About Bishop T.D. Jakes

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you explain the booming popularity of your ministry?
"It has more to do with God’s timing and His purpose for my life than my gifts or abilities. When a person flows into God’s purpose and timing for his or her life, He can take an individual with less ability and use him/her to extreme capacity, just because they are willing to be available."

What has been your reception in the evangelical community?
"I’ve had only one or two experiences where people had a problem accepting my diversity -- either racially or doctrinally. For some reason, God has just given me the grace to be able to sit on many different platforms."

What message do you have for the Church?
"My responsibility to the Body of Christ is almost like a spiritual physician who has discovered some medicine in the Word of God. I believe this medicine will help heal some of the hurts that are in this world. As the physician, I am careful always to acknowledge that I am not the cure, but that I have been able to facilitate the cure because Jesus Christ lives within me."

What is your greatest hope for the Church?
"As Christians come into healing and restoration, I would like to see the Church rise up undaunted and be uncompromising in terms of Christians’ loyalty and covenant with one another."

Where did you get your empathy for hurting people?
"Though I do not think my plight has been worse than anyone else’s, I empathize because I have had — and have — my own pain. It has been diverse, from racism to poverty to brokenness, and it is the struggle of day-to-day living."

How has your pain affected your ministry?
"I found out the things that hurt us the most can become the fuel and catalyst to propel us toward our destiny. Pain can make us bitter or better. I wanted to be made better."

Dallas has raised your profile and brought a lot of changes. How does that affect you?
"My struggle is the scheduling, stress, busyness, weariness — the loss of normalcy and privacy. Sometimes the crowds are overwhelming. Those kinds of things are perplexing for a country boy from West Virginia."

Do you have a political affiliation?
"Politics pose a dilemma for me because some politicians who embrace my concerns — pro-life and other issues— seem to have great compassion for unborn children and no interest in feeding them after they’re born. If I line up with people who are interested in feeding people in need and who attack racism and discrimination, then they often also support abortion, homosexuality and other things I see as unscriptural."

How did you feel about the Million Man March?
"I certainly think that African-Americans as a people need to be galvanized. But, because I believe that Jesus Christ is Lord, I certainly differ in opinion with Minister Farrakhan on theological issues. Before we can affect the nation, we have to affect the man himself. Men need to be resuscitated; then we can resuscitate the nation. I’m afraid that we may have the cart before the horse in trying to move the nation before we move the man. What Minister Farrakhan is doing is impacting and affecting a different area, and I feel incapable of speaking to his goals and agendas."

What role does your wife, Serita, have in your ministry?
"On a technical level, my wife puts the nuts and bolts together in terms of the benefits (and other details) for the staff of our ministry. But that is shaded in comparison to what she has brilliantly displayed in my personal life, which is being a woman able to release her husband to minister to the nation, to share me as a gift to the body of Christ."

What do you think about women pastors?
"I try to avoid setting myself up as a judge to tell anybody what God did or did not call them to do. There are many women who are celebrated as ministers: Marilyn Hickey, Joyce Meyer, Jackie McCullough, Dr. Iona Locke, Ernestine Reems and Iverna Tompkins. Many women are making a contribution to the body of Christ."

How do you respond to media scrutiny of your lifestyle?
"I see no need to hide the fact that God has blessed me as a business person, investor and author. The reality is that Christianity has a stigma in our society of being impoverished. It is called ‘the poor man’s religion.’ Any time Christians become very, very successful, others attempt to discredit us."

Why is prosperity important for men?
"In a time when we’re saying to African-American men — and men in general — to take care of their children, we ought to celebrate any man who has found financial security and is also a minister. I don’t see that as a minus."

What Bible teachers have influenced you?
"Most of the great writers I enjoy are deceased; some are still living. Kevin Conner is insightful. So is Arthur Pink. I try not to allow the greater part of my ministry to be birthed out of the revelation of other men. My favorite book to read for insight is the Bible."