A Texas pastor has ignited controversy once more by making contentious remarks about young single women and their quest to find husbands. Joel Webbon, who serves as a senior leader at Covenant Bible Church in Austin and is also the founder of Righteous Response Ministries, has faced backlash for comments he made earlier this month.
Webbon stirred emotions during a December 3 livestream episode of Righteous Response Ministries titled “Fertility, Beauty, & Submission.” During the broadcast, he addressed young single women who feel overlooked in the marriage market, suggesting that they should “shed 20 to 30 pounds” as part of their efforts to find a partner.
While offering his advice, Webbon emphasized that there are many actions women can take, with the primary one being to place trust in the Lord and express their desires in prayer. “Ask God earnestly for the opportunity to be a wife and mother, and if it aligns with His will, seek His guidance in finding a husband,” he advised.
Furthermore, Webbon recommended that women become active members of a local church where they can meet Godly men. He also encouraged them to seek assistance from their fathers and church elders, who might be aware of potential suitors that could be suitable matches.
‘Say: God, I eagerly desire to be a wife and a mother, if it be your will, would you send me a husband? That’s pivotal.
‘Being in a good local church, where there are Godly men. Asking your father to help, talking to the elders to see if they might know of a single man who might be a compatible suitor.
‘Here’s another piece of advice, and people don’t like it… lose 20 to 30 pounds.’
The video prompted a mixed response, with some people praising Webbon for giving practical advice, while others called him an ‘incel’ who does not ‘respect women’.
Divisive Texas pastor Joel Webbon (pictured) has sparked fury once again after telling young single women they must shed ’20 to 30 pounds’ if they want to find a husband
Joel Webbon, a senior pastor at Covenant Bible Church in Austin and the founder of Righteous Response Ministries, found himself in hot water over remarks he made earlier this month – which many viewed as sexist, vain and distasteful. However, some people leapt to his defense
But in a subsequent interview with the Houston Chronicle, Webbon doubled down and said: ‘The Bible teaches women that they should be modest, but it doesn’t teach that they should be frumpy.’
His comments sparked a barrage of criticism on social media platform X.
‘You sir are despicable… your judging is unchristian,’ one person wrote, while other women pledged to gain 30 pounds ‘to keep men like this away’.
But others leapt to Webbon’s defense, saying: ‘He’s right’.
‘Joel suggests trusting God and coming to Him in prayer… get yourself to a healthy weight… What exactly is the problem here?’ one man agreed.
Webbon has a long history of making remarks many have condemned as sexist.
In June, he said women should not be able to vote.
‘If we had a Christian nation and women could vote, then within 50 years we will no longer have a Christian nation,’ Webbon said.
Webbon previously said that he needs to approve every book his wife Megan, pictured, reads
Webbon (pictured on the right), is a senior pastor at Covenant Bible Church in Austin and the founder of Righteous Response Ministries
‘God has not designed women for warfare, and that’s part of what politics is. It’s really all that politics is; it’s war without the blood….
‘I believe that the sword has been given to men. The sword is—without being crude, I think this is a fact—it is a phallus. It is assigned by God to men.’
Webbon compared women to five-year-old children, explaining that ‘She is like a child in the way that God has appointed men to protect them.
‘Women are not supposed to be leading the way, they’re to be protected.’
Webbon has gone viral several times thanks to his particular views, which he calls Christian nationalism, but which critics have deemed misogynistic and retrograde.
In one viral clip, Webbon said he needs to approve every book his wife reads.
‘There are certain books that I’ve just had to say, ‘Hey, I don’t know if this is a bad book, but I don’t have time to read it, and so you’re not going to read it either. We’ll read it together,” he said.
‘I remember recently my wife had a book and I saw her reading it on the couch, and it was about paedobaptism (the practice of baptizing children or infants. And I said, ‘No, we’re not doing that yet. We will become paedobaptists when I’m ready.”
Webbon believes that wives should not have any knowledge that he does not yet have, because God forbids that wives teach their husbands anything.
The pastor continued: ‘But my wife’s not going to be a paedobaptist for three years before I am, and I don’t have time to read it right now. I know the arguments will be great. I will agree and disagree.
‘I’m not sure which arguments are better, but for the time being, this is what I’m persuaded of and you’re not going to outpace me.’
According to Webbon, he is in charge of everything in his household, including when his children go to the bathroom.
According to Webbon, he is in charge of everything in his household, including when his children go to the bathroom
Webbon has said: ‘I have four people in my life that I dictate the hours in their day. I dictate what time they go to the bathroom. When we eat, what we eat, what we wear.
‘They are my children. Those are the people that I have almost limitless authority with,’ he continued.
Webbon also believes the United States should be ruled by a ‘Caesar-type’ Christian dictator who ‘just rules with an iron fist’ and forces everyone to, at least, ‘pretend to be Christian’, as he said in his podcast earlier this month.
He said: ‘I love the Constitution… I absolutely love it. If there was anything that I would do to the Constitution at all—if revival swept through the land, or we got an American Cesar and he was Christian.
‘One of the first things that I would advocate for is not even changing the Constitution, but simply adopting to the Constitution a preamble of the Apostles’ Creed.’
DailyMail.com has reached out to Webbon and the Bible Covenant Church for comment on this story.
Covenant Bible Church claims it, ‘exists to glorify God by making disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey all of the commandments of Jesus Christ’.
