The Bible is as clear as day where the basic principles and doctrines are concerned, and we are exhorted to handle the word of truth correctly as in 2 Timothy 2:15. It seems that this basic fact is lost on Pastor Stephen Anderson who currently pastors the Faithful Word Baptist Church that is located in Tempe, Arizona. Apparently, he has challenged the female members of his congregation to an arm wrestling match in a bid to prove male superiority.
No wonder Pastor Anderson mentioned over the pulpit that he receives emails every single day since that challenge that labels him as "misogynistic." Pastor Anderson quipped, "What a stupid word. This is like a new word." It does seem as though there is very strong reason for such emails to go flooding in his direction
After all, at the end of his sermon in the previous week, Pastor Anderson delved into a topic that is not only interesting and timely, but if handled incorrectly and without much tact, it might lead to unhappiness among the flock. The topic of his sermon was on the reasons as to why women should be ruled by their husbands, and Pastor Anderson had this challenge issued from the pulpit.
"I challenge any woman right now to come up and arm wrestle me right now. I'm going to make the challenge that I've made over and over again. I'm not the strongest man in the world. Any woman can come up and arm wrestle me right now. And if you can come up and defeat me in an arm-wrestling match right now, I'll admit women are as strong as men. I've had about five women take me up on that over the years and they went down and they went down hard, alright? Ha ha."
Of course, in Pastor Anderson's defence, he was not slow in mentioning that one of those who took him up on such a challenge and lost was none other than his wife, where it sounded as though she had not much choice but to take part in his arm wrestling challenge. After all, Pastor Anderson shared further, "I even made my wife arm wrestle me. She didn't want to do it but I said 'No, you're gonna arm wrestle me honey, and you're gonna try your hardest because I'm gonna show you baby."
He followed that up by slamming an arm onto his lectern in a mime, which no doubt struck more than a few raw nerves among the congregation. Pastor Anderson might want to take a closer look at his Bible and ask the Holy Spirit to lead and guide him in his interpretation and handling of God's Holy Word, as this is the same person who referred to the Orlando Pulse nightclub shooting as an event that left "50 less pedophiles in this world."
Such views of women would certainly tick them off, not to mention the other members of his congregation who do not share the same viewpoints as him.
