Attorney Sparkman earned his B.A. degree from Howard University, his Juris Doctorate degree from Temple University School of Law, now known as Beasley School of Law, and his Master of Divinity degree from Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary, now known as Palmer Theological Seminary. He is currently a Ph.D. candidate for Organizational Leadership at Lancaster Bible College and Capital Seminary. He has been a practicing attorney in Philadelphia for 47 years. He has served as a national consultant for NeighborWorks America in the area of foreclosure prevention, home preservation, and bankruptcy for 17 years. He was a former staff attorney at Community Legal Service of Philadelphia, a chief assistant city solicitor for the City of Philadelphia, and a federal bankruptcy trustee for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. He has served as the senior pastor of the historic Shiloh Baptist Church in Philadelphia for twenty-eight years. He served as the 11th president of the historic Manna Bible Institute in Philadelphia from 2018 until April 2022. He has been a widower since October 2021 and has three daughters and five grandchildren.