TULSA, Okla.— The widely-broadcasted pastor of an Oklahoma church, Michael "Mike" Todd, is issuing an apology after a viral video showed him smearing spit on a churchgoer's face during a sermon.
According to Scripps sister station KJRH, Todd is the preacher at Transformation Church in Tulsa — which pulls thousands of viewers to their sermons broadcast each week and holds over a million susbscribers on YouTube.
According to The Washington Post, Todd was explaining the topic of how "receiving God's vision can be nasty."
To illustrate his point, he spat into his hands and rubbed them on the churchgoer's face.
In the video, you can hear members of the congregation gasping and groaning, to which Todd responded, "How you just reacted is how the people in your life will react when God is doing what it takes for the miracle," the news outlets reported.
According to the Tulsa World, the churchgoer was later identified as Todd's brother Brentom.
After the initial video received criticism, Todd issued an apology on Monday.
"It’s never my intention to distract others from God’s Word and the message of Jesus… even with illustrations!" Todd posted on Twitter. "I apologize for my example being too extreme and disgusting!"
