Democracy Dies in Darkness

This pastor fell for a TikTok stunt and sparked a debate on Christian charity

An influencer’s test of churches went viral, rewarding the generous, shaming the stingy and raising questions about how houses of worship should respond to random calls for help.

November 13, 2025

7 min

A TikTok influencer's stunt put houses of worship to the test. (davelogan/iStockphoto)

By Tatum Hunter

and

Michelle Boorstein

Johnny Dunbar, the 69-year-old pastor of a small congregation in Kentucky, was the only person in the church office when the phone rang on a Friday morning two weeks ago. He picked up, having no idea his next conversation would be replayed millions of times across the internet.

What readers are saying

The comments reflect a strong critique of churches, particularly those associated with the prosperity gospel, for failing to live up to Christian teachings of helping those in need. Many commenters support the use of social media experiments to expose perceived hypocrisy and lack... Show more

This summary is AI-generated. AI can make mistakes and this summary is not a replacement for reading the comments.

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