Church member rebuked for dressing like woman claims pastor never told him about dress code
A 16-year-old student who was publicly rebuked for dressing like a woman during church services at Power House International Ministries in Chicago, Illinois, has claimed that the pastor never warned him that his attire was against church rules.
A 16-year-old who was publicly rebuked for dressing like a woman during church services at Power House International Ministries has claimed that the pastor never warned him that his effeminate attire was against church rules.
“No, [not] at all … me and that man never talked [before the rebuke],” Antwan Haywood said on the "Larry Reid Live" show on Monday, in response to Pastor Antonio Rocquemore's public rebuke.
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Earlier this month, Rocquemore was captured in a now viral video telling Haywood to leave his church and not come back without “man clothes.”
"Can you leave my church and go put on man clothes?" Rocquemore asked firmly.
"And don't come here like that no more," he continued, as someone can be heard in the video declaring "thank you Jesus!"
"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 added. "... you will not be wearing weaves and heels and fooling people up in here."
Rocquemore also noted in response to the viral video that he had warned Haywood about his church’s rules and told him he couldn't "dress like a female" during services. He said Haywood verbally agreed to follow the church's rules but he still continued dressing like a woman, forcing the public rebuke.
"He challenged me publicly and I challenged him back publicly. I asked the young man to leave. There was no security taking him out. ... Sir, can you please change clothes," he said.
Haywood, who appeared to be speaking in tongues and praising God during a telephone conversation with Reid about his rebuke by Rocquemore, denied being a “drag queen.”
He explained that he was wearing a green checkered shirt, jeans and “heels” with blonde hair on the day he was asked to leave the church.
“They never told me I couldn’t dress that way (feminine). He (pastor) never told me I had to come to church [dressed] a certain way,” Haywood continued.
He added that a female church elder once approached him about his clothing and told him he wasn’t going to be a girl in their church. He said he was wearing blue jeans and pink gym shoes along with a handbag during that incident.
“I think he (pastor) has something against me,” Haywood asserted.
The teenager was among about 10 people who protested outside Powerhouse International Ministries by holding signs against hate speech last Sunday, according to ABC.
Despite Haywood’s denial that he was warned in private before his viral rebuke, a recent statement from Power House International Ministries insists that he was warned privately multiple times before the open rebuke.
"During these private sessions, the pastor utilize[d] love, compassion and thoughtfulness in articulating the church policy. The young man agreed to abide by the policy, but would continuously disregard the pastor's appeal," the statement said.
At the protest on Sunday Haywood told ABC: "I felt like that was discrimination — he was judging me, and I felt like the members were judging me too."
