Ben Kirby - Preachers and their $5,000 sneakers ...

Religion and Secularism
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Here’s and interesting for story I stumbled upon. A little justice, seems like.

Preachers and their $5,000 sneakers: Why one man started an Instagram account showing churches’ wealth

By Sarah Pulliam Bailey, March 20, 2021, Washington Post

From his couch in Dallas, Ben Kirby began asking questions about the lifestyles of the rich and famous pastors when he was watching some worship songs on YouTube on a Sunday morning in 2019. While listening to a song by Elevation Worship, a megachurch based in Charlotte, the evangelical churchgoer 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!”

 

With a friend’s encouragement, Kirby started a new Instagram account @PreachersNSneakers posting screenshots of pastors next to price tags and the street value of shoes they were wearing. Within a month, the account had attracted 100,000 followers.

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I have comments, but it’s going to take me a while to get past the $800 sneaker part. I get the fashion statement part, or maybe I don’t. How are sneakers fashionable? I remember seeing something about Einstein’s choice of footwear, which were the opposite of what fashion dictated. Somehow that choice became fashionable. Fits the Christian culture I guess.