Pastor Mike, Church Hurt, and Conscious Leadership: A Reflection on Being Flawed and Favored

Downloads from the Culture

I don’t know who needs to hear this, but some of y’all are too busy hating on the church to notice when it’s healing.

Let me be clear—church hurt is real. Religious trauma is real. And I’ve been there. I had to walk through it, grieve it, unlearn a lot of what I was taught just to find my way back to my own spirit. So this isn’t about defending institutions. It’s about recognizing transformation when it’s happening right in front of us.

Pastor Mike Mike, Jr. (PMJ @ Rock City Church) is doing the work. Not just the church work—the community work. The energy work. The mirror work. And I can’t help but ask: what are the loudest Christian critics doing to heal their communities? And I say this as a non-Christian (as it pertains to Western religion, doctrine and theology).

It’s often said that the Black church didn’t give us tangible tools to tap into our higher selves. And sometimes, that was true. As a “pk” (preacher’s kid) believe me, I know. But here is a pastor doing just that. Speaking truth. Preaching healing. Modeling transparency. And he still gets flack—from both sides.

I’ve seen nothing but him being flawed and favored, just like the rest of us. And I’ve watched Source move in his life and in his church. The descent? I’ve witnessed it. But the rise? That’s what’s kept me watching. I feel his authenticity. I feel his heart. Even when I was wrestling with my disdain for Christianity, I stayed connected to his message.

And when I healed that wound—when I really let myself feel into the grief and betrayal that lived under my “church hurt”—my understanding of his message hit a whole new level. He became part of the fuel that helped get me here. Mentally. Emotionally. Spiritually.

Because he’s not just a preacher.

He’s part of the culture—a Black pastor in a Black church who dares to lead with energy, vulnerability, and alignment.

That matters.

And while I’m not here to name names, it is worth noting the contrast. Marvin Sapp out here going viral for allegedly closing the doors on people in a conference and demanding $40,000 to let them out. I wanted to give grace. I really did. But when he said, “It costs to be here”… I couldn’t help but laugh like—wait, I thought Jesus paid it all?

Seriously though.

Look at the difference.

Pastor Mike doesn’t even pass the offering plate. He literally says, “People know how to give by now,” and encourages cheerful giving. And from what I’ve seen, it’s working. Why? Because he understands the energy of exchange.

And here’s the part I might not be able to fully explain with words—but I feel it in my bones:

It’s like money laundering—but in a good way.

Stay with me.

If money is energy, and people give cheerfully—not from guilt or manipulation but from resonance—then the energy of that money shifts. It’s not tainted by shame or scarcity anymore. It’s been transmuted. Recycled. Purified.

And when that energy flows through a leader like him, who’s anchored in intention and clearly connected to Source? That’s divine currency. That’s what it means to be a steward, not just a speaker.

This isn’t about perfection.

This is about alignment.

And the truth is, Pastor Mike, Jr isn’t perfect.

But he’s present.

He’s human.

He’s honest.

And for me? That’s what spiritual leadership looks like.