Extremist Church Calls for LGBTQ+ People to Blow Their Heads Off as Pride Month Comes to an End
Content warning: This article contains quotations from a sermon that featured strong homophobic slurs, violent language, and incitement to self-harm.
If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts, help is available. Contact The Trevor Project at 1-866-488-7386 or visit thetrevorproject.org.
A short man in an ill-fitting gray suit steps behind a wooden pulpit. He reaches out to lower the microphone, then quietly shuffles through his notes. The room is quiet for a moment aside from the occasional babbling of a few small children.
The setting is Sure Foundation Baptist Church in Indianapolis. SFBC heralds itself as “an Independent, fundamental, KJV only, soul-winning Baptist church” and their proclaimed mission is “to reach the lost through biblical door to door evangelism, baptize converts, preach and teach the bible, and train others to do likewise.”
It’s “Men’s Preaching Night,” and Stephen Falco is the first of four members given the opportunity to share a 15 minute sermon to the congregation during the evening service.
He announces the title of his sermon as one “fitting for Pride Month.” His sermon’s topic and name are Pray the Gay Away. Of course, he’s quick to clarify, he doesn’t mean it the way “the liberal Christians say it.” He means it the way “the Bible defines it.”
”We should pray for the destruction of really, really wicked, evil, sinful people.”
The encouragement to take part in imprecatory prayers – prayers for the judgement or even damnation of enemies – is a growing trend among New Independent Fundamental Baptist churches.
Falco’s first example is political.
”You know, president – former – President Joseph Biden got diagnosed with a really terrible cancer. And, you know, I will say this. I have prayed for the death of, former President Biden many times for the wickedness he has done with years in office. You know, and I believe many other Christians were also praying for his death because he's a wicked reprobate.”
This isn’t the first time rhetoric like this has been used from behind the pulpit of this church. One of its leaders, Justin Zhong, preached a sermon last year in which he donned a MAGA hat and said if he were elected president, he would put both Donald Trump and Biden to death. After I talked about this on social media, he prayed that God would destroy me.
Stephen Falco, keeping consistent with the church’s past violent, militant rhetoric, continues, ”There's wickedness going on in this world. And, you know, we got a bunch of faggots that want to come around and walk on our streets and demand our children, and we should look them in the eye and say, ‘no, you can’t have our children. We love the Lord Jesus Christ. We're going to protect the innocent. We're going to protect those that cannot protect themselves.”
He gets louder and louder, his increasingly incendiary statements met with “amens” from the congregation.
”They’re coming after you’re children!” He shrieks, finger waving in the air.
"There's nothing good to be proud about being a faggot. You ought to blow yourself in the head – in the back of the head. You're so disgusting.”
”AMEN!” A congregant replies with enthusiasm.
He follows this incitement of self-harm with a disclaimer.
”You know, it's a loving thing for me as a Christian to say that because I love the innocence of children. Right? I don't want kids to be molested. I want kids to stay innocent.”
His sermon closed with a call to action for his listeners.
”If you know someone personally, like a family member or friend or coworker that is a sodomite, that is a faggot, just stay away from them. You know, if you have to be around them for whatever reason, like at work or something, keep your interactions with them civil short, you know? But that's it. Don't hang out with them though or be friends with them. And, you know, in your prayer time, I would definitely add some imprecatory prayers for enemies of God like that to perish because these are really evil people.”
This sermon was livestreamed to Facebook, and still remains on the site – though Meta claims to ban content that features direct threats and explicit advocacy of violence or self-harm.
A phone dump of his seems in order here. Someone is overcompensating for something.
The Bible says when you hate in your heart, you have committed murder. The Bible also says all murders will “be headed” to the the lake of fire. (I John 3:15, Revelation 21:8) He will be the one going to hell (as with anyone else who does not repent and accept the free gift of salvation).