In 2009, after spending nearly two years caring for a terminally ill parent, which I knew was going to cost me my home, I was not looking for something that would turn around my material situation. I was looking for a place in a community where I could find solace for my loss, grief, trauma. What I wanted and needed was to feel well, balanced, and strong again.

A televangelist made headlines recently by asking his congregation to buy a 54-million-dollar private jet for his “missionary” work. He already owns three.

This mixture of avarice and religion is not just the result of one excessively greedy individual. It has its roots in the so-called prosperity gospel, a strand of Christianity that dates back to the 19th century, which teaches that earthly riches are a sign of God’s favor.

This is one way it works: If a Christian goes wayward of his or her Christian values and becomes destitute, he or she can be redeemed through a belief in the teachings of prosperity theology. Not only will he or she overcome destitution, but miraculously gain riches — enough to offer a generous tithing to the pastoral source of such good fortune.

In 2009, after spending nearly two years caring for a terminally ill parent, which I knew was going to cost me my home, I was not looking for something that would turn around my material situation. I was looking for a place in a community where I could find solace for my loss, grief, trauma. What I wanted and needed was to feel well, balanced, and strong again. I saw an ad in a local paper advertising Sunday services at a Contemporary Community Church in the town where I was living.

The words “contemporary” and “community” are what pulled me in. So the next Sunday I visited the church, a group of around 30 people holding a worship service in a converted store front.

Over the years, I developed a personal and professional relationship with the church’s founding pastor, Robert Fuggi. What impressed me right away about Pastor Fuggi is that his ministry is not his occupation; it’s his passion. Rob’s day job is as a trial attorney. “What a great way to stay grounded in reality,” I thought to myself.

Over nearly a decade, I have watched Pastor Fuggi gradually and organically —through much trial and error as well as a doctoral degree in theology from Princeton University — develop a unique ministry. Pastor Fuggi’s church advocates community participation, provides practical counsel and outreach to the poor and homeless, and is buttressed by sound theological tenets.

In time, Pastor Fuggi began writing down his ideas and experiences into what would become his first book, A New Model of The Authentic Church. (Fulldisclosure: I am Pastor Fuggi’s book editor.) In the preface, the Reverend George Kelsey writes the following:

Having spent more than forty-five years in ministry in the Middle East as one of America’s earliest missionaries in Jordon, I noticed early on that some of the most effective ministry was being done by people who were gainfully employed outside the church as their attitude and commitment to their ministry consumed them. In many countries in the Middle East, volunteer and unpaid leadership has produced vibrant and powerful church ministries. Of course if a congregation grows it may become necessary for a pastor to leave his day job and devote himself entirely to his ministry. But the ministry will have by then been rooted in serving God, not personal ambitions. Too often in the modern American church this is not the case. Rev. Robert Fuggi proposes an antidote to this, first by example, then by advocating for it in his writing.

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