“Deal aggressively with this” Philip A. Mitchell
His fists are often clenched. He’s usually wearing all black and standing in a frills-free, unbranded pulpit with a black background and black flooring. His New Yorker accent is thick; especially when, in response to the inevitable criticism that accompanies truth-telling, he says, “I don’ cay-uh” (non-New Yorker translation: “I don’t care”).
He frequently says “Stop!” after reading Scripture, to interrupt the possibility of those who are less-than-enthusiastic about The Word from mentally and spiritually checking out. And, sometimes, when his message is running long, he invokes “the Lil’ Kim anointing” with a tension-breaking audience participation prompt:
“Shall I proceed? (Yes, indeed)”
IYKYK.
Philip Anthony Mitchell, senior pastor at 2819 Church, is, regularly, giving the trailblazing of the Apostle Paul with a sprinkle of the Apostle Peter’s frenetic zeal. He also won’t let you forget his full government name. He says it a lot, which makes me think one or both of his parents said it every eight seconds when he was growing up. His messages are replete with Holy Spirit-variety weeping and gnashing of teeth, and are usually followed by an opportunity for repentance, cleansing and welcoming acceptance. They also come with yelling, arms flailing, Jordans stomping, Bibles slamming and the kind of spontaneous worship that is often guttural in its unfiltered manifestation.
Regularly donning a hoodie, Mitchell opens every prayer with “Eternal God and ever-wise Father” and ends them (often in tears) with “in the mighty and majestic and matchless name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, Amen and Amen and Amen.” To the spiritually untrained eye and immature heart, dude can land as “a lot.” I, however, am wholly impervious to that criticism.
Folk who don’t do enough call me “a lot,” too. Ignoring them is easy work.
2819 mania in the belly of the beast
I’ve yet to visit this wildly popular in Atlanta and, despite my absolute loathing of what used to be my favorite city, I know a visit is in my not-too-distant future. I’ll stomach Atlanta to visit this church (and to see the Dave Matthews Band) despite the fact that neither family, friends nor Alabama Football have successfully persuaded my presence there in the last several years. Atlanta, unlike in years past, is presently thick with the stench of demonic influence and agreement with depravity, the likes of which just a few other cities in our country rival. I left Los Angeles due in large part to that same stench and agreement (I contributed to some of it, by the way), so I readily recognize it. I don’t say any of that to wantonly diss Atlanta. It’s my opinion. Atlanta is just not a vibe for me anymore.
Mitchell’s lore in Atlanta, however, is undeniable. To that end, I’m reviewing his “Deal aggressively with this” message from his Wisdom & Wonder series. And, in an effort to salvage my grammatical integrity, I’m stating for the record that I do not typically end sentences with demonstrative pronouns. But, to write it any other way would be altering a quote, so I’m prioritizing journalistic integrity higher. Also, I’ve had this review in the queue since I first heard Mitchell’s message back in October 2024,, but procrastination is a helluva drug.
This specific message in Mitchell’s series is that slice. Pardon my intentionally incorrect grammar, but It’s one of them ones. You know the one. The message that, obviously, was uploaded straight from the Holy Spirit to the messenger and delivered overnight mail directly to your (my) point of conviction with laser-like precision.
If that bugs you, this next section will make you itchy. Get the Benadryl and read on before you get drowsy.
The sin of it all
Mitchell’s message is based on Matthew 18:7-9 and it’s white hot. It’s about the ‘s’ word and zero words are minced. Not one.
Exhibits A - P:
A. “It is because of this thing, sin, man that it has toppled empires in history. It has corrupted foreign governments. It has infected every single part of the human being: your intellect has been infected by sin… Your emotions have been infected by sin. Your desires, your wants, your longings, the way you see the world, your language, your mouth, your heart, your feelings… every single part of the human being has been infected by sin.”
B. “I know you think that because you’ve been born on the altar, that I’m not talkin’ to you. And I know because you think you’re morally good that I’m not talkin’ to you. But every single person who has been born… has been infected by sin. Man, it is the bane of human existence. I hate sin. I hate it in my life. I hate it in the church. I hate it in society. Not because I’m morally pure. I hate it because it’s just the opposite. I hate it because I know the pain it has brought to my life. I know the destruction it has brought to my life.”
C. “Don’t play with it.”
D.
“Don’t keep it as a pet.”
E. “It’s the source of all the issues going on right now in the world.”
F. “Recognize it. See it. Cut it off.”
G. “Y’all worried about the atheists… I’m worried about you. You’re more deceived than they are. At least they know that they don’t believe in God. But you got a false assurance while you claimin’ Christ and living in sin!”
H.“Ain’t nobody pipe game worth goin’ to hell over! His stroke ain’t that nice!” (Yep. He said it. Loudly. And he paused for effect. Cope harder.)
I. (*Lots of hand gesticulating and forehead sweat flying*) “Sexual immorality, homosexuality, adultery… all of the things we practice… the Lord says When. You. See. Them. In. Your. Life. CUT. THEM. OFF!”
J. “i.e. Deal aggressively with your sinful behavior.”
K. “Any area of darkness in your life is a lane for the devil to traffic.”
L. “Some of you don’t deal aggressively with your sin because you’ve been deceived by grace.” (This one is a whole sacred cow slaughter.)
M. “Deal aggressively with your sin because God is calling His people to (watch this) a life of the pursuit of holiness. Not just a song you sing. Not just somethin’ you post. It’s the way you live… Monday through Saturday… and not just on Sunday on a platform. Holiness.
N. Y’all want anointings, but you don’t want one that’s holy. There’s a price to be paid for an anointing.”
O. “Y’all worried about what that mogul is gonna get… you’re not worried about what you gonna get for your unrepentant sin. You’re worried about what he deserves… what about what you deserve? You’re worried about what he’s headed for, what about what you’re headed for?” (Is the whole degrees of sin thing a myth Mitchell has successfully busted? Just asking questions.)
P.
“You. Love. Sin.”
***
Go ahead. Roll your eyes. Sigh. Call him a fire and brimstone Bible-thumper and accuse him of being jUdGMeNtAl. Get it out of your system. But, get over it quickly. And then knock it off. It’s beneath you.
From his explanation of Matthew 18:6 (timestamp: 14:40 - 15:55… you’re welcome) to his confession that he has paid for his “fair share” of abortions and that they’re “murder in the womb” (timestamp: 18:53 - 19:29… you’re welcome), there’s not a lot of room for confusion about where he stands on all the hot button issues.
It’s clear my guy is straight-up surly about what happens on the other side of sin. He refers to New Testament believers who practice sin (which is different from occasionally missing the mark in sin) as “playing with their days” and “keeping it on a leash.” He compares sin itself to “a viper” that “is gonna choke you and bite you and poison you and kill you.” Exclamation point! Emphasis! Underscore! Spittle!
I know. It’s tempting to write him off as hyperbolically doing the most. Or, worse yet, completely canceling him while labeling him as a brand-building, performative blowhard with a gimmicky schtick.
He’s none of those things. If anything, he’s being reductive.
Sin is undefeated as the most deceptively comfortable cooperation with satan humankind has ever — or will ever — ignorantly (or willingly) engage. And, perhaps the most insidious of its expressions is sexual sin because, in our society, it’s not merely relegated to the “what people do is their business” corner. On the broad path, all forms of sexual sin are widely encouraged, expected, normalized, excused, celebrated and written off as acceptable kink.
We’re in a crisis. I’m looking at myself first.
And, while it’s true that there’s nothing new under the sun, it’s also true that being turned over to a reprobate mind happens just before total separation from God happens.
Read that again.
No one wants one plume of that smoke. Promise.
After having listened to more than a few of Mitchell’s messages, I’ve learned about his thug life shenanigans, his time-served at Rikers, his struggle with lust and how he forced the enemy to forfeit jurisdiction over his life by charting his course on the narrow path. Fatal blows to satan’s agenda = cooking.
All the things you don’t want bothered
If you get super triggered, defensive, pissy, hissy-fitty or a step away from violence when people get in your stuff, keep reading.
Philip Anthony Mitchell’s give-a-damn is broken. So is mine.
It’s enough with the incessant side-stepping of the thing that is actually killing people. Sin is destroying marriages, infecting young souls, influencing world leaders and deceiving many who think they’re headed to heaven. I hate sin. I hate how it hardens hearts, corrupts minds and kills bodies. I hate its destruction.
But, to Mitchell’s point, the second side of that same coin is the truth that I do love sin – my sin – and there’s a couple of them I don’t want bothered. I, unwisely, compare them to others’ and “What about…?” myself into a false sense of security. That’s a dangerous place to park. This is precisely why we need pulpit people to be accountability partners. I’m very fortunate to have a pastor who does not hesitate to spiritually ruin every pedicure in the sanctuary. Every week.
I want my sin to offend me because, when what should make me sick doesn’t make me sick, I’m in trouble.
My sin is repugnant to me.
All sin, in every form, has a wage: death. Death of relationships, friendships, careers, health, purpose and, most devastatingly, being in lockstep with God. That last one gives way to societal and personal entropy.
All who say “Yes” to Jesus are delivered from it.
But, Romans 7 is still a thing.
Mitchell swings and hits several s-word categories that most of us don’t want bothered. Among them:
The sin of pride (22:49 - 23:20… you’re welcome)
The sin of idolatry: Psychics; palm readers, tarot cards, horoscopes, crystals, sage (24:23 - 25:19… you’re welcome)
The sin of nihilism in myriad forms: “Your adversary, satan, still loves music, by the way.” (Timestamp – 26:55 - 28:15… you’re welcome)
Going to 11
I’m sometimes known for my obscure references. I also have total recall about an obnoxious number of completely useless information and, when I listen to a Mitchell message, I always think of the classic line from the hilariously campy film “Spinal Tap.”
“These go to 11.”
Mitchell goes to 11.
There’s paradigm-shifting hope emanating from Mitchell. Girded by his wife, Lena, who is, undoubtedly, the unsung hero of his ministry, there’s a battle-tested authenticity about these two. They’re dextrous when life is life-ing. That seasoning is evident without gratuitous display. It’s a nice change from the emoted perfect polish many church leaders erroneously think is fooling people who are paying attention.
And, whether or not you like his delivery, there’s a stretching in Mitchell’s – I’m just gonna say it… anointing – that challenges the spoon-fed Gospel so many apathetic churches are guilty of droning with vain repetition. I personally enjoy being yelled at from a pulpit (and only from a pulpit). When done correctly, it’s giving old-school Teddy Pendergrass shouting commands in a ballad: “TURN ‘EM OFF!”
IYKYK.
If you’ve never heard of Philip Anthony Mitchell, it will behoove you to watch this message.
If you have heard of Philip Anthony Mitchell, it will behoove you to watch this message.
If you’ve already seen this message by Philip Anthony Mitchell, it will behoove you to watch this message.
Oh, and by the way, despite his delivering an April 2025 message that resulted in his – what I consider unfortunate – yielding to an erroneously triggered societal segment, it is my hope this willing vessel called Mitchell continues to, unapologetically, spit truth.