Pastor Stewart-Allen Clark is on leave and in counseling after a sermon telling wives to make themselves “hot” and not look “butch” for their husbands.
The First General Baptist Church from Malden, Missouri inadvertently went viral after a clip from his February 28 sermon was posted to Facebook. User Reagan Williams published over 22 minutes from Clark’s pulpit diatribe against the evils of women who “let themselves go.”
Clark placed the onus on women for keeping their husbands’ eyes from straying. “It’s important that he thinks you’re hot! It’s important because he’s going to look, and you want him looking at you,” he said.
“Now look, I’m not saying that every woman can be the epic trophy wife of all time like Melania Trump,” Clark said at one point in the video, positioning the former First Lady as an ideal. “Most women can’t be trophy wives — but maybe a participation trophy. All I can say is not everybody looks like that, Amen? But you don’t need to look like a butch either!”
The sermon excerpt is full of similar statements, but Clark made sure to put the burden of his words on God. “God made men to be drawn to beautiful women,” he explained. “We are made this way. We can’t help ourselves.” He did pause to give God thanks for makeup.
On March 1, General Baptist Ministries posted a Facebook statement confirming the Executive Committee of the General Baptist Council of Associations had discussed the matter and recommended “appropriate action.”
Soon after, Malden First General Baptist Church stated Clark had “taken a leave of absence and is seeking professional counseling” as of March 2.