Michael M. Thomas
I believe that a story of transformation has the power to change lives in ways that can simply be described as extraordinary. With just one decision, a road to destruction can be reversed to a pathway of hope. Because life altering stories can change the trajectory of someone’s life, I decided to share just a little part of my story.
I was once asked in front of a group of business people, Michael, what did you want to be when you were in high school and who are you now? Most of the people who answered the question prior to me said they wanted to be a teacher, lawyer, or doctor. Consequently, my answer was very unorthodox to say the least.
In high school my dream and goal was to be a kingpin drug dealer. Many years ago, before my life was abruptly interrupted, I was raised in one of the roughest neighborhoods of my hometown in Virginia. Through many of the influences in the neighborhood, I begin to take on a life of the streets and crime. Fighting, drug dealing, gun smuggling, and recreational drug use became a way of life for me as a young teenager. There were many factors in my younger years that caused me to find myself in several foster homes that later escalated to detention homes, and which eventually landed me in jail. A life of crime, marijuana, and alcohol abuse became a lifestyle for me, and years thereafter lead to my confinement into a mental institution. Being locked away with a mental diagnosis was a turning point in my thirst for kingpin status, but first, I’ll share the events that led up to my confinement that changed my life forever.
My associates and I became responsible for the majority if not all of the drugs that were coming in and out of the housing projects. There came a point where we wanted to expand our operation. As always, we would travel up north to D.C., Philadelphia, New York and New Jersey, to barter guns and to make larger cocaine purchases.
The North had the drugs and we had the guns. Our master plan to take new territory was engineered by the idea of completing the biggest drug deal we’d ever done. It was normal for me to pretty much smoke marijuana from sunup to sun down, which perhaps was approximately a quarter a pound per week. However, for this particular deal, I knew I had to be sober because so many things could go wrong if I wasn’t absolutely 100% in control of my faculties. Some of our associates in the drug game who had done illegal business in these areas, had come back hospitalized or never made it back at all. I only shared this because some things I’m about to explain can come across as someone’s experience due to drugs and its effects on the mind.
With that being said, it was the mid-90s, and I was about to travel and complete the deal that would take me to another level of distribution in the drug game. The pressure was intense and my pager (a communications device used before cell phones) kept beeping constantly with the demands of organized crime problems and issues. In order to clear my head I decided to go for a walk. It was during that walk that I had a supernatural experience and encountered my creator, God. The experience was very similar to the one that the Apostle Paul had written about in Acts chapter nine of the Bible. As I was crossing a parking lot, suddenly in the middle of my scrambled thoughts, a power came over me and caused me to fall down to my knees. I could not move for about a half an hour. I could not arise. I just began to feel this overwhelming feeling of love. When I didn’t think the moment could get any more intense, I literally began to hear what sounded like a thousand angels assembled in a choir, singing a song I hadn’t heard since I was a very young child. The sweet yet powerful angelic voices sang, “Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so”.
The words reverberated through my entire body and I heard a voice as if it was speaking from out of the sky saying, “In spite of what you have done, in spite of all the people you have mistreated and hurt… I STILL LOVE YOU!’ The voice was undoubtedly the voice of God and I just began to weep right there in the middle of the parking lot on my knees paralyzed from the waist down soaking in the beauty and love of what I had just heard. I continued to weep for several minutes before I sensed that I could move again. I arose with an intense awareness of three things. One, I had just encountered the presence of a true and real God. Two, the lifestyle that I had been living was terribly wrong, and Three, God loves me in spite of any and everything I had done in my life. When I arose from the ground, I realized the depravity of my actions that caused me to amass all of the jewelry I had on and the large sum of cash I possessed. I thought about all the atrocious things I had done to obtain that jewelry and money and in that moment of realization, I no longer wanted any parts of that lifestyle that has me here and the possessions I acquired by ill gotten gains. So I began to take the rings off my fingers and rolls of cash out of my pockets and throw them into a nearby playground. This was over twenty years ago in north Danville, Virginia and I often wonder if a child found those items and how shocked they would be now to know what led to their discovery.
Anyway, after I threw everything away, I called my illegal business partners and told them they could have my cut of the drug deal. I no longer wanted any parts of those guns and that money. I had an unexplainable knowledge and intuition that if I made the trip to New York City to partake of this deal, I would not come back to Virginia alive even though I had done so many times before.
I later found out that one of my associates who made the trip went on to make close to a million dollars. Needless to say, they all were eventually arrested by the FBI. I’m glad I didn’t go on the trip; however, the stress and paranoia of my life in darkness finally took its toll and a few years later I was confined to a mental institute. But God in his faithfulness freed me from the extreme paranoia and mental institute and one night led me to walk into a church and down to the altar where I gave my life to God through faith in Jesus Christ. From that fateful night, I met wonderful Christian people who helped me cultivate a relationship with the God I had encountered. I fell in love with God’s creation and began to preach the gospel to all who would hear. Now, a little over 25 years, I’ve transformed from a drug and gun peddling misfit that was living for the kingdom of darkness, to ministering God’s goodness in churches, businesses, jails, prisons, youth detention centers, in the streets, and under bridges.
In answer to that group question, what did you want to be when you were in high school and who are you now? My answer was and is, in high school I wanted to be a kingpin, but my plans were eclipsed by extraordinary events. Today I'm a minister, Prophet, and Elder in the Church of our Lord Jesus Christ. I'm the co-owner of Strategic Partners Consulting, a consultant business that assists nonprofits with strategies and funding to help communities address social issues that impact low-income, at risk, and marginalized people groups all across the United States and abroad. I'm a faithful husband of 22 years and a proud father of three boys and one girl.
I take great joy in seeing lives changed by love and grace and my goal is to help people avoid the broad roads of destruction and help lead them to pathways of light. This is my story and I will share it whenever and wherever it can make a difference.
Prayer of Salvation. John 3:16 & Romans 10:9
Dear Jesus, I believe you died on the cross for my sin. I ask you to come into my heart and change my life into what you would have it to be. In Jesus's name. Amen.
If you believe and say that prayer contact us and let us know. We would love to hear from you and send you a free gift. info@michaelandfaith.com
Contact Us !
If you would like for me to share my full story with your church, business, or organization of transformation from an at risk youth, to a champion of optimism, please contact Michael Thomas at www.michaelandfaith.com/booking
Electronic Business Card:
www.profiles.blue/MMTHOMAS
Direct line: 336-303-6615
