A prominent Black pastor in Atlanta has apologized for remarks in a recent sermon about instructions for obeying government authority, saying he should have used “more nuance” when providing lessons from his own encounter with law enforcement and blaming some police killings on disobedience.
“Without a doubt, I understand the framing I used about Black children and their relationship with police was and is harmful. I know that Black people have been killed by the police when being both compliant and noncompliant,” Philip Anthony Mitchell wrote in an Instagram post last week. Mitchell pastors 2819 Church, a growing multiethnic congregation with a large following among Black evangelicals.
His response comes after a flurry of online criticism from some fellow Black Christians and internet personalities, who said his April 13 sermon discounted the history of Black people who were killed by police despite following orders. The backlash was picked up in Black publications, such as The Root and Atlanta Black Star. However, some social media users also came to Mitchell’s defense, saying his comments were biblical, though unpopular. During the sermon, some in his congregation cheered along.
In recent years, several high-profile police shootings of Black people have sparked protests for racial justice and national conversations about biases in policing. Many pastors have used those moments to speak out against racism and advocate for reconciliation. And while Black Christians don’t take issue with the Bible’s teachings on authority, many are wary of a narrative that implies deaths would have been avoided with greater compliance.
Mitchell waded into the topic of race in policing while preaching on a passage in the Book of Matthew that details how the Pharisees and the Herodians worked to trap Jesus by asking him whether it was lawful to pay taxes to Caesar (22:15–22). Jesus responded by asking for a coin and questioned them about whose image was on it, to which they replied, “Caesar’s.” Afterward, Jesus instructed them to “Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s” (v. 21)
In the passage, Mitchell said, Christ was laying down the principles of submitting to earthly authorities and teaching that Christians should be “model citizens” under any government. He listed some contemporary examples of how to do that, such as paying taxes and complying with parking ordinances. Later in his sermon, he got into the subject of policing, saying that while there are “bad cops out there,” not “every killing of a Black man was because of a bad cop.”
“Some of that is because we have not taught our children to … be obedient to authority,” Mitchell said during the sermon, which was posted on the church’s YouTube page. In another clip circulated online, Mitchell said, “Stop blaming white cops for the killing of Black kids. Instead, teach your Black children to be obedient to authority.”
In a video posted online, UrbanLogia Ministries founder Damon Richardson said that though he found no fault with Mitchell’s explanation of the biblical text, he was troubled with how the pastor attempted to relate it to the conversation of policing in America.
Richardson said the sermon should have provided information on the long, tense history between the Black community and law enforcement, including warranted mistrust bred out of over-policing. Mitchell, he said, should have balanced his comments with “an honest conversation that offers prophetic rebuke and critique to law enforcement.”
During his sermon, Mitchell did not speak about specific cases highlighted in the media. Instead, he recounted an incident that took place while he was a 15-year-old living in Queens, New York.
One day, Mitchell said, he was walking down a street in Queens when he locked eyes with an officer who was driving in a police car. The officer, whom he described as Italian, then got out of the car, grabbed him in the neck, and smashed him against a brick wall. Mitchell said the officer then pointed a gun at his neck and dared him to “say something.” At that moment, he said, he heard the voice of his mother, who frequently told him to obey authority and “stop getting into trouble with the police.”
“In that moment, I got to decide what will be stronger: my ego or my submission,” he said.
In his apology statement, Mitchell noted the passage he preached presents an opportunity “to examine our relationship with governments and authoritative figures who we may personally oppose, yet have to comply with.” At the same time, he said, his framing of the encounter he had with the officer as a teen “was not helpful and should have been done differently and with more nuance.”
“I have a responsibility to my local congregation, our Digital Disciples, and all the people watching me expecting to see an example of what true discipleship of Christ looks like,” the statement said. “That includes acknowledging when you have made a misstep or been wrong. Due to the size of my platform, I am learning that my words carry more weight and influence than I even sometimes can fathom or acknowledge.”
In the past, Mitchell has garnered attention by publicly criticizing other ministers who he says have spewed “theological garbage.” The things he’s lambasted include talk that a church-aided cannabis business could help drive membership among Black men, an idea floated in 2022 by pastor Jamal Bryant of Atlanta.
Last Friday, Mitchell’s own apology received support on Instagram from prominent Black Christian influencers, including podcast host Megan Ashley and writer and poet Preston Perry, who has attended the church with his wife, Jackie Hill Perry.
The worship musician Eddie James also applauded Mitchell, saying that though he understood what the pastor was trying to communicate, he also saw how it could be taken by others.
“Unfortunately, there are abuses from authorities that have hurt so many,” James wrote. “How you are handling this moment demonstrates the heart of a pastor.”
