(OPINION) The outfit Pastor Steven Furtick wore on Easter is still generating online conversation, even though weeks have passed since Resurrection Sunday.
Furtick is the pastor of Elevation Church, a multisite megachurch headquartered in Matthews, North Carolina. Originally founded as a Southern Baptist church, Elevation is a non-denominational church known for its award-winning worship music, sung in evangelical churches worldwide every Sunday.
Nevertheless, Furtick and Elevation Church have also been the subject of considerable criticism. Some have accused Furtick of being a prosperity preacher, calling out his often expensive attire. Others have questioned his public associations with controversial figures such as Mark Driscoll, Perry Noble, T.D. Jakes, Joyce Meyer, and Joel Osteen.
On Easter, March 31, Furtick preached a message titled “Something In Between.”
“Everybody here has got a grave God is calling you away from,” Furtick preached. “Everybody in here has got a place in you, a place in life, a place you can’t stay, and a long way to go.”
Speaking from the disciples’ perspective at Jesus’ empty tomb, Furtick said, “What are we going to do? We can’t stay at the grave. We’ve got to go. We can’t stay in this dead place. If we stay here, it will only ever be death. [Jesus is] not coming back to the grave. We’ve got to go.”
Furtick’s sermon soon drew online criticism. As is often its custom, discernment blog Protestia posted a clip of Furtick’s message to X (formerly Twitter), calling it “a trainwreck of narcegesis.”
“If you wanted to know how someone can make Jesus’ resurrection story about YOU, where His grave represents YOUR depression and failure, and Galilee represents a better life YOU want to live, then look no further,” the caption of the post said.
As people began to comment, some made remarks about Furtick’s preaching. Others had something to say about his attire. “Why is he wearing my Gramma’s sweater,” questioned Joel Berry, managing editor of the Babylon Bee. Others made similar quips about Furtick’s salmon-colored “grandma sweater.”
Later, PreachersNSneakers, an online watchdog that documents the high-cost fashion choices of American megachurch pastors, revealed that Furtick’s sweater had a nearly $2,000 price tag, resulting in a second wave of criticism. “Bro’s sweater has more holes than his theology,” one person joked. Another commented, “$2k to dress like a Golden Girl?”
