Pastor Antonio Rocquemore of Power House International Ministries in Chicago is under fire from advocates of the LGBTQ community for publicly shaming a male member who came to his church dressed in drag Sunday night.
In a Facebook video posted by Christian James Lhuillier, Rocquemore asked an unidentified man to step out into the aisle of the sanctuary.
"Can you leave my church and go put on man clothes? And don’t come here like that no more," Rocquemore told the man in the video, which has been shared over 25,000 times.
"I hold a standard in here. Whatever you do on the outside is your business, but I will not let drag queens come in here. And if you're gonna come in here, you're gonna come in here dressed like a man … If you're a man, dress like a man. If you're a woman, dress like a woman. I'm not going to allow it. My salvation is more important, and God is holding me accountable," he continued." You will not be wearing weaves and heels and fooling people up in here."
As the pastor continued the rebuking, he was met with encouragement from some members of the congregation, who can be heard yelling "amen" and "thank you, Jesus."
However, Lhuillier was not a fan of Rocquemore's actions and denounced the pastor's attitude in the caption that accompanied the post.
"Some of y’all are going to have to excuse my language, but I am tired of this s**t," Lhuillier wrote in his post.
"In a place that is supposed to be a place of change a place of deliverance whatever you want to call it why would you destroy someone in front of a room full of people. This is the kind of bulls**t that causes people to go home and commit suicide."
The video has sparked a debate among the online Christian communities, with several Christian-based websites posting the video asking readers if they agree with the pastor's actions.
One user's response on Christian Headlines read, "When they will not listen to one-on-one reprimand they public shame is a biblical principle."
On The Christian Post, another reader posted a rebuttal to the pastor's comments.
"You DON’T KICK PEOPLE OUT OF CHURCH. It’s not the pastor’s church. The church is supposed to belong to God!!!!!"
Following Lhuillier's original post, Pastor Rocquemore posted a message on his personal Facebook, telling viewers to understand the full story.
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