When Mimicking Jesus Goes Wrong: Pastor Mike Todd rubs spit on someone during sermon illustration
By Aurora Benson // Church Controversy // EEW Magazine Online
Update: Michael Todd has issued a formal video apology agreeing that he went too far which has since been added by our editorial team at the bottom of this post. The original story is below.
We all want to be like Jesus, but an Oklahoma pastor may have taken things a bit too far.
During a sermon illustration, Michael Todd of Transformation Church in Tulsa, spit on his hand multiple times and rubbed the saliva in the face of a parishioner, mimicking Jesus’ biblical acts of spitting on strangers to heal them.
Since Todd is not Jesus and has no healing powers in his spittle, the grotesque and arguably unsanitary move is particularly disturbing considering the raging coronavirus pandemic. No wonder it is capturing global headlines and triggering gag reflexes everywhere. Major news outlets like TMZ, Newsweek, Daily Beast, and UK Daily Mail have picked up details of the story.
The 34-year-old author of Crazy Faith carried out the crazy act in the middle of a sermon discussing how “receiving vision from God might get nasty”—and he wasn’t kidding.
To stress his point, Todd hawked up spit, cupped it in his hand and gave the volunteer— who just so happened to be his brother—a saliva facial in front of congregants as they gasped in horror. Some of those streaming the service from home took to the Internet to express their displeasure.
“And this is where most people would not face Jesus anymore,” Todd said, again coughing up and spitting mucus and phlegm into his palm. However, in Scripture, when Jesus spat, he opened blinded eyes. When Todd spat, he made most of his audience want to gouge their eyes out. Major difference!
“And do you hear and see the responses of the people?” Todd said, addressing the negative reaction of congregants. “What I’m telling you: how you just reacted is how the people in your life will react when God is doing what it takes for the miracle.”
Well, that’s a debatable point.
Anyway, if shock value is what he was going for, sir, here is that attention you ordered. Mission accomplished. On the other hand, if drawing more people to Christ was Todd’s aim, he may have missed the mark, since most of us were simply turned off by the yuck fest.
On a serious note, as pastors, Bible teachers, and general witnesses for Christ, we must be prayerful and careful about how we present the gospel. Souls are at stake, and this kind of buffoonery isn’t going to win them over.
See his apology below.
