January 29, 2024
MLK Convocation speaker Pastor Mike Jr. preaches purpose, passion, and mindset
By Michael Hagan ’15, ’19G
The importance of remaining focused on God-given dreams was the message of Pastor Mike McClure Jr., founding pastor of Rock City Church in Birmingham, Alabama, and the keynote speaker at Providence College’s annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Convocation.
Pastor Mike founded The Rock Church in 2009 while ministering to students at Miles College, a historically Black college in Fairfield, Alabama. The church later established a physical footprint in Birmingham and adopted the name Rock City Church. Its sermons, music, and other content are viewed widely on social media. In partnership with other clergy, Pastor Mike launched affiliate congregations in Montgomery, Alabama, and Nashville, Tennessee.
Pastor Mike’s debut album, Live Free, reached #1 on the Billboard gospel album chart, and several of his songs have been #1 gospel singles. He has been nominated for a 2024 NAACP Image Award in the category of Outstanding Gospel-Christian album for his album Impossible.
In his remarks on Thursday, January 25, 2024, in Peterson Recreation Center, Pastor Mike referenced the biblical story of Joseph’s prophetic dreams, which provoked his brothers to jealous anger. Pastor Mike encouraged people to remain focused on God-given purpose and to avoid “dream-killers” who distract from or obstruct purposeful living.
“If you’re going to become who God made you to be, you must embrace a new level of focus. Without focus, passion leaks,” he said.
The difference between a God-given dream and a fantasy is that a fantasy benefits you but a God-given dream benefits everyone around you, Pastor Mike said. Dr. King was an example of someone with a God-given dream, who endured the pain that accompanies such purpose with grace and who was formed through adversity.
“We freeze Dr. King at the March on Washington as if his entire life was surrounded around a four-minute message,” Pastor Mike said. “Have you ever stopped to consider that at the time of Dr. King’s death, his approval ratings were in the mud? At the time of his death, he was labeled the most hated man in America.”
Dr. King was a threat to the American standard, Pastor Mike said. He put God first and drew together people from all racial backgrounds and creeds.
“If you’re going to become all that I believe God has intended you to become, you have to embrace a new level of focus,” Pastor Mike said. “The true test of focus is how you handle adversity and prosperity … Because if we’re not careful, we’re going to think that every time something comes into our life, it’s a blessing. And every time we lose something, it’s the devil. But I’ve lived long enough now to understand the blessing of adversity and also the pain of prosperity.”
Prosperity is dangerous because it can take us out of focus, Pastor Mike said.
“A distraction is the destruction of your dream in slow motion … So what happened to your dream? That’s the question I would like to ask today as you leave. (Ask yourself) Am I sleepwalking? Am I going through the motions?”
Pastor Mike described how Dr. King was admonished by organizers of the 1963 March on Washington not to speak in the language and tone of a preacher, not to frame his vision as a dream inspired by the gospel. But as Dr. King spoke, a voice rang out from the front of the crowd at the Lincoln Memorial: “Tell ’em about the dream, Martin.” What followed remain among the most celebrated words in American oratory: a vision of the blessings of liberty and fraternity shared equally by people of all colors, repeatedly prefaced, “I have a dream.”
Pastor Mike also praised the depth of a Providence college education.
“Because of the emphasis on your humanity and your integrity that takes place at Providence College, you don’t just learn how to maneuver through the business sector,” Pastor Mike said. “You will have an ambidextrous anointing. You will be an intellectual and an intercessor.”
McClure was introduced by Josiah Cook, the new assistant director of programming and diversity, equity, and inclusion in the Division of Student Affairs, who said that listening to Pastor Mike’s ministry and music inspired him to apply for the position he now has at the college. A central concept in Pastor Mike’s preaching ministry is “Mindset,” which also is the motto of Friars men’s basketball head coach Kim English.
Also at the convocation, College President Rev. Kenneth R. Sicard, O.P. ’78, ’82G announced the winners of the college’s 2024 MLK Vision Awards, presented annually to individuals and groups that exemplify Dr. King’s teachings and spirit. They are Colby Brown ’24, a management major from Tewksbury, Massachusetts and co-founder of the Rhode Island chapter of First Generation Investors; Kerri Murray ’95, president of ShelterBox USA; and Rev. James Ruggieri ’90, pastor of St. Patrick Parish in Providence and founder of St. Patrick’s Academy, a Catholic high school serving students whose families would otherwise be unable to afford Catholic education. MLK Convocation at PC was established in 2018, the 50th year after Dr. King’s assassination, as the primary event in a series of community functions highlighting his vision, work, and legacy.
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