Pastor's Sermon Goes Viral for Eyebrow-Raising Guilt Trip

Carlton Funderburke berated congregation for not buying him Movado watch, among other items
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 18, 2022 9:20 AM CDT
Pastor Berates Parishioners for Not Buying Him Movado Watch
Stock photo.   (Getty Images/sevenstockstudio)

It's not surprising to occasionally feel guilty in church. But one Missouri pastor's recent sermon has gone viral after he dressed down his congregants and told them he was "disgusted" with them for not buying luxury items for him. NBC News reports that the sermon delivered by Carlton Funderburke at Kansas City's Church at the Well took place on Aug. 7, and it was one in which the man of the cloth wondered why the people worshipping there hadn't yet showered on him high-end accessories to go with that cloth.

"That's how I know you're still poor, broke, busted, and disgusted, because of how you been honoring me," Funderburke chastises his audience, seen in a TikTok posted by the Kansas City Defender media outlet. "I'm not worth your McDonald's money? I'm not worth your Red Lobster money?" He also laments that he hasn't received any Prada, Gucci, or Louis Vuitton swag, nor a Movado watch he apparently put in a request for way back in 2021. "Here it is the whole way in August, I still ain't got it!" he noted to his "cheap sons and daughters," reminding them they could always pick one up at their local Sam's Club.

Funderburke's sermon has since gone viral, racking up more than 560,000 views as of Thursday morning. Reaction to Funderburke's plea has been somewhat predictably perturbed. "That would've been my last day in his church," posted one critic, per NBC. "Y'all better beware of these false prophets," wrote another, per Indy100. The pastor is now asking his congregation to forgive him, offering a video apology posted on social media. "Though there is context behind the content of the clip, no context will suffice to explain the hurt and anguish caused by my words," Funderburke says in his mea culpa, calling his remarks at the sermon "inexcusable." He adds that he's apologized in private to the church and received "correction and instruction" from those he's "accountable to." (More pastor stories.)

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