'God uses the damaged': Michael Todd says pastors aren't perfect, they need a Savior too

By Jeannie Ortega Law, Christian Post Reporter Wednesday, October 04, 2023

Pastor Michael Todd releasing book, Damaged but Not Destroyed, 2023 | Screenshot: Christian Post

New York Times bestselling author, Pastor Michael Todd of Transformation Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, says he's transparent with people because he aspires to follow the method of Jesus, not just the message.

In his new book, Damaged but Not Destroyed: From Trauma to Triumph, Todd says he seeks to provide a pathway to transformation.

"When I search Scripture, there is nobody that God uses that was not damaged. [We] can go from Adam, we can go to Moses, we can go to Abraham, we can go to everybody in the lineage except Jesus. He was the only one that was not damaged, but then chose to be damaged so that we could be free,” Todd told The Christian Post. "It is God's will for all of us to be able to bring our damage to Him,” he continued.

According to the book’s description, Damaged but Not Destroyed guides readers toward “healing by revealing how to see ourselves through God’s eyes, break free from the past, and embrace our God-ordained futures.”

Todd shares his own vulnerabilities as a way to encourage others to bring their brokenness to God.

“My hope in this book is that I would be vulnerable enough to make you take a step to bring all of your damaged areas — whether that be financially, emotionally, spiritually, physically — I want you to bring them to God so that He can be the one to heal you and bring you into another level of destiny,” he stated.

"I believe that everybody from the time they are born, especially because we are all born with purpose, there is an attack on our identity, there is an attack on our self-esteem, there is an attack on our confidence, on our assurance,” Todd maintained. “Through my journey, I went through several different things. Some things were not my fault, and I had to come to grips that I could not blame anybody anymore with what I do with today.”

The book details Todd’s personal accounts of experiencing sexual trauma, making dumb choices, his generational struggles, and how the father of four allowed coping mechanisms to drive his decision-making.

The Oklahoma native also points readers to the biblical accounts of King David and Mephibosheth to help them overcome the lie that their mistakes and pain have disqualified them from God’s love.

“Do something with what happened to you,” Todd encouraged. “If you actually allow all of the damage to no longer define you but you give it to the One who can turn your pieces into a masterpiece or your mess into a message, that changes the trajectory of your life. God gets the glory and we get healed.”

Todd’s unorthodox style of preaching has sometimes garnered criticism, such as when he illustrated verse Mark 8:23, which highlights the story of Jesus healing a blind man at Bethsaida by spitting into his eyes privately. Although his theatrical approach can be off-putting to some, others are drawn to it, including the thousands he says have been saved at Transformation Church.

"Many people follow the message of Jesus, but they don't follow the method of Jesus,” Todd told CP. “Jesus was transparent with the people in the garden of Gethsemane. Those three dudes who kept taking naps on Him got to see Him at his most vulnerable.

"I really do believe that the church has done the world a disservice by acting like pastors and ministers are perfect. They're people. And they're people that are still in need of a Savior. As long as we present the idea of perfection, everybody feels disqualified,” he added.

Todd says that in his ministry, he promotes the idea of “progression, not perfection.”

"I don't have to be perfect. I don't have to be right. I can make mistakes. But as long as I keep moving forward, as long as I keep my faith in front, as long as I keep saying 'I'm sorry,' and stay humble and keep doing that thing. I believe that the Lord is close to the humble in heart, it's what He says, but He's far away from the proud,” he maintained.

Over the last three years, Transformation Church has documented winning “almost 100,000 people to Jesus,” he said, adding that it's an achievement for the Kingdom that should be celebrated, even by his critics.

As he celebrates the achievement of completing a third book, Todd said his goal is to remain humble, open and transparent, and to model the way Jesus discipled His followers.

"I believe in therapy and theology. I believe that we are supposed to look at the foundation of God's Word and what He has said that we're supposed to be transformed by. And then I think that God has given people wisdom to understand how the brain works and our emotions work so that we can take the prayer that we had, and we can put it into actual practice. "I'm just encouraging people through this book. I've done the work and I'm not talking about something I hope will happen. I have seen God transform my life because I've embraced theology and therapy. I took all my damage and now it has pushed me to destiny.”

Todd added that his focus in ministry is to "go after the people who are like me,” who find church boring or are turned off by pastors who try to impress with their knowledge or those who think church is about "theatrics and whooping and hollering." "I try to make it plain for the person who got a GED and is intimidated by the Bible. Their soul and spirit still matter to God."