about ethically sourced fashion and wrote for the first time. about the Instagram account.

“He’s someone who understands Christianity and fashion enough, but he also has a really critical eye,” Bauck said. “He is not a known professional in either of the two spaces, so he was willing to say things that people in those spaces did not say.”

Kirby’s father is a family physician, so he grew up in what he describes as a “comfortable but modest lifestyle” where his parents gave generously to their church. He remembers feeling confused when he saw his “Pastor Charles” riding a royal blue Harley Davidson cruiser, which was worth over a year of his parents’ tithes. It was then, he said, that he realized there was a connection between a successful ministry and a booming business.

In his new book, Kirby highlights a national trend of pastors wearing oversized glasses, skinny jeans and expensive sneakers that seem to belong to “the craft cocktail trough rather than church.”

“Gone are the days of a choir, costumed pastor, and random people sitting in velvet chairs on stage. No,” Kirby writes. “Now he’s a worship band incarnate from U2, perfected LED wash lights, and a pastor … motivating, nervous and might even blurt out a swear word if you’re lucky.”

From suits to denim, many pastors of all denominations have changed attire in recent years. The Rev. Melech Thomas, who was born in Baltimore and is now pastor of an AME church near Raleigh, North Carolina, said he began attending a black church in the 1990s, when all the pastors wore black suits. He watched as a generation of young black youth pastors began trying to reach a hip-hop generation by wearing jeans and Jordans.

“First it was a theological statement,” Thomas said. “It is now a declaration of status.”

Thomas, who has served as a minister in places with lower-income populations, said he buys most of his clothes in places that set an example for his followers that they don’t have to go into debt to impress people.

“They are making deliberate decisions with Da Vinci, Prada,” Thomas said. “It seems they are choosing to minister to people who can afford shoes like this.”

In his book, Kirby writes that these pastors who have a huge following on social media are no longer just pastors, he writes. They are often motivational speakers, corporate trainers, and leadership consultants. Kirby said he has been to churches where a volunteer was appointed solely for the purpose of carrying the pastor’s Bible. Often, he writes, these pastors have private entrances, reserved parking spaces, security details, and a gang of personal assistants or handlers. And they often promise God’s blessings to their followers if they bless the church.

“Like Hollywood, a world so often criticized by pietists, these institutions and their leaders celebrate and reward the ‘blessing’ of fame, popularity and influence,” he writes. “Pastors function as ‘talents’ acting for an audience or as spokespersons for the ‘brand’ of the church. “

In recent years, the line between who is a pastor and who is a celebrity has blurred. Kirby points out how often Hollywood celebrities and celebrity preachers will be seen together on social media posts, such as Lentz playing basketball with Drake, Pastor Rich Wilkerson Jr. FaceTimeing with Justin Bieber, or Pastor Craig Groeschel dating Kanye West. on his ranch in Wyoming.

Tim Gloege, a historian who wrote a book called “Guaranteed Pure” on marketing in evangelism, said that fashion has always been important in religion. In Catholicism, dress was once simple and was based on ancient Roman dress before liturgical dress became quite regal. The dress was so elaborate that it was the theme of the 2018 Met Gala.

During the Protestant Reformation, Gloege said, clergy dress became more academic during a move toward simplicity.

But in the early 20th century, an evangelist named DL Moody caused quite a stir by dressing in business clothes instead of office clothes. Moody’s business attire made a class statement by partnering with the respected leaders of its day, according to Gloege, and other pastors began to follow suit.

“Dress often reflects who people currently look up to and how authority is generated in society,” he said. “Do you trust the Koch brothers or George Clooney?”

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that the median salary for clergy was $ 53,180 in 2019, but Kirby’s Instagram feed shows how a nationwide evangelical market has become lucrative for leaders with the status of celebrity. Like other social media influencers, these pastors are sometimes given the shoes and clothes they wear.

Kirby watches the preacher trend for fancy sneakers take off, while the resale market for sneakers has exploded as well. In 2019, Kirby posted a photo of Pastor John Gray wearing the coveted Nike Air Yeezy 2 Red Octobers, sold at the time on the resale market for over $ 5,600. If a pastor wears a new pair of shoes with lucrative resale value and chooses to wear them instead, he can show his followers that he can afford not to resell them.

Across America, top-rated pastors and worship leaders produce the best-selling books and albums, often earning huge salaries and housing allowances from their churches. And many of the larger churches, which do not have to publicly disclose their income, often generate opulent tax-free income.

In recent years, West has helped bring merchandise to churches with his creation of “Sunday Service,” selling $ 50 socks that read “Jesus Walks” and $ 225 crewneck sweatshirts with “Holy Spirit” on the front. . Many mega churches began to follow, developing their own merchandising with elements of urban fashion.

Since opening the Instagram account, Kirby has been dipping his own feet into the evangelical market, entering a world that he has so openly criticized. Like church leaders, his income is partially dependent on his podcast advertising and book sales, and he sells products based on the brand. He’s had his own run-ins with fame, texting with the likes of Lentz, who was once a great megachurch preacher, befriended Joel Hale from the TV show “Community,” and attended a Super Bowl party. at the home of NBA star Carmelo Anthony.

Kirby doesn’t want Christians to give up fashion or celebrities, but he wants more transparency and accountability.

“I am making people question the status quo within the church and I hope they will push for a reevaluation of what we value,” he said. “Aren’t people going to get to God without this guy wearing Yeezys? Come on.”