A megachurch pastor in Oklahoma apologized for a demonstration during his sermon 'being too extreme and disgusting' when he rubbed spit on a churchgoer's face

• Oklahoma pastor Mike Todd apologized for rubbing his spit on a person's face during a service.
• The original video went viral and garnered negative attention on social media.

A pastor at a megachurch based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, apologized on Twitter for rubbing his spit on a member of his church as captured in a viral video.

Pastor Michael Todd, who is one of the lead pastors at Transformation Church, said in a video that his demonstration during a sermon was "disgusting" and a "distraction" after watching back footage from the service.

"I was trying to make the word come alive," he said of the video in which he spits on his hand twice before rubbing a man's face on stage in front of congregants. Just before spitting on his hand, Todd said, "Receiving vision from God might get nasty."

The man on stage next to Todd was identified as his brother Brentom Todd, according to Tulsa World. In the video, there is an audible gasp from the audience, to which Todd responds, "How you just reacted is how the people in your life will react when God is doing what it takes for the miracle."

Todd's apology came after negative reactions to the initial video, which spread across the internet.

"It's never my intention to distract others from God's Word and the message of Jesus… even with illustrations!" Todd wrote on Twitter. "I apologize for my example being too extreme and disgusting! I Love Everybody."

"I truly understand now why the elders used to frequently tell us that we're in the last days," Atlantic columned Jemele Hill tweeted.

Some social media posters pointed out how Todd's actions might be especially unwise during a pandemic. "What is the CDC going to do about Mike Todd?" one tweet read.

In the follow-up video, Todd says that he hopes people who saw the viral video will watch the rest of the message to hear the points he was making.