I requested this book because the description sounded good, but it seems like I’m out of the loop because almost all my Christian friends have heard of the instagram account: preachersnsneakers. But if you’re like me, Preachers n Sneakers is an account that points out when famous pastors wear very expensive clothes, because there’s something off about it. This book expands on the concept and discusses topics like:

• Making money while in Church ministry (is there such thing as paying pastors too much?)
• Christian celebrities
• Posting on Instagram
• The new form of Prosperity Gospel
• The role of politics in religion
• Church merchandise (I didn’t even know this was a thing?)
• Callout culture

As you can imagine, with this many topics, it’s going to be hard to dig deep into any of them (I mean, the issue of money and the Church can be the subject of many books). However, Preachers n Sneakers manages to give the reader an overview of the issues, which is enough information to get people to think about it. I think this would actually make for good cell-group/youth group material because each chapter ends with discussion questions. The last chapter of the book has some practical tips from the author, but in general I would classify this as a book that makes you think rather than a book that tells you what to do.

Additionally, this book is very American-centric in its view. But, I think that this book is important to Christians outside of America because America’s version of Christianity has an outsized influence. If we’re not aware of some of the problematic trends that are going on in the Church in America, then we might unintentionally bring them to our country.

In terms of style, the prose is fairly sarcastic and very “internet” (if that makes sense), so I imagine it’s going to appeal more to young people than older folks/people who don’t use the Internet, who might not even know that these issues exist.

Overall, I think this is a very accessible and important book for young Christians today. Preachers n Sneakers goes beyond a critique of pastors wearing expensive clothes and looks at the phenomenon of Internet fame, consumer culture, and even politics and how it all intersects with the Christian faith – things that are relevant to all believers in Jesus.

Also, it has the best dedication I’ve seen so far.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley, but all thoughts are my own.

Featured Image: Photo from Canva