MONROE, N.C. — Editor's Note: This story discusses sexual assault. While no acts are explicitly described, reader discretion is advised.
The lead pastor of a small church in Monroe, North Carolina, is facing widespread criticism after a previous sermon was widely shared online this week.
A clip of the sermon delivered by Bobby Leonard of Bible Baptist Tabernacle was shared on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. The account that shared it is called Bad Preacher Clips, which posts clips of sermons shared primarily by preachers leading independent fundamental Baptist congregations.
The account owner told WCNC Charlotte the video came from a live-streamed service on Aug. 16, 2023. While the video had originally been shared on the church's YouTube channel, the church appears to have deleted the channel entirely, along with its Facebook page.
"I can't help if you don't like it"
Leonard claims in his sermon that, on visits to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, "you'll find more women with shorts on than pants and dresses put together." He claims he counted to verify it and encouraged his congregation to do similarly in the area.
"I used to say this," he said, "and I haven't said this in a long time. If you dress like that, and you get raped, and I'm on the jury, he's gonna go free."
"I'm right though," he continued. "I can't help it if you don't like it, I'm right. 'Cause, you know, a man's a man. A man's a man!"
Leonard went on to say he only ever remembered seeing women wear dresses in his childhood before continuing with the sermon.
Leslie Schlappich said those comments don’t reflect on their community or religion.
“It’s disgusting," said Schlappich. "It’s not of Christ it’s not representative of our community. I grew up here,” She added.
“It angered me, Crystal Nichole said after seeing the sermon. "It angered me a lot.”
Anger online poured in, with replies to both the original post and shares on other social media sites. Bad Preacher Clips also noted in a separate post-Bible Baptist Tabernacle appeared to have shared a message on its sign out front with an apology from Leonard.
"I am sorry for any hurt. I was wrong," the message reads.
But Schlappich and others don't believe the written apology is enough. Schlappich said,
“That apology falls on deaf ears," Schlappich said. "You got caught buddy, you got caught.”
“I would like Pastor Bobby to issue a verbal, on-camera statement to the community to where he’s truly showing his emotions about being sorry," Nichole said.
WCNC Charlotte has reached out to the church for comment, including a response in an on-camera interview. A phone call to the church was unsuccessful with dead air heard after the phone appeared to be picked up. WCNC Charlotte also sent an interview request to an email listed on the church website as well as a list of questions that could be answered. As of publication, Bible Baptist Tabernacle has not responded.
However, Leonard published an apology letter on Saturday to the website it maintains for Tabernacle Christian School, which is a private school run out of the church:
I want to express my deep regret for the statements made from the pulpit. I am only beginning to understand the hurt and offense caused, and I take full responsibility for my words.
As a pastor, I failed to uphold the biblical values of love and compassion. I apologize for the pain caused and commit to learning from making this foolish and sinful statement. Bible Baptist Tabernacle and I unequivocally stand on the biblical position that rape under any circumstances is a heinous crime to be punished severely and is never excusable.
I want our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to be glorified through my life. He deserves my BEST not my WORST! I earnestly seek your forgiveness as I reaffirm my commitment to serve our community with unwavering integrity, humility, and profound love.
I deserve for folks to be extremely upset with me, but I ask you to please forgive me.
The school's notifications page also said it would increase security due to the angry responses to Leonard's comments. While no threats have been made against the church, school, or daycare, staff want to ensure parents and children feel safe. An armed police officer will be on the premises whenever children are present.
The congregation's website notes the church is an independent, fundamental Baptist church (IFB church). This indicates it is not affiliated with a larger organized denomination like the Southern Baptist Convention or the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship.
Monroe is located about 26 miles southeast of Charlotte.
The topic of sexual abuse and power imbalance within IFB churches has more recently become public focus. A 2018 investigation by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram newspaper in Texas unearthed hundreds of sex abuse allegations across nearly 200 churches in North America, with some dating back to the 1970s. In November 2023, Investigation Discovery released a docu-series on streaming service Max called "Let Us Prey: A Ministry of Scandals", which digs into the stories of sexual abuse survivors within the larger IFB movement.
A man who is reportedly the pastor of an IFB congregation in Lincolnton, North Carolina, has been recently charged with alleged child sex crimes. Terry Wayne Rudisill was arrested in March 2023 and charged with three counts of taking indecent liberties with children. He saw more charges tacked on the following July from allegations regarding an incident in 2016. Rudisill is reportedly the pastor of Cornerstone Independent Baptist Church; his home address is listed as next door to it and his name appeared on the signage as shown in a Google Maps image captured in 2019.
"A huge power imbalance"
WCNC Charlotte's reporting on Rudisill's case was shared by Eric Skwarczynski, host of the Preacher Boys podcast. The show focuses on sexual abuse cases involving IFB congregations and the impacts on survivors, including how those affected find ways to heal and demand accountability. Skwarczynski, who grew up attending a similar church, says such ideas are the norm in IFB churches.
"The IFB is a man's world, it's really a boys' club," he said, "and like many male-dominated religions, the rules tend to be far more stringent on female members. So you're going to hear a lot more preaching about scantily-clad women, about women acting a certain way, about women speaking up too much in the church. But when it comes to men, they're hearing that they are the leaders of the home. They're leaders in the church. So there's a huge power imbalance between the men sitting in the pew and women sitting next to them in the pew."
He also says a lack of repercussions for leaders is present.
"When I was in high school, I came across a shuffling of a sexual predator from a church in northern California to our church in southern California," he said, "and began researching similar cases like that happening all over the country."
Skwarczynski also said while he can't speak for Bible Baptist Tabernacle specifically, he hasn't seen pastors at similar congregations in the movement face consequences from church deacons.
"I don't foresee any situation in which Pastor Leonard is asked to step down from his pulpit. I will be very surprised if that happens," he said. "Typically, within independent Baptist churches, there is a structure where there are deacons that are supposed to hold the pastor accountable. But in many cases, they're just giving support."
Skwarczynski also said that an eye on sexual abuse cases in the movement is much needed. He notes less than 1% of the U.S. population is part of the wider IFB movement, but that "the amount of abuse cases is staggering when you compare it to other religious denominations or other settings where abuse does take place."
Scrutiny of sexual assault accusations within Baptist congregations as a whole has heightened recently. In May 2022, the Southern Baptist Convention - the largest mainline Protestant in the United States - shared a previously secret list of pastors and church-affiliated personnel accused of sexual abuse. The 200-plus page document had hundreds of names and included cases largely spanning from 2000 to 2019. The list included names from the Carolinas.
Continuing to shed light on abuse cases and listening to survivors is what Skwarczynski says can help those impacted heal and hold church leadership accountable. While he says time and again that IFB church leaders have largely fallen short, Skwarczynski has optimism for those on the outside to do their research.
"My hope is for people who are considering visiting these churches, or maybe on the fringe of these churches who attend semi-regularly that they will notice before they get in too deep into these churches," he said. "Because, again, the teaching on the outside looks appealing. That looks like your grandmother's church on the corner, it looks like a really wholesome environment to raise your kids. But when you start digging into the stories, you realize it's anything but."
If you or a loved one is facing domestic violence, help is readily available. You can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233 or text START to 88788. Resources for help are available in both North Carolina and South Carolina.
Contact Vanessa Ruffes at vruffes@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.