Houston pastor on $200K Lamborghini gift: 'It wasn’t a pastor that bought the car. It was a husband'

Associate Pastor at Lakewood Church John Gray and his wife, Aventer, pose for photos in their home Friday, March 31, 2017 in Houston. John and Aventer are the stars of a new reality series on Oprah Winfrey's OWN network, The Book of John Gray. ( Michael Ciaglo / Houston Chronicle) less Associate Pastor at Lakewood Church John Gray and his wife, Aventer, pose for photos in their home Friday, March 31, 2017 in Houston. John and Aventer are the stars of a new reality series on Oprah Winfrey's ... more Photo: Michael Ciaglo, Staff Photo: Michael Ciaglo, Staff Image 1 of / 12 Caption Close Houston pastor on $200K Lamborghini gift: 'It wasn’t a pastor that bought the car. It was a husband' 1 / 12 Back to Gallery

An associate pastor at Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church who caught heat for buying his wife a $200,000 Lamborghini Urus is now defending the move, saying, "it wasn't a pastor that bought the car, it was a husband that bought the car."

Pastor John Gray, who leads his own megachurch in Greenville, S.C., said in a 23-minute Facebook Live video that he bought the car using funds from other ventures — citing his book deals, a reality TV show on the Oprah Winfrey Network and being "wise with savings and investments" — and did it to mark the couple's eighth anniversary.

"The stories that I hear, and I've tried to not listen to it, but one of them is, 'pastor buys his wife, you know, this expensive car,'" Gray said. "First of all, it wasn't a pastor that bought the car. It was a husband that bought the car. Get that in your spirit."

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He continues: "I'm a husband first. Don't confuse what I do with who I am. What I do is, I pastor God's people. Who I am is a husband and a father, and I'll do anything to honor them, and I won't ask permission from anybody to do it."

Gray initially set off the social media backlash when he posted a since-deleted viral Instagram video that shows him surprising his wife, Aventer Gray, with the car and saying, "You light my fire, let this Lamborghini light your fire, baby."

The video immediately prompted people to question whether Gray had spent money from his church to pay for the car — he did not, Gray said in his video monologue — along with criticism for what some said was a showy display.

Gray addressed much of the criticism in the Facebook video.

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"All my life I've had dreams. Everybody should have dreams, things that they fight for," Gray said. "See, cause here's what I know: Life is not promise. You can be here today and be gone tonight. The reason why my wife and I wanted to have an eight-year wedding celebration is because I needed a new beginning. Eight is the number of new beginnings. ... it is a constant reminder of what God completed and what God will begin again."

Gray has previously defended preachers such as Osteen who live lavish lifestyles, telling The Greenville News last year that "if you work hard and pay your taxes, then you should be able to live where you are able to afford."

He acknowledged, though, that pastors "do have a responsibility to be wise with the things that they have."

Some people criticize megachurch leaders who show off their riches, contending that the practice is unbecoming and out of step with the message they preach from the pulpit.

"I do, however, see something wrong with people who will pimp the church and pimp people and manipulate emotions to enrich themselves," Gray said. "That I do have a problem with."

In his Facebook Live video, Gray said he is not a "pulpit pimp" or "prosperity preacher."

Osteen, who teared up at Gray's pastoral installation service in South Carolina, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Aventer Gray, meanwhile, posted on Instagram defending the move, posting a list in all caps of Gray's numerous other sources of income.

"MY HUBBY IS A HARD-WORKER, HE WORKED HIS WHOLE LIFE AND HE SAVED TO BLESS HIS WIFE!!!" Aventer Gray wrote. "Gives away cars, full houses of furniture, coats off his back."

She compared him to professional basketball players, too, noting that she doesn't "see anyone screaming about how basketball players drive what they do while you paying $$$ to see them play in arenas and on fields."

So-called prosperity preachers, whose message centers on the belief that God wants people to achieve financial and material gain and donate to the church, actually make people more likely to be overly optimistic and exhibit risky financial behavior, according to a University of Toronto study released last month.

The researchers cited Osteen's church as an example in their study.