For 22 minutes, the pastor made sexist comment after comment, telling women to work on their appearance or their partners would leave them.
Every woman is beautiful as she is. So when one pastor, who is meant to spread the word that all people are made in God's image, made sexist comments that would fit right into the attitude of those in the 1900s, many were outraged. In a 22-minute video that was shared on Facebook by a parishioner who attended his speech, the pastor can be seen criticizing women, according to BBC.
Pastor Stewart-Allen Clark from the Missouri denomination of the General Baptist Ministries told his audience that it is "really important" for men to be seen with a beautiful woman. He asks, "Why is it so many times that women, after they get married, let themselves go? Now look, I'm not saying every woman can be the epic trophy wife of all time like Melania Trump, I'm not saying that at all."
During that statement, an image rolls up on the screen behind him of the former First Lady. "Most women can't be trophy wives, but you know... maybe you're a participation trophy. You don’t need to look like a butch either," he continued. At one point, he even said, "Scientists have discovered, by the way, a food that diminishes the woman’s sex drive. It’s called the 'wedding cake.'"
Pastor Stewart Allen-Clark tells congregation that women need to work harder to look good for men. “I’m not saying every woman can be the epic trophy wife of all time like Melania Trump. Most women can’t be trophy wives, but you know ... maybe you’re a participation trophy.” pic.twitter.com/5GfyqIeQZw
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) March 6, 2021
His audacity included claims that men were allowed to ogle other women if their wives had "let themselves go." "Ladies, it’s the way God made us. It’s the way we are. Men are going to look. He made us to look. You want them to be looking at you. Don’t let yourself go," he said. Clark even commented on women who chose to don jogger bottoms and pyjamas. "Men have a need for their women to look like women," he continued.
"Sweatpants don’t cut it all the time. Wearing flip flops and pajamas to Walmart – that ain’t going to work. Ain’t nothing attractive about that. It ain’t," he said in the sermon. "And men want their wives to look good at home and in public, can I get an Amen! Don't ever forget this, God made them to look and you want them to look at you - not some hottie out there or someone on a computer screen."
He then goes on to tell them how they could achieve it. “But you say, ‘how can I do that?’ Oh, I’m so glad you asked that question,” he asked rhetorically. “If you were sitting in my office, here’s the first thing I’d say to you. And boy, I hate to say this: weight control. Praise God for makeup,” he added, as per The Washington Post. “It’s like Bondo for dented vehicles. And it’s like crack filler for your drywall.” Sexism wasn't the only weapon in his arsenal though. He made a racist comment saying, "If beautiful women from the south are called ‘southern belles,’ does that mean beautiful women from Mexico are called ‘Taco Belles?'"
Wrapping up his sermon overflowing with inappropriate remarks, Clark quoted a line from the Corinthians, according to People. "The wife has no longer all the rights over her body, but she shares them with her husband," he said. "So whenever she's not in the mood, take out your Bible."
Reagan Williams, the woman who took the video said in her post that garnered thousands of views, "As far as I know, this isn’t his first time doing this. According to someone whose family members attended his last Mother’s Day sermon, they walked out because his message was worse than this, and toxic and degrading," according to Metro UK. She wasn't the only one to express her anger. Many took to Twitter to do so.
It's always the men who look 11months pregnant telling women to lose weight.
— Renee Libby 🇺🇸 (@ReneeAlida) March 7, 2021
Melania Trump
I’m gonna need Stewart Allen Clark, the pastor who told women to slim down, pretty up and look more like Melania Trump to slim down, tone out, and look more like Henry Cavill. pic.twitter.com/YAZ7bDLWrC
— ⚜️ Gretchen ⚜️ (@GMWhitehair) March 6, 2021
The backlash caused the pastor to take a leave of absence and get "professional counseling," according to his employer, Malden First General Baptist Church. General Baptist Ministries added that Clark's sermon "included comments that are not consistent with the positions and values of General Baptists. In keeping with our structure, the Executive Committee recommended that the Council of Associations and the MoArk Presbytery research the statements and take appropriate action."
In a Facebook post, the church said "that every woman was created in the image of God, and they should be valued for that reason. Furthermore, we believe that all individuals regardless of any other factors are so loved by God that Christ died for them." The same committee announced that the pastor had been removed from the position of being a moderator of the General Association of General Baptist meeting in July 2022, according to Express UK.
The full video can be seen here:
References:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-56312443
https://www.washingtonpost.com/religion/2021/03/08/pastor-women-melania-trump-sermon/
https://www.facebook.com/generalbaptistministries/posts/4403458993022103?_rdc=2&_rdr
Cover image source: Getty Images | Photo by Rawpixel (Representative Image)
