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Bishop T. D. (Thomas Dexter) Jakes (born June 9, 1957 in South Charleston, West Virginia) is an American televangelist. He currently is the pastor of The Potter's House, a primarily African-American non-denominational megachurch in Dallas, Texas.
His church services and evangelistic sermons are broadcast on The Potter's Touch, which airs on the Trinity Broadcasting Network. He also airs on The Word Network. Other aspects of Jakes' ministry include an annual revival called "MegaFest" (which draws more than 100,000 people during that period of time), an annual women's conference called "Woman Thou Art Loosed", and gospel music recordings.
Bishop T. D. Jakes has become one of America's best-known pentecostal ministers. He has met many famous evangelicals, and many of them look to Bishop Jakes as a sort of Billy Graham.
He founded The Potter's House in 1996, with about 50 families that had relocated with him from his former congregation, Greater Emmanuel Temple of Faith in Cross Lanes, West Virginia. By December 2002, it had 28,000 members. Both Jakes and his Potter's House church are unrelated to the Potter's House Christian Fellowship, a Pentecostal denomination founded in Arizona in 1970.
The movie Woman Thou Art Loosed is based on Jakes' novel of the same name.
For the 2006 PBS program African American Lives, Jakes had his DNA analyzed; his Y chromosome showed that he is descended from the Igbo people of what is now Nigeria. According to family tradition, he is also descended from the Igbo people through his paternal grandmother.
He lives in a $1.7 million mansion in one of the most exclusive parts of the Dallas/Fort Worth area with his wife Serita and their five children.
Trivia
Jakes is a first cousin twice removed of actor James Wheaton on his paternal side. He is also a distant cousin of commentator Tavis Smiley on his paternal side.
Jakes is the subject of a new book by sociologist Shayne Lee entitled, T.D. Jakes: America's New Preacher, published by NYU Press. The book presents Jakes' popularity as a metaphor of profound cultural and social changes in contemporary American Religion.
Books by T.D. Jakes
- He-Motions: Even Strong Men Struggle
- Ten Commandments of Working in a Hostile Environment
- Promises From God For Single Women
- Woman, Thou Art Loosed: Healing the Wounds of the Past
- The Lady, Her Lover, and Her Lord
- Maximize the Moment : God's Action Plan For Your Life
- So You Call Yourself a Man?: Finally Devotional for Ordinary Men With Extraordinary Potential
- God's Leading Lady
- His Lady
- Daddy Loves His Girls
- The Greatest Investment
- Mama Made The Difference
References
External links
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