Mike Todd Opens Up about His Upbringing and Addresses Recent Sermon Backlash
In a recent appearance on Lecrae’s “Deep End” podcast, Pastor Mike Todd of Transformation Church in Oklahoma City addressed the criticism he’s received pertaining to his attire and sermons.
“I think it’d be good for people to know who you are,” Lecrae told Todd, referring to him as “the bishop of Oklahoma.”
Regarding the criticism against Todd, Lecrae added, “I think it’d be good for people to know who you are.”
In response, Todd spoke about his upbringing and growing up in church.
“I was born and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma. My parents came there actually in the late 70s to help start a ministry. And so all I’ve known is being in church and traveling.”
“And I’m one of five boys, and my parents are my heroes,” Todd added. “They showed me what faith looks like in action.”
Learning to play the drums at age 2, Todd shared that he did not expect to enter the ministry, as his initial dream was to enter the music industry, Church Leaders reports.
“I never thought I would be a pastor. This was not something I prayed for, signed up for, wanted.”
“But as the Word many times shows us, God will call people who are on whole different paths,” said Todd. “And he will have a unique coding and purpose and design and desire for them that he can’t reveal to them until they’re ready to be able to walk into that. And so God did that with me.”
Todd later told Lecrae about the criticism he’s received during his time as pastor of Transformation Church, ranging from changing the decor of the church to his “theatrical” sermon illustrations, which have often been used as social media clips.
Lecrae pointed out that some people see clips of Todd on social media and might think, “Why isn’t he just preaching the Word? Why does it take all this? What’s happening here?”
“It’s because of the context that it’s in,” said Todd. “So I’m in the context of church, which 99.9% of the people just stand and teach the Word.” He continued, “What I try to do is teach the Word and then give you a picture of what it actually looks like, because most people remember pictures more than they remember what somebody says.”
“That’s why every rap song has a video. That’s why all stories turn into movies. That’s why Instagram is a popular social media site—and TikTok,” Todd said. “Because I’m not just hearing it; I’m getting a picture. I see what you look like. I see what it feels like.”
“That’s what Jesus did,” Todd said, regarding Jesus’ use of parables.
Although his style isn’t “everybody’s preference,” Todd said, “It’s something that I’m uniquely gifted to do. It’s how it comes to me. It’s how I see it.”
Overall, he says God has helped him grow his faith through the process of failure, including when a sermon illustration does not go well.
“Every time that something has gone viral or something has been misconstrued, what God is doing is making me,” Todd said. “People don’t understand [that] they’re a part of the process of God actually refining me. He’s literally teaching me how to focus on him. He’s literally teaching me how to persevere. He’s literally teaching me.”
“So they want to say something about my clothes, and I gotta get back up there in six days,” he added. “So now I have to have faith in what [God] said about me over what anybody said about me.”
“So it’s the perfecting of my faith. It’s the persecution and being misunderstood and knowing every time that I get up there if I don’t shrink back, somebody, even if it’s one person in a penitentiary, is gonna find Jesus,” Todd said.
WATCH: Mike Todd Finally Addresses His Critics
Photo Credit: ©YouTube/Lecrae
Originally published June 23, 2025.
