Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr., son of the late televangelist Jerry Falwell, has deleted a tweet that said pastors like David Platt need to “grow a pair.”

Mr. Platt, of the McLean Bible Church in Vienna, Virginia, came under fire this week after he apologized to congregants for praying for President Trump. Mr. Trump made an unscheduled stop at the church on Sunday to pray for the victims of the mass shooting in Virginia Beach, and Mr. Platt said he wasn’t given “the liberty of deliberation” in that moment before he decided to pray over the president.

“I know that some within our church, for a variety of valid reasons, are hurt that I made this decision,” the pastor later told congregants. “My aim was in no way to endorse the president, his policies, or his party, but to obey God’s command to pray for our president and other leaders to govern in the way this passage portrays.”

Mr. Platt’s apology sparked a wave of criticism, including a colorful tweet by Mr. Falwell.

“Sorry to be crude but pastors like @plattdavid need to grow a pair. Just saying,” the university president wrote Tuesday, according to a screenshot captured by Mediaite.

Mr. Falwell deleted the tweet after people complained about its crudeness. He later responded to critics by clarifying that he is not a spiritual leader.

“You’re putting your ignorance on display. I have never been a minister. UVA-trained lawyer and commercial real estate developer for 20 yrs,” he wrote. “Univ president for last 12 years-student body tripled to 100000+/endowment from 0 to $2 billion and $1.6B new construction in those 12 years

“The faculty, students and campus pastor @davidnasser of @LibertyU are the ones who keep LU strong spiritually as the best Christian univ in the world,” he added. “While I am proud to be a conservative Christian, my job is to keep LU successful academically, financially and in athletics.”

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