Armed with a Bible, steadfast convictions, and a razor-sharp wit, the Rev. Mike Kelsey isn’t afraid of tough conversations.
As lead pastor for megachurch McLean Bible Church, Kelsey draws parallels between biblical context and current events for the thousands of congregants who call him their pastor. Provocative issues — race, social injustice, and politics — are on people’s minds and in his sermons.
“You don’t get to just check your Christianity at the door when it comes to your politics,” says the 42-year-old lead pastor of the non-denominational evangelical congregation. “In a church as diverse as ours, we may be very united in the core doctrines of our faith, but we may have very strong disagreements about how all that plays out.”
Although both Kelsey and David Platt are called lead pastors, Kelsey assumed primary leadership at MBC last November. The church is one of the area’s largest, and Kelsey shares his thought-provoking messages to MBC’s five campuses — in Arlington, Fairfax, Prince William, and Loudoun counties in NoVA, and Montgomery County, Maryland. (Plans for a second Loudoun location were recently announced.)
Going to the Polls
“The Bible has something to say about how you vote,” Kelsey says in an interview at his sparsely decorated office on the Tysons campus. “It’s not our place to tell you how to vote, but it is our place to teach you scripture in ways that equip you to be able to apply and be thoughtful and critical as you vote.”
It’s an eye-opening take for some on timely topics considered taboo in some religious circles. MBC has traditionally been known as a conservative evangelical church, attended by many influential Republican lawmakers and congressional aides. In 2019, President Donald Trump made a surprise visit during a service. People are taking notice as Kelsey addresses issues like race and reparations.
Matthew Fournier, a church congregant for nearly 20 years, welcomes Kelsey’s sermons.
“Mike ties current events into scriptures and stories and then gives a good biblical path forward,” says Fournier, a father of three who attends MBC with his wife, Mandy.
But for a time, turbulence prevailed at MBC. In 2021, while Kelsey was pastor at the church’s Montgomery County location and Platt led MBC’s overall pastoral operation, a group of congregants sued, claiming Platt and the church violated church bylaws when some members were wrongfully deemed “inactive” and could not vote in an election of church elders. It was alleged that the church leaders specifically targeted some members whom they believed would vote against their chosen candidates. A lengthy legal process ensued, and some congregants expressed dissatisfaction with the church’s direction. Between public mudslinging and after-effects of the pandemic, attendance dropped.
Around that time, a clip from a podcast conversation with Kelsey that discussed anger over George Floyd’s murder circulated on social media. In it, Kelsey said, “It’s difficult for me sometimes not to just torch all white people, and particularly white evangelicals and Christians.”
In the podcast, Made for This with Jennie Allen, Kelsey went on to say, “What keeps me from that is meeting and being in community with so many white brothers and sisters. … Jesus never gives us permission to hold people in contempt.”
Looking back, Kelsey says he believes the challenges MBC navigated over the past few years reflect the increasing political polarization in America and have produced a deeper, more durable unity in the church.
“To be honest, I think people in our culture, especially among emerging generations, are longing to see gospel-centered communities that thoughtfully engage tough topics while genuinely loving and learning from each other in the process,” Kelsey says.
Charming the Congregation
It may be Kelsey’s quick-witted style that puts his audience at ease. The veteran MBC staffer weaves self-deprecating humor and relatable examples into his sermons, like a story about how his wife asked him to change laundry loads and somehow, he ended up playing video games instead. Usually clad in casual pants, a T-shirt, and sneakers, he says he dresses more like a summer intern than a lead pastor. He begins each sermon with, “Hi, my name is Mike; I’m one of the pastors here.”
“He is especially passionate about and gifted in reaching the next generation, and particularly those who have felt disenfranchised, disillusioned, or discouraged by church in the past,” says Platt, 46.
Kelsey, who is the church’s first Black lead pastor, goes where many in leadership shy away — race and social injustice.
“We want to lean into that topic of race with God’s word,” Kelsey says. “It’s not just that we want to address it to say, ‘Division is bad.’ No. What we want to say is ‘Diversity is good.’ It can be difficult in some ways, but if we lean into it, it can be beautiful.”
Those who have watched Kelsey’s ministry grow note that he is able to laugh at himself and his shortcomings. He seems to tell congregants that if he can struggle and overcome, they can too.
“He has the uncanny ability to speak the truth without making anyone feel ashamed, but you come away wanting to do something,” says Margaret Bond, who has attended the church in person or online for about two decades.
Derek Karchner, a lay pastor who worked alongside Kelsey in Maryland, says that at the satellite campus, Kelsey communicated unifying messages.
“He is really gifted at communicating that message across very deep-seated differences in ways that are really unexpected and surprising and encouraging,” Karchner says.
Kelsey says he values transparency, authenticity, and integrity in his conduct.
“I’m going to be my real self, and sometimes I’m going to get that wrong. I’m going to try to be as authentic as I can, in wise and responsible ways,” Kelsey says. “What you see is what you get. I am a flawed human being who is very serious about following Jesus.”
Kelsey and the diverse congregation are a draw for some at MBC. It consists of people from over 100 countries. Twenty-year Fairfax County police officer Jeff Sledge works security at MBC during services. Sledge, who is Black, and his wife, Grace, who is Lebanese, have attended MBC’s services since 2004 and connect with Kelsey’s message.
“Even just being another Black man preaching in a church that isn’t predominantly Black but is a very diverse church; just seeing that has been so awesome, seeing the diversity and where our church is going,” Sledge says.
The Accidental Pastor
A preacher’s kid, Kelsey had no intention of stepping into the family business, even though his father, Bishop Michael V. Kelsey Sr., has ministered for almost 30 years at the predominantly Black congregation at New Samaritan Baptist Church in Washington, DC.
“I did not want to become a pastor — at all,” says Kelsey, who grew up in Prince George’s County, Maryland, with a respect for Christianity but not a commitment to being a Christian. “Before I was a Christian, I wanted to be a party promoter, then own a club in DC, and then use that to build an entertainment company.”
But in the early 2000s, as a student at the University of Maryland, a woman he dated introduced him to Christian upperclassmen who took him under their wing. His faith flourished in college. As a rhetoric and political culture major, Kelsey started a performing arts ministry on campus, leading singers, dancers, and poets.
“I realized what I really was doing was pastoring people. I was pulling their gifts out of them and helping to care for them,” he says.
Kelsey started dating his future wife, Ashley, in college, then landed a job after graduation working and traveling with evangelist Luis Palau’s ministry. He caught the eye of MBC’s leadership while training ministers at the Tysons church in preparation for a Palau event. Ashley had already been working at MBC for two years when Kelsey joined the team in 2007. The couple married in 2008 and have three children — Ava, 13; Michael III, 10; and Jackson, 6. Today, Ashley leads the worship music ministry at the Montgomery County campus.
Energizing the Energized
In a region full of dynamic and tenacious people, Kelsey embraces the drive many Northern Virginians possess.
“I love that this is an area with a lot of people who are trying to change the world, at least in technology, or politics, or education, or whatever it is,” Kelsey says.
And after 17 years on MBC’s staff, Kelsey still loves what he is doing.
“This never gets old,” Kelsey says. “It’s when you get that front row seat to see people’s lives change, there’s nothing like it.”
Feature image of Mike Kelsey by Lillian Lim
This story originally ran in our July issue. For more stories like this, subscribe to Northern Virginia Magazine.
