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A short clip of Bishop Marvin Winans scolding a congregant over what appeared to be a $1,200 donation exploded across social media this week, and the mob was quick to roar. Viewers saw a few seconds of tension and assumed the worst, but the longer footage shows this took place during a coordinated “Day of Giving,” where specific pledges were being organized for the church’s building fund.
What actually happened is simple: Winans had asked for two separate $1,000 commitments — “a thousand plus a thousand” — and the woman stepped up with a $1,000 check plus $235 and said she would finish the rest later. He interrupted to correct the record for the sake of order and clarity in a live, crowded service, not to humiliate someone for trying to help.
Social media’s reflexive outrage forgot two things Americans used to value: context and gratitude. The congregant, Roberta McCoy, later said she did not feel rebuked and accepted responsibility for the misunderstanding, even asking people to stop the online threats, which ought to silence the keyboard vigilantes who rush to condemn without facts.
Churches that undertake massive construction projects cannot afford sloppy bookkeeping or fuzzy instructions, and leadership has a duty to keep donors organized so a vision can be completed. Perfecting Church has been working on this auditorium for years, with construction stalled after the 2008 recession and then revived more recently — this is not petty greed, it is fundraising to finish a long-delayed house of worship that serves real people.
If conservatives have learned anything in the last decade it is to defend institutions from the mob and the media’s appetite for scandal. We see the same pattern every time a clip gets clipped: partial footage, dramatic headlines, and outraged takes that ignore the full picture; notable examples in the gospel world prove context often changes the story. Responsible leadership and accountability in our churches deserve defense, not viral pile-ons that drive away rather than build community.
Hardworking Americans who believe in faith, family, and local institutions should stand with leaders who keep order and protect the mission of their churches — while still expecting humility and charity. If Winans mis-spoke, it was corrected privately and the congregant herself remained supportive; if activists want to help, they can volunteer, give, or pray instead of weaponizing a clipped moment for clicks. Our communities are stronger when we choose solidarity over spectacle.
