A challenge for Kelly Dykstra

I took a little time off from this blog as I was in a new adventure in my life which involved quite a bit of Buddhist readings.  I contemplated karma and the possibility, if it's even true, of something coming back to me for calling out The Crossing Church on their abusive and flat out ridiculous behaviors.  I decided, that even with my snarkiness, that since I only spoke truth that any karma would be good karma.  That said, I'd still considered stopping.  I considered walking away.  I tried.  And then this nonsense came up:

Wow, Kelly! 

A quote from her latest sermon - Minute 14:35 - she began praying for these shoes because "Why not? God likes me!"

Comments from Stuff Christian Culture Likes about this instagram post:

"my problem is that she's making a distinct effort to show them off with the hashtag #jesuslovesme, as if to rub it in the face of someone who can barely afford Payless. Does Jesus not love them then? "

"It feeds the lie that the size of a person's pocketbook somehow proves the measure of God's love for them."

"Forget the shoes... the message she is sending is so repulsive. So what do you tell the child praying that his mother is healed from cancer, or the family praying for a job so they can feed their kids or the wife in an abusive relationship? Based on her message she would say that God must not like them enough to solve their problems. She must have a nice life that wanting a pair of pricy shoes is her biggest "problem" and thankfully God loves her enough. Oh this story is so ridiculous. Who cares what her friend spent on the shoes, but the fact that this person spent time thinking and praying about buying her the shoes... I wish people could focus their energy on what really matters. I guess if God really liked me he would not have let my Mom die 4 years ago and wouldn't have given my Dad Stage IV lung cancer in the fall...#awfultheologyshouldntbeallowedtopreach"

"She could have fed two families for a month for the price of the cheapest Louboutins. I guess Jesus doesn't love hungry people."

"Yo Haters - this is what Jesus wants! She gets to have insanely expensive shoes because she's blessed. She's obviously tithing hard, doing shit right and in God's favor." - This one is mine. ;-)

So God gives you incredibly expensive designer shoes (Low end price of over $1000), you pastor a church of primarily blue collar, semi-rural people who shop at Wal-Mart and clip coupons, and you think it's a good thing to flaunt this?!

 Lets get back to that sermon: Minute 16:13 - A friend knew she wanted the shoes and bought them for her. "Her friend paid the price for the shoes like Jesus paid the price for our sins."  

No.  Just no.  You make it known you want these shoes, have the audacity to pray for them, and then compare your rich friend (I'm guessing Lisa Young or Lisa Cornelius) shelling out a few bucks to feed your desire for the good life to Jesus dying for the sins of the world!?!?  When I heard the sermon and the words "my friend paid the price for these shoes..." I thought "Of all that is holy please do not tell me she's going to compare this to the cross.  I'm agnostic and still find this horrendous!!

As my good friend said, "The only people that should be bragging about God giving them new shoes are the people who didn't have shoes in the first place!"

So here is your challenge Kelly: give up the shoes for the good of those without shoes.  Put them up for auction, sell them, you pick - but give them up.  Give them up just as you and your husband have asked others to give things (very specifically shoes in fact) up.  Prove you are the exemplary Christian you claim to be.  Prove my post about your use of tithe money was wrong.  Prove you care more about people than things.  Prove it.

Pretty sure this is what Jesus would do, right?