GREENVILLE, SC - Greenville pastor John Gray appears to have gifted his wife a $200,000 Lamborghini sports utility vehicle for their eighth anniversary.
In an Instagram video taken at the celebration, Gray leads his wife to a bow-wrapped car and hands her the keys while saying "Lamborghini Urus."
Gray, who leads Relentless Church in Greenville, acknowledged on social media that he bought his wife a car for their anniversary and responded to criticism of the purchase.
"God helped me to make my wife's dream come true," he wrote in an Instagram post Tuesday night. "Why not? She's made mine come true!"
His wife, Aventer Gray, defended her husband in her own Instagram post, saying he gives away cars and furniture as well as coats off of his back, in addition to tithing and donations.
"I don't see anyone screaming about how basketball players drive what they do while you paying $$$ to see them play in arenas and on fields," she wrote in an Instagram post Sunday. "We don't live for people! We live for God!"
Gray recently made headlines for welcoming people in need to take money from church donation baskets, especially widows and veterans.
Relentless Church did not immediately return requests for comment for this article.
In an interview with The Greenville News in December 2017, Gray defended pastors who drive fancy cars. He said at the time that he had few indulgences and one of those was to have a fine car to drive around in.
Gray pointed to his multiple sources of income and said pastors in general who spend on expensive cars tend to use money from outside ventures like book deals or television rights rather than their church paycheck.
Gray, a reality television star with a show on OWN, has several ventures, including other television projects, books and endorsements.
"It’s people who say preachers make too much money and they shouldn’t have this or that," Gray said in the interview last year. "I understand why and how people get there, but I think they should be very cautious to understand that if the individuals that are serving are honorable, and they are committed to serving, if they have saved their money and want to do something nice for their spouse, or they want to live in a home, you’ve got one life."
Gray was previously an associate pastor at Joel Osteen's Houston church and renamed Greenville's Redemption Church in May when he became the lead pastor when founding pastor Ron Carpenter moved to California for another church there.
