A drug dealer-turned-pastor from Baltimore, Maryland shared his story on how he once lost his way in life but regained faith in God, helping him become the renewed man he is today.
Pastor Michael Phillips is now 47 years old, but he used to be an aspiring basketball player. When his father passed away when he was just 12 years old, the tragedy pulled him away from the church and he turned to a life of crime.
CBN News reported that Phillips took to YouTube to share a message about how his "entire orientation of the world, of God, was completely disrupted" after his father's death. He became doubtful about God, admitting that he was "suspicious of His goodness." The former drug-dealer-turned pastor said that at the time, he did not believe people when they said "God is just." He also questioned God why He would take away his father.
"Pain entered into my life at this moment and I could no longer see the stars. I could no longer see the sky," Phillips remarked. "I could no longer see the reflection of His creation in the mirror. All I could see was pain."
The former drug-dealer-turned-pastor specifically felt anger when during his father's funeral, the preacher quoted Job 1:21, "The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away." Philips questioned what "type of God He is" and later "shut God out of [his] heart completely." He refused to know God, feel God, or feel His presence "because of the loss [he] suffered."
The Baltimore Sun reported that during his freshman year at West Virginia University, Phillips was involved in a car wreck that caused life-altering injuries and forced him out of his basketball scholarship. Defeated, he returned home to Baltimore and got mixed up in drug dealing.
He was later arrested at the age of 19. The judge handling his case gave him two choices, whether to go to jail or get an education.
Phillips said he chose to attend a college program at Oral Roberts University in Oklahoma, which included mandatory church services. The former drug dealer-turned-pastor "hated, loathed" and "did not want to have anything to do with church" so he made sure to have drugs and alcohol before attending church.
However, "All of a sudden, something lifted. I was suddenly sober. I felt this peaceful presence I have never felt...the presence of God."
Phillips later went on to establish the Kingdom Life Church, a non-denominational congregation in Baltimore. He now also serves as the founder of LifePrep and the Chief Engagement and Fulfillment Officer for the TD Jakes Foundation. The former drug dealer-turned-pastor is also a strong advocate for school reform, building several non-profit organizations geared towards supporting disadvantaged students in West Baltimore.
The former drug dealer-turned-pastor, who is also an inspirational speaker, just released a book titled "Wrong Lanes Have Right Turns: A Pardoned Man's Escape from the School-to-Prison Pipeline and What We Can Do to Dismantle It." In it, he discusses school-to-prison pipelines, policies that prefer incarceration over education, pushing students out of school and into jail.
Phillips in his book shares about his painful past and valuable life lessons with ideas on education reform to help combat the school-to-prison path. The former drug dealer-turned pastor urged people to look at certain communities "through a lens of equity, a heart of empathy, and a willingness to act with moral courage" to create better change.
