With more than 20 charting releases on stalwart Gospel music labels such as Malaco and Savoy, I can't help but wonder why the Grammy-nominated founding pastor would have to tour so much or why his family would need to make public appeals to raise money for basic needs like a motorized wheelchair. Why the record labels Wright's music has enriched for three decades couldn't or wouldn't stand behind him in his time of need or, failing that, why they would not at least get out in front of what would be a major public relations disaster if Church Folk actually held these companies accountable to uphold principles of Christian charity and, at least, conscience is simply beyond me. It does, however, underscore and reinforce my overall skepticism and disdain for the Gospel music industry as a whole in that it is not materially different from the secular industry in how it exploits God's gifts and God's people. It is entirely possible that Wright was simply a poor steward of his finances, but the more likely scenario is that is music, being sung and performed royalty-free in churches all across America and, literally the world, never brought him nearly as much financial support as it should have. I find it tremendously sad that we, as a body of believers, continue to empty out our purses to record companies who pay artists like Wright a fraction of their worth. This was a famous man who became famous by writing and performing some of our most cherished music. A founding pastor of a successful ministry. But neither his automobile insurance nor his health insurance, apparently, was adequate to see to his basic needs in a time of tragedy. All of which makes Wright's passing terribly sad on a number of levels, not the least of which is that it should cause us, as a people, to at least pause to think about this business of Gospel music and to reevaluate our support of it.