Jakes, Thomas “T.D.” 1957–

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Thomas “T.D.” Jakes 1957–

Entrepreneur, Pentecostal preacher, author

Grew up as “Bible Boy”

Began a Church from Scratch

Given “Key to the City” of Dallas

Became a Best Selling Author

Blessed to Be a Blessing

Sources

When Jakes first climbed onto the pulpit, he trembled with nervousness and anxiety. Speaking in front of crowds was initially quite difficult for him due to a pronounced speech impediment. But judging from the reaction of his congregations, T.D. Jakes’ preaching is very powerful, even “anointed,” some would say. T.D. Jakes himself deflects attention to his spiritual gifts and well-honed abilities, saying, “When a person flows into God’s purpose and timing for his or her life, God can take a person with less ability and use his/her to extreme capacity, just because they are willing to be available,”he said in web page.

Grew up as “Bible Boy”

Born and raised in Charleston, West Virginia, T. D. Jakes says he was “called” to preach at age 17. He could not have known then that his ministry would go national and eventually effect millions of people through books, radio, television, and conferences. T. D. Jakes grew up in a community where it traditionally took a village to raise a child. Every adult in the community contributed to the children’s upbringing, at least that was what was claimed for young Thomas Jakes. At an early age, he was described as opinionated, stubborn, and driven—traits that some ascribe to him still today. He was also nicknamed “Bible Boy”—due to his early habit of preaching to an imaginary congregation and always carrying his Bible to school. However, the nickname “T.D.” is the one that stuck with young Thomas. More recently, he also wears, almost as a first name, the title “Bishop,” which was conferred on him when the Higher Ground Assemblies elected him their regional prelate. (The Higher Ground Always Abounding Assembly is a nine-year old association of almost 200 Pentecostal Churches.)

Jake’s parents, Ernest and Odith, evidenced a strong work ethic and entrepreneurial spirit that would later characterize their preacher son. Odith, an economics teacher, taught all three of her children to cook, sew, and clean for themselves. Ernest, a self-made businessman, was entrepreneurial long before entrepreneurs were common among blacks. Ernest developed a janitorial business from one mop and bucket to include 42 employees who cleaned everything in the Charleston area-from the West Virginia Capitol building to grocery stores. This entrepreneurial drive left a mark on young

At a Glance…

Born Thomas Jakes on June 9, 1957, in South Charleston, West Virginia; son of Ernest and Odith Jakes (father deceased); married Serita Ann Jamison, 1981; father of five children. Education: attended Center Business College, 1972, and West Virginia State College, 1976; B.A., MA., Friends University, 1990, and Doctorate of Ministry, 1995.

Career: Held positions in business and industry, 1976-82; pastor, Greater Emanuel Temple of Faith, which began in Montgomery, WV, and was moved to Smithers, WV, 1982-89; produced local radio ministry, “The Master’s Plan,” 1982-85; created his “Bible Conference” ministry, 1983; moved his ministry to South Charleston, WV, 1990; his first book Woman, Thou Art Loosed was published, 1993; launched the “Manpower” conference series, 1993; began the nationally syndicated television show, “Get Ready,” 1993; moved the Temple of Faith ministry to Cross Lanes, WV, where it became multi-racial, 1993; established T.D. Jakes Ministries, a non-profit conference and television ministry, 1994; launched three-day “When Shepherds Bleed” conference for pastors and their spouses, 1995; moved his family and 50 staff to Dallas, TX, to establish the Potter’s House, 1996.

Selected awards: Gospel Heritage Award for Ministry, 1996; Stellar Foundation Excellence Award, 1996; “Key to the City of Dallas” for his homeless ministry, Raven’s Refuge, 1997; Gospel Music Association’s Dove Seal for “Woman, Thou Art Loosed: The Songs of Healing and Deliverance,”1997.

Addresses: Office -P.O. Box 5390, 6777 W. Kiest Boulevard, Dallas, TX 75208.

Thomas, who delivered newspapers, Avon, and even products from his mother’s garden.

Although working full-time at a chemical plant job with Union Carbide, T.D. Jakes was very involved as the part-time music director at the Baptist Church where he grew up and as a part-time street evangelist. When the Charleston-area chemical plant closed in 1982, and his father died of kidney disease, T. D. Jakes devoted all his time to his ministry as an evangelist and church-planter in the Charleston area.

Began a Church from Scratch

His first storefront church, Greater Emanuel Temple of Faith, had ten members in 1980. In a few short years that church grew enormously. Just as importantly, it transcended racial lines bringing together an integrated congregation and overcoming the diverse elements that traditionally divided the community.

In 1990, Jakes moved from Smithers to South Charleston, West Virginia, where his congregation grew from 100 to more than 300 members. And in 1993, he moved his Temple of Faith ministry to a renovated bank in Cross Lanes, West Virginia. There his congregation grew to more than 400 people of all races, including an unprecedented 40 percent Caucasian membership. In 1994, he established “T.D. Jakes Ministries,” a nonprofit organization that produces his nation-wide television and conference ministry. From 1995 to 1996, he hosted the nationally-syndicated weekly radio and television show, “Get Ready,” attended by millions of listeners and viewers throughout the United States and South Africa.

In May of 1996 Jakes’ ministry grew once again when he and his wife, Serita, took their five children and 50-member staff to Dallas, Texas. There Jakes founded the Potter’s House, a multi-racial, non-denominational megachurch, which has grown from 7,000 worshipers to 14,000 in two years. Potter’s House has a 5000-seat auditorium, enough space for its worship services, but its 34-acre hilltop campus in southwest Dallas seems to be running out of space to house its multi-faceted ministries.

Given “Key to the City” of Dallas

The hallmark of Bishop Jakes’ ministry is a deep spiritual healing with life-changing effects. He describes himself as a “spiritual physician,” one who “has discovered some medicine in the Word of God….As the physician, I am careful to always acknowledge that I am not the cure, but that I have been able to facilitate the cure because Jesus Christ lives in me.”

Local civic leadership honored Bishop Jakes for his ministry to the greater Dallas/Fort Worth Metro Area by giving him and his wife the prestigious “Key to the City” in February of 1997. Bishop Jakes’ ministry engages the community with various out reaches to needy people: including, the “Raven’s Refuge” (a homeless ministry); “Operation Rahab” (an outreach to prostitutes); a G. E. D. tutoring and literacy program; “Vessels of Clay and Ladies Choice” (mentoring and job-training programs); “S.A.L.T.” (a youth ministry program); “Transformation Ministry” (a ministry to drug and alcohol abusers); and weight-loss programs (based on faith and his new cookbook, Lay Aside the Weight).

Bishop Jakes hosts the television program, “Get Ready,” which is nationally broadcast three times weekly on Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) and Black Entertainment Television (BET). The show also reaches an international audience, including the Caribbean, South Africa, and Zimbabwe.

Became a Best Selling Author

In the 1990s, Bishop Jakes has become a prodigious and popular author, cranking out 15 books, six of which appeared on the national religious best sellers list (see Sources, below). Altogether, his books have sold well over one million copies since 1993. That distinction places him among the most accomplished African American authors in history.

His most popular book, Woman, Thou Art Loosed, sold more than 800,000 copies by 1996, making it the third best-selling religious. The success of the book catapulted Bishop Jakes into a national conference ministry with its healing message. More than 18,000 women, mostly blacks, attended a 3-day event in Tampa Bay/St. Petersburg, Florida. The book Woman, Thou Art Loosed was adapted into a musical recording by Integrity Music, which received the Gospel Music Association’s coveted Dove Award in 1997.

Besides his most popular “Thou Art Loosed” conference for women, Jakes also sponsors a variety of seminars, including the “When Shepherds Bleed” summit for pastors and their spouses, the “Manpower” series just for men, as well as the “The Bible Conference” (first held at Greater Temple of Faith for 880 attendees in 1983, when it was called “Back to the Bible”).

When asked how he would define his rapidly growing ministry Jakes said, “My assignment is to open the door of the Church for hurting people and refocus what the Church was meant to be in our society. The Church has become stereotyped as a ‘spiritual club’ for elitists and yuppies who portray themselves as persons who ‘have arrived.’ I believe the Church was meant to be a hospital for hurting people.”

Blessed to Be a Blessing

Despite his obvious success, or maybe because of it, the ministry of T.D. Jakes is not universally accepted or appreciated. The Gazette OnLine criticized him for profiting from his revival/seminar ministry, leading the reader to infer that he was only in it for the money. Calculating $20 per person for the Tampa engagement, “that’s $360,000 for three days’ work—more than Jakes might have earned in a lifetime at his chemical plant job.” Such riches have allowed Jakes to buy a million-dollar mansion. As he told Christianity Today, “I don’t live in a mobile home. There’s nothing wrong with being blessed and successful.”

While he seems abundantly blessed with the grace to sit on many different platforms, there are some people in the evangelical community who will not sit with him for either racial or doctrinal issues. Yet Jakes remains undaunted in his hope for the church, “As we come into healing and restoration, I would like to see the church rise up undaunted and be uncompromising in terms of our loyalty and covenant with one another.”

The message that Jakes delivers from the pulpit he does with Pentecostal fervor and poetic lyrics (e.g., “stop merely looking to the White house, and start turning back to the Church House”). His fervent messages typically focus on the restoration, reconciliation and healing of hurting people. Contemporary illustrations, Bible stories, soulful praise, and joyful dancing are also common to his worship services.

His anointed message of healing and restoration is still in demand by clergy and laity alike, and transcends every cultural and denominational barrier. According to Ken Walker of Charisma magazine as cited in Jake’s web page, Jakes’ message “is about God’s supernatural ability, bestowed by a Lord who is color-blind and cares about each person….He (Jakes) delivers the Word in such a lightening-rod fashion that he makes you believe that all things really are possible with God.”

Bishop T. D. Jakes is renown for his deep commitment to bringing wholeness to men and woman. Compassionate in his understanding of human nature, Jakes senses and speaks to the basic human need for fulfillment and destiny. With the energy and drive of 50 men, Jakes has catapulted into the mainstream of speaking conferences and book sales nationwide. He speaks almost every day—often twice a day—to packed auditoriums and convention centers. His ability to captivate large audiences and hold their attention, is considered to be his distinctive speaking gift.

Though a Black charismatic figure with Pentecostal theology, T. D. Jakes is admired by people of all colors and most denominations. Many regard him as a pastor to pastors and as a true father to the fatherless. His insights, many borrowed from his own life of peaks and valleys, will stir within most readers, listeners, and viewers of his ministry a strong desire to fulfill their destiny, believing that “all things are possible with God.”