Kristin Chenoweth
Bishop Thomas D. Jakes, Sr.
Pastor, bridge builder, humanitarian, author and artist, conference speaker, broadcaster . . . the roles and compassion of T. D. Jakes are a road map to the ministries of his church in Dallas and the ways in which God uses him to touch lives far beyond.
Pastor
Although the young "T. D." was the part-time music director at the Baptist church where he grew up and had been preaching part-time since college, it... Show More wasn�t until 1982 � the year the Charleston-area chemical plant where he worked closed and his father died of kidney disease � that he began full-time ministry. Two years earlier, Greater Emanuel Temple of Faith had opened its storefront doors to an initial congregation of 10 with Bishop Jakes as its Founder and Pastor. In a short time, his fresh and inspiring messages transcended racial lines, spread word-of-mouth, and drew a large and growing integrated congregation in a historically divided community.
Bishop Jakes� style has always been intensely his own. From the pulpit, his Pentecostal fervor blazes most frequently on the subjects of restoration, reconciliation and healing. His sermons are dense with poetic commentary, startling insights, and contemporary applications of the Bible�s timeless message. In the audience, his words are punctuated by passionate praise, worship and spontaneous dancing.
Charisma Magazine�s Ken Walker wrote that Bishop Jakes� message, "Is about God�s supernatural ability, bestowed by a Lord who is color-blind and cares about each person. . . . [Bishop Jakes] delivers the Word in such a lightning-rod fashion that he makes you believe that all things really are possible with God."
In May 1996, Bishop Jakes relocated his family and 50 other families to Dallas. He founded and now serves as senior pastor of The Potter�s House, a multiracial, non-denominational church with more than 17,000 members. The facility is situated atop 28 acres of rolling hills in the Oak Cliff area of Dallas. In less than two years, his ministry has earned a national reputation for deep healing and changed lives.
Bridge Builder
Bishop Jakes� appeal and message transcend barriers that commonly divide people. His rare ability to explain men to women, and women to men, has endeared him to both. And his willingness to squarely confront issues often considered off limits in the church has brought welcome news to many that the Gospel is relevant in their lives.
T. D. Jakes desires to dispel racism, and he makes tangible decisions to clean out its breeding ground of ignorance and misconceptions. In 1997, Bishop Jakes invited local pastors � largely African-American and Hispanic � to come together to pray about a racially charged dispute within the Dallas School Board and the minority community.
Bishop Jakes invited a Hispanic congregation to hold its conferences at The Potter�s House, and he has embraced Hispanics in his own church � which provides bilingual services, translation and interpretation. Signage in the Potter�s House church is also bilingual.
Another distinction is that T.D. Jakes, a Pentecostal pastor, is warmly received in non-charismatic Christian circles. In 1997, Home Life magazine named him one of the ten most influential Christians � in the company of Billy Graham and Mother Teresa.
Bishop T. D. Jakes� non-judgmental attitude is key to his success in helping outcasts assimilate into society. From recovering drug addicts to ex-prisoners to the homeless, Bishop Jakes� compassion is evident. And his talk is more than spiritual. To meet their physical and emotional needs, he offers people both the hope of the Gospel message and the practical demonstration of it.
Humanitarian
The hallmark of Bishop Jakes� ministry is his compelling love through Christ for hurting people. Within The Potter�s House, that passion surfaces in programs such as Ravens Refuge, a homeless ministry; Operation Rehab, an outreach to prostitutes; a GED literacy program; the Transformation Treatment Program for drug and alcohol abusers; an AIDS outreach; and a prison outreach.
Conference Speaker
Since 1984, T. D. Jakes has carried his healing ministry beyond his church into conferences across the nation to diverse audiences. "Woman, Thou Art Loosed" speaks specifically to the pain of women of all ages and colors; "ManPower" encourages men to live righteous lives and to be positive role models; "The Bible Conference" is general Bible teaching for all those who wish to know more about God�s Word; and "The Pastors� Conference" which addresses the needs of pastors and their spouses, offering them a time of restoration and personal ministry. The conferences draw from 5,000 to 52,000 people, 30 percent of whom are not churchgoers.
Author/Artist
Bishop Jakes has authored more than 16 books, seven of which have appeared on the national Christian best-seller�s list: Woman, Thou Art Loosed; Daddy Loves His Girls; Loose That Man And Let Him Go; Can You Stand To Be Blessed; Naked and Not Ashamed; The Harvest; and Lay Aside the Weight. His most recent offering that was released at the 1998 Woman Thou Art Loosed Conference in July is, "The LADY, Her LOVER, AND Her LORD" that is headed for the best seller�s list of secular as well as Christian books. This places him among the most accomplished African-American authors in history.
Bishop Jakes has toured nationally with his most popular book, Woman, Thou Art Loosed, which sold more than 1.25 million copies and was on the best-selling Christian book list for more than two years. Most recently, "Woman Thou Art Loosed" was adapted into a musical recording by Integrity Music and received 1998 nominations for both the Grammy and the Dove Awards.
Broadcaster
Bishop Jakes is host of the adrenaline-pumping television program, "The Potter�s House," nationally broadcast four times weekly on Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) and Black Entertainment Television (BET). The show also reaches international audiences in the Caribbean, South Africa, Zimbabwe, England and several other countries around the world.
In addition, T. D. Jakes Ministries beams conferences and special programming via satellite into prisons throughout the United States.
