A Missouri pastor is facing backlash over sexist and misogynistic comments during a sermon.
Pastor Stewart-Allen Clark of Missouri's Malden First General Baptist Church said women should lose weight and not look "like a butch" to keep their husband's attention.
He also pointed to former First Lady Melania Trump as an example of what women should aspire to.
"Now look, I'm not saying every woman can be the epic, epic trophy wife of all time like Melania Trump. I'm not saying that at all. Most women can't be trophy wives, but you know, maybe you're a participation trophy. I don't know, but all I can say is not everybody looks like that. Amen! Not everybody looks like that. But you don't need to look like a butch either."
Clark also stressed that "a man needs an attractive wife", telling women "not to give him a reason to be a distracted boyfriend".
"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."
The sermon, which was posted on Facebook by Reagan Williams, received swift backlash with one man calling the pastor a "disgrace to Christianity".
The post has been liked 3400 times and has 4700 comments.
General Baptist Ministries responded to the criticism in a Facebook post, saying "the sermon included comments that are not consistent with the positions and values of General Baptists".
"General Baptists believe 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 post read.
"Each General Baptist church has autonomy from the national organization, and as a result General Baptist Ministries does not have authority related to the employment of any pastor or church leader in a local congregation."
The post also noted that Clark has stepped down from his position as a moderator for an upcoming meeting for the General Association of General Baptist.
