Misogyny in the Church

Transcript

Do women need to maintain a certain weight and aspire to look like Melania Trump to keep their husbands happy? And is “weight control” the solution to women’s marital problems?

A pastor at a General Baptist Church in Missouri actually preached that on a recent Sunday morning—a sign that misogyny is alive and well in the church.

On this episode of The Roys Report, Julie discusses misogyny in the church with author and speaker, Aimee Byrd. Aimee knows about misogyny first-hand and has been the target of cyberbullying  by leaders and pastors within her own denomination.

Julie and Aimee explore why the Missouri pastor’s sermon is so hurtful towards women and what needs to be done to change the objectification and belittling of women in the church. They also talk about Aimee’s pursuit of church discipline against those who bullied her and the systemic misogyny she encountered.

Transcript

SPEAKERSAIMEE BYRD, MICHAEL SPANGLER, JULIE ROYS, PASTOR STEWART ALAN CLARK, ASH GUIGES

JULIE ROYS 00:04Do women need to maintain a certain weight and aspire to look like Melania Trump to keep their husbands happy? A pastor actually preached that on a recent Sunday morning, a sign that misogyny is alive and well in the church. Welcome to The Roys Report, a podcast dedicated to reporting the truth and restoring the church. I’m Julie Roys. And today I’m going to be talking about misogyny in the church. And if you heard that abysmal sermon by Pastor Stewart Alan Clark, you’re well aware that misogyny is an issue in the church. I’ll be playing clips from Pastor Clark sermon in just a few minutes, but what he said was atrocious. At one point, he affirms a husband who has a divorce weight for his wife, Pastor Clark urges wives to wear makeup and perfume so they aren’t, quote, ugly and stink. It was absolutely awful. But I suppose if pastor Clark’s outrageous statements were an anomaly, I wouldn’t be hosting this podcast. But sadly, scores of Christian women have been commenting on social media saying they’ve heard the same attitudes in the church numerous times. And joining me today to discuss this issue is someone who has been the target of this kind of gross misogyny . Her name’s Aimee Byrd. She’s a blogger, speaker and the author of Recovering from Biblical Manhood and Womanhood. And over the past couple of years, Aimee has been the target of breathtaking cyberbullying. And the worst part of it is that the people bullying her included elders and pastors in her own denomination. As a result, Aimee has sought discipline against these bullies, and she’ll be updating us on that. And it’s a very revealing update showing how misogyny is systemic within the church. So I’m very eager to dive into my discussion with Aimee and I think it’s going to be a very revealing podcast. But first I want to take a minute just to thank the sponsors of this podcast, Judson University and Marquardt of Barrington. I so appreciate my friends at Judson University who have been tremendous supporters of the Roys Report. Judson is a top ranked Christian university providing a caring community and an excellent college experience. Plus, the school offers more than 60 majors great leadership opportunities and strong financial aid. Judson is located on a beautiful 90 acre campus just 36 miles northwest of Chicago. Judson University is shaping lives that shaped the world. For more information, just go to JudsonU.edu. Also, if you’re looking for a quality new or used car, I highly recommend my friends at Marquart of Barrington. Marquardt is a Buick GMC dealership where you can expect honesty, integrity, and transparency. That’s because the owners there Dan and Kurt Marquardt are men of integrity. To check them out. Just go to BuyACar123.com. While again Joining me is Aimee Byrd, the so called housewife theologian, Aimee i