Christian service. Habitat was one result of that commitment.

Fuller began his Assembly speech by presenting plaques to the Rev. Clifton Kirkpatrick, the stated clerk of the Assembly, and to Moderator Rick Ufford-Chase, thanking Presbyterian congregations for their strong involvement in Habitat ministries. He noted that the Presbyterian Church (USA) and the United Methodist Church are Habitat's largest supporters.

But before the back-slapping could begin, he shifted gears.

He noted that, every year, three times as many million-dollar houses are built in the United States as Habitat houses. And many of those luxurious houses are being built for Presbyterians.

"We could build 300,000 Habitat houses with the money spent per year on million-dollar houses in the United States," he said.

Habitat builds about 5,000 houses in the United States each year.

Fuller told about visiting the home of one of the largest Habitat donors, in a town in Florida. Local Habitat officials were excited because this man had contributed $1,000. But he had spent $30 million on his own home, which was still under construction.

Fuller said this donor was like the rich man in Jesus' story of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16. He wasn't completely unconcerned about the poor, he said, like the man in the gospel who gave token assistance to Lazarus by throwing crumbs over the fence.

"But crumb-giving doesn't do it," he said.

"There's a huge problem facing the Presbyterian Church and the church of Jesus Christ," he continued. "We live in the lap of great affluence - and the Bible has a lot to say about that."

So often, he said, church meetings like General Assemblies "spend a lot of time majoring in minors" rather than focusing on the major themes of the Bible, he said. But "God has given us the mandate to do more than throw crumbs over the fence."

During a post-breakfast press conference, Fuller said more than 5 million U.S. families are without decent, affordable housing.

At the same time, he said, "Some people are over-building, to the detriment of those who don't have anything."

Fuller recalled that he'd raised this issue once with a group of students at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, asking them, "At what point is a house too big?"

After a moment, a voice from the back of the room said, "When it's bigger than my house!"

Asked about the size of his own house, Fuller said he and his wife lived for 20 years in Americus, GA, in a 700-square-foot home without air conditioning, but in 1996 he gave in to his wife's request for a home that was more "grandchildren-friendly." He said they now live in a 2,000-square-foot house on four acres of land - with air conditioning.