Hello everyone,

My family attended the wedding of a dear friend over the weekend and I have some thoughts that I'd appreciate feedback on. I'll preface by stating that our friend is evangelical and the ceremony was probably the most meaningful wedding ceremony I've seen outside of a Catholic nuptial mass. Everyone who participated (pastor, singers, people who prayed) clearly love the Lord, have Jesus at the center of their lives, and visibly want the same for everyone. Obviously, that's a good thing. Several people approached my wife asking if she attends church. Once she said that she does and that it's a Catholic church, the conversations abruptly ended and those who asked became distant (these people ran the same play on me a few years ago with the same end result, by the way). Also, the pastor tried proselytizing during the ceremony, which I thought was out of place. Point being, they love Jesus so much although with quite an interesting approach.

Toward the end, I found myself next to my friend's pastor, introduced myself, and told him that the ceremony was very nice. We briefly chatted and left around the same time shortly thereafter. While we were getting our kids in the car, a new and very large Cadillac SUV drove past us with who other than my friend's pastor behind the wheel. It was at that moment that I was reminded why "pastors" and protestantisms don't always sit right with me.

If "the guy" at my church, whose livelihood depends on my monetary donation, was driving around in a vehicle like that, I'd have some questions. What other extravagant vehicles are he and his family rolling around in? What kind of property does he own? What else are my donations actually going toward? And I know there's usually a whole body of directors and executives that some protestant churches have, maybe even all or most protestant churches, so who else may be benefitting here?

Now, on to my main question: Can the leaders of protestant churches truthfully, honestly, and responsibly preach the gospel while seemingly living opulent lifestyles? Jesus certainly wasn't born in nor lived in a palace. He wasn't riding around on golden donkeys. He didn't wear fancy watches or have other luxury items. Yet, that's what we see from the leaders of these Prosperity Gospel Lite churches. Aren't these just businesses where there's incentive to bring in as many people as possible, to attract as many "customers" as possible, therefore receiving as much revenue as possible, so that those at the top can accumulate wealth? How is this justified among church leadership as well as the members? To be clear, I wholeheartedly believe that everyone should be able to live comfortably regardless of the profession they choose, but a bit more modesty and humility in this setting would go a long way in my opinion strictly speaking as an outsider.

Please let me know if this is out of line and too harsh. Is it even my place to comment having never been a member of a church like this? God bless you all.