Meet Simone/Pastor Cedric Middlebrooks/Halbert

We recently connected with Simone/Pastor Cedric Middlebrooks/Halbert and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Simone/Pastor Cedric , really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?

Simone Middlebrooks I didn’t find my purpose. Pain dragged me into it. I was minding my business trying to survive divorce, betrayal, fake church folks, loss until one day I realized God wasn’t gonna let me die in it. Everything I went through was training. Every breakdown was a setup. I didn’t pick this life. It chose me. And once I stopped running from it and started owning all the hell I lived through, my purpose stopped being a mystery. I was born to pull people out of what tried to kill me.

Pastor Cedric- Through God

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

Simone Middlebrooks- Let me keep it real I wear a lot of hats, but they all point to the same assignment: healing, purpose, and truth. I’m a life coach, speaker, author, and founder of MEN Society a nonprofit for men who suffer in silence. I create content, courses, and books that are raw, real, and anointed. I don’t sugarcoat pain. I expose it so people can get free.

My brand is Divine Purpose Partner. It’s not just a name it’s a call. Everything I do whether it’s through my digital products, broadcasts, books, or coaching is about helping people come out of cycles, confront truth, and walk in who God called them to be.

What makes it special? I don’t preach from a stage I didn’t bleed on. I’m not doing this to be liked I’m doing it because lives are attached to my obedience.

Right now, I’m focused on expanding a few major areas:

My new book, God Ain’t In It, exposes spiritual deception and false alignments people confuse with God’s will.

The MEN Society is launching national healing calls and re-entry programs to help broken men rebuild their lives.

This isn’t a trend for me. It’s my life. And everything I put out is gonna be raw, transformative, and God-approved.

Pastor Cedric Halbert, host of the Divine Connections broadcast alongside Simone Middlebrooks. I’m passionate about preaching, teaching, mentorship, and inspiring others through faith and biblical truth. I’m an advocate for men, committed to seeing them restored and walking in purpose. Beyond ministry, I’m also a living kidney donor, which taught me firsthand the power of sacrifice and service and agape love

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Simone Middlebrooks 1. Obedience
I fought God before I followed Him. But every time I disobeyed, I paid for it. In peace. In time. In tears. Now? I don’t argue. If He says cut it off, I cut it. If He says build it, I build it. I don’t need a second opinion when I got the Word.

2. Fasting and Prayer
This ain’t a cute church routine it’s how I stay sane. I’ve fasted with tears in my mouth. I’ve prayed when my heart was shattered. I’ve laid on the floor asking God to take the pain or give it purpose. That’s where the oil came from. Not the platform. The crushing.

3. Discernment
I used to call every open door a blessing until I learned hell opens doors too. Now I read spirits, not just smiles. I don’t care how gifted you are — if your fruit funky, I’m gone. Discernment saved me from fake friends, broken men, and “God told me” lies.

Pastor Cedric Halbert Everything in my life begins and ends with God. A healthy prayer life is what sustains me. I believe in self-development always striving to become the best version of myself. And above all, I believe every person needs to be born again, just as Jesus said in John 3:1–8, that unless one is born of water and the Spirit, they cannot see the kingdom of God. I also hold to 2 Timothy 2:15, which reminds us to study to show ourselves approved, rightly dividing the word of truth. True transformation only comes through Christ.”.

Before we go, any advice you can share with people who are feeling overwhelmed?

Simone Middlebrooks Let me be real. When I get overwhelmed, yeah, I pull back. But I’m not gonna sit here and act like I always go straight into prayer mode. No I usually have to hit that “I can’t do this no more” point. That’s when I shut the whole world out.

I don’t forget about God, but the truth is, when that heaviness hits that real darkness God feels far. Scripture? Prayer? That’s not the first thing on my mind. I’m just trying to breathe. And in those moments, I’ve learned to lean on the people who are really in my corner. Because sometimes, I don’t have the strength to pray for myself. I need somebody to cover me.

And when I finally come out of that place, when I catch my breath again, I go to God and I’m like, “Lord, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to drift. I just didn’t know how to handle what I was feeling.”

“Sometimes healing starts with honesty: ‘God, I ain’t strong right now. Can You send somebody who is?’”

Pastor Cedric Halbert When I feel overwhelmed, I pray, fast, and stay in the Word. Matthew 11:28 reminds me that Jesus gives rest, and that’s where my strength comes from. My advice is to do the same seek Him first, because true peace only comes through Christ.”

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