I read PreachersNSneakers because I had heard about the Insta account and wanted to read more about Kirby’s thoughts. Reading this will definitely make you think about the intersection of money, ministry, politics, etc., especially in light of so many scandals with megachurches. #PreachersNSneakers #NetGalley

PreachsNSneakers is an Instagram account I follow and fine rather interesting, so when I saw this book I knew I had to read it.

Although the tone is somewhat lighthearted and fun the subject matter is one I have wrestled with and wondered about.

Not only does the author deal with some tough questions about celebrity pastors and celebrities who claim Christianity, it also deals with the prosperity gospel that many of these pastor pedal. Like Jesus will make our lives all better if we just sow into our faith, which could be with money or doing the “right” things. Yes, I bought into this lie for years.

The author also brought up something I do. Which is post on Instagram. What is my point in posting my fun family vacations? Am I trying to make people jealous of my life, in which case I am could be causing people to stumble on the commandment not to envy. Something I definitely need to examine.


A copy of this book was given to me through Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

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.

I really enjoyed PreachersnSneakers by Ben Kirby. I had never heard of the PreachersnSneakers phenomenon before reading this book. PreachersnSneakers presents things that are going on in megachurches and asks us the hard questions. These questions make the reader think about the heart motives behind what ALL churches do and whether or not they show the love of Jesus or man. What I took away from the book is that it's great that churches are doing things for Christ and they should, but are we going about it the right way? Are we as a Church reaching people for Christ so that lives can be changed? Or are we doing it to be known and for numbers? I feel that sometimes there is a thin line for this. I appreciate what I learned from this book and how it challenged me (in a good way), Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for opportunity to read this book! I highly recommend to others! (This review is also on GoodReads.)

I honestly did not know about the PreachersNSneakers insta account until I started seeing prepub information about this book. After reading the summary and looking at the insta I decided to give it a read and thoroughly enjoyed it. Ben has written a careful, thoughtful book that recognizes the inherent tensions in using social media to point out the cash value of clothing items worn by Christian celebrity pastors, preachers, and worship leaders. While he does provide information, perspectives, and biblical truth to back up his thesis, Ben mostly just poses question about the intersection of faith, celebrity, wealth, and the new prosperity gospel. His humbleness, conviction, and deep love for the church shine through even as he examines and critiques some of the realities that have arisen from the megachurch Christianity. I would highly recommend and think this book is well-worth the read, regardless of your opinions about his Instagram account.

This book was fascinating. Really made you think.

Thanks to author, publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read this book. While I got the book for free, it had no bearing on the rating I gave it.

This is an interesting book. He really brings out some good points about pastors and prosperity. This book made me think and will definitely be controversial. Definitely worth the read.