Ethics of First Class Travel for Christian Leaders

By Elizabeth Prata

When you board a plane, you have to walk through first class to get to coach. You squeeze in to tiny seats with fellow humanity. I’ve never flown first class. In my younger days when I used to fly often, I’d think of those travelers in first class that they must be important. Or really rich. Thrifty me saved my money for use in the destination, not for comfort on the travel. They even had a curtain the stewardesses would draw closed so the first class passengers would not have to even see the cattle car behind, lol.

But if I did fly first class, or private jet, it would be my personal decision. Who would care? But! What of those who live on the donations of others? Leaders of a nonprofit ministry? Is it seemly to use ministry money or money from your non-profit to fly private jet? Or first class? What are the ethics of such a decision?

It would depend on their reasons, but mostly, no. It’s not a good look for a leader of a Christian ministry to fly private plane or first class. But more on that below.

Let’s take a look at some Christian (and self-identifying Christian) leaders and their travel modus operandi. They’ve stated their reasons for making the extravagant choice. What it comes down to is, a question of stewardship (time, love, energy, and money).

When John MacArthur was first starting out as a youth pastor who preached at different youth camps, he drove everywhere. He had decided to take his wife and children with him. This demonstrates both an attitude of shepherding the means wisely, and a priority of family even as the way he provided for them was distant from their home. MacArthur said,

I could take my little family on weekend things that I did, whether it was Campus Crusade, or Youth for Christ, or some conference or some deal here or there. I could take them. And in the summers, we used to go on the conference trek, the camp tour, as a family. And those were wonderful times as family. ~JMacAurthur

After he obtained his current job as pastor-teacher, MacArthur flew to conferences, within the US or outside the US, in coach. Here is a clip of the pastor-teacher relating a scene where he had witnessed to a Muslim on a long flight. It’s heartwarming. THIS is what it’s all about:

JMac witnessing to a Muslim on a flight,
https://youtu.be/pP6M7OqnciA?si=53M_JkzMbh8v46jx

As MacArthur entered into his 80s, his heart had been giving him trouble. The church decided to pay for business class (not even first class) for the elderly preacher IF the flight was longer than 3 hours. This is so he could get up and move around. Here is Phil Johnson explaining-

Phil’s explanation of JMac’s travel arrangements: “”Contrary to other noisy claims that were made by a certain angry blogger a few years ago, MacArthur doesn’t ALWAYS fly 1st class, but since he almost died of pulmonary embolism a few years ago, it’s not good for him to be immobilized in a middle seat on a long flight. So when we at GTY make his reservations for flights more than 3 hours, we do put him in business class whenever we can so that he can move around and stretch more easily. He’s in his eighties and often has to preach multiple sessions immediately after arrival on an overseas flight. It’s hardly an unreasonable expenditure”.

I agree. It sounds like the GTY Ministry is measured and careful of using the means of the people who donate to support the pastor. And it’s heartening to see that MacArthur uses the time to witness to anyone around him.

Next we have the travel strategy of Carl Hargrove. Carl Hargrove is Associate Professor of Pastoral Ministries at The Master’s Seminary. He said when he and his wife travel on a plane, she takes the window seat, he takes the aisle and whoever sits in the middle will receive the Gospel. If a woman, his wife shares, if a man, Carl shares. Tract given. It’s nice to see such careful strategy to make sure The Great Commission from Matthew 28:16-20 is adhered to.

Next we turn to some others who claim to be Christians but sadly are false. How do Jesse Duplantis, Kenneth Copeland, and Beth Moore travel? What is their strategy for witnessing to those around them, reaching the lost for the Gospel when they travel?

Here are Copeland and Duplantis discussing why they need private jets to travel: First of all, flying on one’s own private jet “is a sanctuary that protects the anointing,” they said. Too many people come up to you, too many people ask you to pray for them. Copeland said, “You can’t manage that today in this dope filled world and get in a long tube with a bunch of demons.“

So, they view the lost as dope fiends and demons to be avoided.

Duplantis said that he travels so much that it would be impossible to adhere to regularly scheduled commercial flights. He is always somewhere else on the next day. He needs his private jet so he can get to his next speaking engagement quickly.

By the way, that is one problem with itinerant preachers. They don’t attend their own church, they are away from their wives and families, and they become an island unto themselves rather than fellowship with the saints. We saw the devastating effect of itinerant preacher Steven Lawson’s travel, picking up a mistress along the way and hiding that fact for 5 years. Being somewhere else the next day allows for a lack of accountability which is harmful to the soul and one’s walk.

Another reason Duplantis said he needs his private plane to travel is that the Lord might spontaneously want to speak to him, and Jesse might want to speak back but the people around him might think he was weird. Copeland agreed, saying, “the guy sitting over there saying what the hell does he think he doing? You can’t do that [stand up and speak to the Lord on the plane], no…“

The clip of their conversation is here.

Beth Moore has flown private plane or first class since the earliest days of her ‘ministry’. When she was aligned with the Southern Baptist Convention, the SBC arm Lifeway paid for half her travel, and Beth’s Living Proof Ministries paid the other half. Sometimes a plane was provided for the diminutive bumblebee and other times it was in first class on a commercial plane.

President Beth Moore on occasion traveled by private plane to events as the ministry saw necessary Lifeway, a partnering nonprofit, paid for 50% of the cost of the private plane, and the remaining 50% was paid by Living Proof Ministries. underline mine. LPM 2014 tax return. Open for Public Inspection.

In 2017, Hillsong Conference paid for Moore and her daughter who was also an employee of Living Proof Ministries to fly coach to Australia. Moore used her donors’ ministry money to upgrade to first class for herself and her daughter. Source

Now since Moore’s divorce from SBC/Lifeway, Moore’s ministry pays 100% of her first class travel. Source 2023 Tax return states,

“President Beth Moore on occasion traveled by first class to events as the ministry saw necessary. The cost is non-taxable and approved by the board. Beth Moore’s first class travel is specified in LPM’s Board approved Travel Policy. This policy includes travel options that helps minimized security challenges, along with extra space for in-flight work / teaching preparations.”

So… Beth Moore spends the extra money so she can work in peace. She needs that time to prepare before she gets to the venue. Like a child doing her homework on the bus on the way to school? And yes, those “security challenges” of being with, um, those people in coach, as opposed to the “security challenges” of being with first class folk? People you could pray with and for, people who may be lost and need the Gospel. Beth Moore needs security from that?

As an aside, Moore has always been hyper focused on security. I read of a woman who volunteered to help organize the venue for one of her Live speeches, and the volunteer said that Moore had a cadre of security bouncers around her and would not even let the volunteer through to speak with Moore. In another situation, Christianity Today wanted to interview Moore, but it was hard to get to her, CT said. They had to jump through a lot of hoops. This is from the 2010 article (Christianity Today)-

It was not easy to get there. Just as Moore’s stories are at once personal and private, Moore in person is intensely friendly—and closely protected by assistants who allow very few media interviews. After several interview requests from CT, her assistants allocated one hour to discuss her latest book and ask a few questions about her personal life. Each question had to be submitted and approved beforehand, I was told, or Moore would not do the interview. Follow-up interview requests were declined. I was permitted to see the ground level of her ministry, where workers package and ship study materials. But Moore’s third-floor office, where she writes in the company of her dog, was off limits.

Moore has always closely curated her public persona.

If you have a bad taste in your mouth from hearing of these jetting Christian celebs, it’s not just your imagination. Extravagances such as those are heavily frowned upon in the non-profit world. It’s seen as extravagant and unethical.

[T]he public’s perception of a nonprofit CEO flying first-class could lead to the organization’s integrity to be called into question. Supporters of the nonprofit trust it to use those funds to best support the mission, and many would view this as a breach of that agreement, writes The Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University.

A nonprofit Christian corporation’s mission is to reach the lost. Deliberately separating from the lost in order to maintain personal comfort is anathema to the Christian non-profit’s mission.

For the Copelands, Duplantis’, and Moores of the world, they are false teachers. The Bible says that false teachers are motivated by greed. We see their greed in pressing their people to donate for a jet, or to use Lifeway money for personal comforts that could have been used for missions.

and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep. (2 Peter 2:3).

“Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to set their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy. Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share,” (1 Timothy 6:17-18).

Rather than make indulgent life choices, we should use our means and resources wisely, and be extra mindful if we are in a position to receive donations and support to be scrupulous in our shepherding of it.