You sound more like your president than Christ!
Bishop Patrick Wooden,
As a bishop/senior leader in the Church of God in Christ, one of the largest Pentecostal denominations in the world, your words carry spiritual authority, institutional weight, and public influence—especially within Black faith communities. That is precisely why what you said matters.
And sir, you are completely out of order.
Truth is, you sound more like your president than the Christ you preach about!
You may claim you were addressing Jamal Bryant’s leadership or judgment, but let’s be clear—you chose to describe a woman using sexually degrading language. You did not correct a man without harming a woman. You weaponized her body, her appearance, and her dignity to make your point.
That is not biblical correction. That is misogyny with a microphone.
And quite frankly, at your age and stage of life, you should know how to behave better. A man who has lived as long as you have, preached as much as you have, and claims spiritual authority should possess the wisdom to disagree without degrading, to correct without humiliating, and to speak without resorting to vulgarity. Age is supposed to bring discernment—not recklessness.
Don’t let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen ~ Ephesians 4:29
This is not about “tone policing.” This is about abuse of authority. When leaders speak recklessly, they teach others that cruelty is acceptable if it’s wrapped in scripture.
You don’t need to be defended. You need to be checked.
Checked for language. Checked for wisdom. Checked for how power is exercised.
Because if the church cannot protect women from being publicly humiliated by its own leaders, then it has lost moral credibility.
Do better. Lead better. In fact, you should repent publicly as loudly as you misspoke.
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