Lewis also expressed concern about Jaquess’ role as a church leader. “The saddest part is that he’s a pastor and he has parishioners feeling as if that is OK to do these types of depictions,” the community organizer said. “If he is not going to take accountability for his own actions, his parishioners are certainly not going to take accountability for his actions, which is even worse.” Sharing the images online “should not be tolerated,” Lewis added.
On social media, some people are criticizing Jaquess and his photos. One wrote, “He gives a bad name to real Christians.” Another posted, “You wouldn’t know Jesus if he walked through your door.” Someone else asked, “How can a pastor lead a church when he doesn’t respect all of God’s people. God makes no mistakes and he made black people beautiful so why would a man of God mock them?”
The group Rural Oklahoma Pride said Jaquess has brought “suffering and anger” to the community. “We believe that this pastor should be directing and leading acceptable, respectful, and appropriate activities for his congregation to partake in, not activities that are discriminatory,” it said in a statement.
When ChurchLeaders reached out to Pastor Jaquess for comment, he replied with a link to his April 23 sermon. After telling congregants, “I’ve offended virtually everyone on the planet, without even trying,” the pastor indicated his sermon for the day would be titled “Who have you offended lately?”
Jaquess added, “I believe we live in a world of insanity. It’s insane what is put forth as the truth. I believe it’s a mental illness. And I will not capitulate, and I will not apologize.”
