CHARLOTTE (NC)
The Roys Report [Chicago IL]
February 22, 2024
By Josh Shepherd
Video of a North Carolina pastor implying that women in shorts deserve to be raped is sparking outrage—not just on social media, but in the pastor’s local community, where a protest was held.
Yesterday, The Roys Report (TRR) Founder Julie Roys posted a clip on X, formerly Twitter, of a sermon last August by Pastor Bobby Leonard of Bible Baptist Tabernacle in Monroe, North Carolina.
Commenting on seeing women wearing shorts at an outlet mall, Leonard said, “If you dress like that and you get raped, and I’m on the jury, he’s going to go free. You don’t like that, do you? I’m right, though. Because a man’s a man.”
As of publication time, the post has been viewed 2.7 million times, only 26 hours after being posted.
In the post, which also has 100,000 total engagements and over 18,000 likes, Roys writes: “Yes, a man is a man—not an animal. And HE is responsible for controlling himself. This pastor needs to resign.”
The post on X sparked a response from the local community and the pastor’s church. This morning, the church marquee out front was changed to read: “I am sorry for any hurt. I was wrong. – Pastor Leonard.”
Last night, Jason King, a truck driver from nearby Wadesboro, organized a small protest of a half-dozen people outside the church during a mid-week service. He said “the video is all over social media,” which sparked the protest.
In the Facebook Live video, King summed up some of Leonard’s remarks and responded.
“We don’t condone that,” he said. “We are totally against that. I have young girls, and I am totally against that. The people of God should not condone that and shouldn’t be in the pulpit saying it. That’s why we’re out here.”
King added in a statement to TRR that he and other protestors are seeking “apology and acknowledgement that the statement was wrong, both biblically and morally.”
Monroe resident Hilary Christina, said she, King, and others are planning a “larger protest for Sunday.” Christina said that the posts have been circulating to call for more Christians to get involved.
She added: “Christians are the face of the church. You cannot speak this evil and expect people to want to be a part of it.”
‘Beyond gross,’ say survivor advocates
The clip originated from Bad Sermon Clips, which posted a two-minute clip from a sermon that Leonard delivered on Aug. 16, 2023.
In the sermon, Leonard recounted a conversation with his wife, on the way to shop in Pigeon Forge, Tenn.
“Go sit in the parking lot of the outlet mall. I said, count and you watch ‘em. You’ll find more women going to those places with shorts than you will women with pants and dresses put together,” he said. “If you got time, try it. Have your boy go up (and) watch for it.”
One user on X, Josh Bird, said the context makes it worse. “He admits to sitting in a parking lot to watch women in shorts and encourages others to do the same,” posted Bird.
Founded in 1970, Bible Baptist Tabernacle is listed as an Independent Fundamental Baptist (IFB) church, a Protestant sect known for its ties to reality TV’s Josh Duggar, whose family has attended an IFB church. Duggar is currently serving a 12-year prison sentence for child pornography.
In recent months, IFB ministers in Tennessee, Oklahoma, and New Hampshire have been arrested on child sex abuse charges, as well as an IFB missionary. An IFB-affiliated boarding school in Missouri was shuttered last year following years of reported abuse.
Advocates widely condemned the video clip of Leonard.
“Well this is beyond gross,” said Kristen McKnight, a survivor advocate and wife of Scot McKnight, co-author of A Church Called Tov.
Ohio State Representative Jessica Miranda (D-28th) reposted the clip and wrote in part, “I see something like this here in 2024 and I’m reminded how far we still need to go. I wish I could say I’m surprised by this kind of backward rhetoric. Women can wear whatever the hell they want, including shorts!”
And a user named Ethan Byerly said, “Pull him out of the pulpit. This shouldn’t even be a discussion.”
For his part, local advocate King said he felt the church’s marquee apology was inadequate. “The statement was verbal in a sermon. Why isn’t there a public verbal apology?” he asked.