And it was only a matter of time before Todd reached them. How social media became a new stageįor more than a decade, these preacher-influencers have been spreading the gospel to reach souls spending more of their lives in front of screens. It’s definitely not the kind of thing you can imagine hearing from Jesse Jackson.

When memes like the Silhouette Challenge go viral, Todd isn’t just aware he has a whole tangent in a sermon about “men anchoring their families” in which he discourages young ladies from “being impressive” with their bodies – an aside met with considerable pushback from secular feminists who’d long written off the Black church as overly paternalistic. He promotes family on TikTok and parades fashion on Instagram. In Georgia there’s Jamal Bryant, a preacher’s kid turned megachurch leader who sometimes appears alongside his ex-wife on The Real Housewives of Potomac.īut none is as of-the-moment as Todd – whose second book, Crazy Faith: It’s Only Crazy Until It Happens, could just as easily describe his viral clip. In South Carolina, there’s the Oprah-approved John Gray. In this Covid-addled chapter of the internet age, the 35-year-old Todd epitomizes a new brand of holy man – the preacher-influencer. “It’s never my intention to distract others from God’s Word and the message of Jesus … even with illustrations!” Within days, Todd predictably reappeared on camera to apologize for his “too extreme and too disgusting” example. “If your pastor rubs spit on your face”, quipped the Rev Dr Chuck Currie, a United Church of Christ minister, “find a new pastor.” Still, a fair few came to Todd’s defense, some making a case for saliva’s medicinal properties and others making a broader case for nastier offenses other shepherds have committed against their flocks. “God wasn’t nowhere near that,” snarked the Root’s Shanelle Genai.

The internet broke into fits at first sight of this clip. View image in fullscreen Gizelle Bryant and Jamal Bryant attend the Atlanta UNCF Mayor’s Masked Ball in 2019.

Pastor mike todd spits on member