Pastor Cleveland A. Thompson

“I stand before you today as Pastor Crackpot.”

The congregation roared with laughter. “You want to know the truth about it, you’re just Deacon Crackpot, Sister Crackpot, Brother Crackpot, Choir Member Crackpot. Because God does the paradoxical thing; He says, ‘I am so much God, that I can put My glory into broken vessels!’”

It is this kind of pointed, colorful oratory that makes The Reverend Cleveland A. Thompson’s sermons so memorable. Humor is typically the tip of his sword, along with universal, real-world applications of biblical precepts that help reveal truth and God’s saving grace to us in new ways. “Before the airline would allow me to travel from point A to point B, I first had to take responsibility for my own bag,” Reverend Thompson said, preaching that morning about discipleship and personal accountability, jabbing a cautionary finger at his Emmanuel family, “Check your bags.”

“The black church in America is being challenged to define and, in some cases, re-define itself in these challenging times,” Pastor Thompson says. “It’s no longer good enough to just come in here once a week and go through the motions. The church, once the center of African American life, now must earn its place by being relevant and productive. “Emmanuel's ministry focuses on three key areas of healthy and productive Christian life: Spiritual Development, Temple Restoration and Community Involvement. The three are interlinked, each one empowering the next.”

Reverend Thompson is both a thoughtful and articulate man possessed of a soft-spoken humility that provides ballast to the declarative thunder of his proclamation of God’s eternal and infallible truth. Thompson is a trusted friend, a cherished brother, and now an honored pastor who leads not by imperial decree but by humble supplication; Thompson inspires by putting hands and feet to the Good News of Jesus Christ.

Emmanuel Missionary Baptist Church, founded on September 1, 1963 by the late Rev. Dr. Thomas J. Marigna, has long been a standard-bearer for excellence in ministry in Colorado Springs. Pastor Thompson is both a thoughtful and articulate man possessed of a soft-spoken humility that balances the declarative thunder of his proclamation of God’s eternal and infallible truth. Thompson is a pastor who leads not by imperial decree but by personal example and humble supplication. He inspires by putting hands and feet to the Love of Jesus Christ.

Born July 7, 1958 in Liberty Mississippi to the late David L. Thompson Sr. and Vivian N. Thompson, Cleveland Alney Thompson’s personal walk with Christ began at age 10 at the Liberty Baptist Church under the leadership of the late Rev. Dr. William H. Tobias. At age 20 he united in holy matrimony with the former Bernice Bates, and their holy union has blessed them with four children, Duriel, Shawndell, Dana and Jacey. Thompson was ordained as Deacon on April 12,1987 at the Traditional Gospel Church, Lajes Field, Azores, Portugal, by Rev Dr. Alexander Tate, I. Deacon Thompson was licensed in the Gospel Ministry May 23 1993 at The Greater Strangers Rest Missionary Baptist Church in Forth Worth Texas, under the leadership of Pastor R. E. West.

Reverend Thompson united with Emmanuel Baptist Church in 1994 and was appointed First Assistant to the Pastor in July, 1999, wherein he was ordained and commissioned by Pastor Benjamin L. Reynolds in October 24 1999. Reverend Thompson was called by the Emmanuel congregation on October 30, 2006 and preached his first sermon as the Senior Pastor of Emmanuel Missionary Baptist Church 10 am Sunday, November 5th, 2006.

Pastor Thompson earned a Bachelors of Science in Computer Information Systems from the University of Phoenix in 1998 and has completed 70 of 99 hours toward a Master of Divinity Degree at the New Geneva Theological Seminary, Colorado Springs. Pastor Thompson honorably served 24 years in the US Air Force, retiring in 2001 at the rank of Chief Master Sergeant.

In a very short span of time, Pastor Thompson has united a congregation impacted by despair, galvanizing them to work shoulder-to-shoulder to strengthen their bonds as a church family and commit to the service of God and their community. Emmanuel has made tremendous strides toward restoring the venerable Walnut Street building and retiring debt, while launching exciting new ministries in support of families, health education, and the arts.

Thompson’s emotional ballast is provided by his wife Bernice, a quiet authority who keeps the ball in play among a close-knit family air-dropped into the Church Folk end zone as Emmanuel’s large congregation rushes for yardage.

“I want to talk about progress,” Thompson said during planning sessions for the church’s 45th anniversary, where each year a new theme is adopted. “The black church—the black community—has long existed within a culture of survival. It’s time to move past survival into investment.” Which led Thompson to the book of Haggai, the prophet sent to urge the people of Israel to rebuild Solomon’s ruined temple, prophesying that the glory of the new temple—The Latter House—would surpass that of the old one. Emmanuel has subsequently adopted the sobriquet, The Latter House, as part of their ongoing 2008-2009 theme.

“Can I say ‘hell’ in here?” Thompson facetiously inquires of a neighboring church, the congregation convulsing in stitches, the pastor having put on his drawl again. “There are some things don’t no nice words describe!”

His down-home color and rapier wit—weapons the pastor wields like a shotgun at a bank heist—cuts across boundaries of race, gender and social status. The pastor disarms his listeners with contextual applications of God’s truth which, in turn, position the listener to hear as the teaching goes forward. The net effect is disarming and effective: a singular and unique voice proclaiming truths both eternal and infallible. “Miracles often happen in quiet spaces,” Thompson was quoted his first Christmas as pastor. “Not in the glare of celebrity or even in the comfort of luxury. But among the poor and desperate. Among the homeless, in a garage, in the cold. David asked, ‘Who is this King of glory?’”

As Emmanuel advances through the latest evolution of our service to God and the Colorado Springs community, we could not hope for a finer example of the love and redeeming power of Jesus Christ.

Pastor Thompson is affiliated with the following professional organizations:
The National Baptist Convention, USA Inc
The Western States Convention of Colorado and Wyoming
The Western States Congress of Christian Education
The Southern District Association
The El Paso County Ministerial Alliance
The Hampton University Minister’s Conference

Haggai 2:6-9: The Latter House

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