More than 20 years later, he pastors what Christianity Today calls “one of America’s fastest growing mega-churches.” The Potter’s House, a multiracial nondenominational church with 59 active outreach ministries, has dominated church growth records since 1996. In only eight years since relocating the church from West Virginia to Dallas, The Potter’s House has grown from 50 families to more than 28,000 members to date. Rivaling many corporations, The Potter’s House employs more than 300 staff members including full-time finance, human relations, information technology, materials distribution, public relations and television production departments. The Potter’s House is fiscally sound, having recently paid off its newest $45 million, 191,000 sq. ft. structure that was completed less than four years ago.
Bishop Jakes was born on June 9, 1957 in South Charleston, W.Va. His parents, businessman and entrepreneur Ernest Sr. and educator Odith, were charitable benefactors in their community and to whom their son credits for his own integrity, discipline and selfreliance. Bishop Jakes is the CEO of The Potter’s House, a nonprofit organization that produces three major national conferences – “The Pastor’s and Leadership Conference,” “ManPower” and “Woman, Thou Art Loosed.” WTAL, a powerful and popular symposium, addresses specific needs of all women and has helped many go from welfare to work. The conference has set national indoor attendance records with an average of 84,500 attendees per day at the Georgia Dome in 1999. “ManPower,” equips and encourages men to build strong marriages, increase their confidence and take on more responsibility in their community. “Mega Fest” is a family affair combining “Woman, Thou Art Loosed,” “ManPower” and the “Youth 3-D Experience,” a new youth conference. This summer, Mega Fest attracted more than 140,000 people from 55 countries and set a cumulative record attendance of 560,000 over the four-day period. Through broadcasting efforts, Mega Fest impacted more than 314 million homes in 235 countries and territories outside of the U.S. Mega Fest 2005 is scheduled August 3 – 6 in Atlanta, Georgia.
In addition to the major conferences, Bishop Jakes hosts the God’s Leading Ladies conference, which is designed to help women in leadership positions to develop financial, relationship and balancing skills.
In an effort to remedy social and economic voids in Urban America, Bishop Jakes founded the Metroplex Economic Development Corporation in 1998. The nonprofit 501(c)(3) corporation has sponsored home ownership conferences and youth mentorship programs.Currently, MEDC is developing a job placement center, a skills training center, a small business counseling hotline and a housing development that will include affordable homes for senior citizens and single-parent families.
Additional endeavors to improve society include building two Habitat for Humanity homes in conjunction with the 2003 ManPower conference and making a $107,000 donation to relocate Dallas citizens from an economically and environmentally disadvantaged area. The Potter’s House was also responsible for building a hospital in Belize, Central America, named Belmopan to whom they later sent $400,000 for medical supplies. Bishop Jakes and The Potter’s House invested over $500,000 in outreach to prison inmates. Their “Adopt A Prison” program has impacted inmates giving them a way to reduce the rate of recidivism through spiritual support and a network of churches who have awareness to the plight of
inmates reentering the system.
He is also the founder of T.D. Jakes Enterprises, through which he employs his other aptitudes as author, songwriter and playwright. A renowned religious author with 30 books to his credit; Bishop Jakes’ works have been featured on Christian, secular and business bestseller lists. His top five nonfiction bestsellers are: Maximize the Moment; Woman, Thou Art Loosed; The Lady, Her Lover and Her Lord; The Great Investment: Faith, Family and Finance and God’s Leading Lady, which has peaked at #4 on the New York Times Hardcover Advice List. He released his first novel, Cover Girls, in the summer of 2003, and later that year; he released Follow the Star, a compilation of Bishop Jakes’ personal Christmas stories. His latest book He-Motions, which is currently #10 on the New York Times Bestseller List, is a tool for both men and women written with intimate personal stories and painful lessons he learned through life. His best-selling book, Woman Thou Art Loosed, has finally come to the big screen debuting in 400 theaters across the nation and winning the 2004 Santa Barbara International Film Festival.
Bishop Jakes has developed business partnerships with Sony, EMI, Time Warner, Warner, Rueben Cannon Productions, Clear Channel, Thomas Nelson Publishing and a host of other highly respected companies. His theatre production company, Touchdown Concepts, created and produced the Christian plays “Woman, Thou Art Loosed” and “Behind Closed Doors.” Both became number one gospel plays in the United States. Recently his advocacy for women’s rights enabled him to develop the cinema production “Woman, Thou Art Loosed,” with Rueben Cannon Productions. The movie is based on his book “Woman, Thou Art Loosed,” and speaks out against domestic violence while encouraging women to rise above injustices. Bishop Jakes also operates Dexterity Sounds, a music label in collaboration with EMI Gospel Music that develops music with a divine message. The label has produced eight albums, five of which have received Grammy nominations. The album, “A Wing and a Prayer” featuring Bishop Jakes and The Potter’s House Mass Choir, received a 2004 Grammy award in the “Best Gospel Choir or Chorus Album” category. His album “T.D. Jakes presents Follow the Star” also received a nomination in the category of “Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album.”
He is also the founder of T.D. Jakes Enterprises, through which he employs his other aptitudes as author, songwriter and playwright. A renowned religious author with 30 books to his credit; Bishop Jakes’ works have been featured on Christian, secular and business bestseller lists. His top five nonfiction bestsellers are: Maximize the Moment; Woman, Thou Art Loosed; The Lady, Her Lover and Her Lord; The Great Investment: Faith, Family and Finance and God’s Leading Lady, which has peaked at #4 on the New York Times Hardcover Advice List. He released his first novel, Cover Girls, in the summer of 2003, and later that year; he released Follow the Star, a compilation of Bishop Jakes’ personal Christmas stories. His latest book He-Motions, which is currently #10 on the New York Times Bestseller List, is a tool for both men and women written with intimate personal stories and painful lessons he learned through life. His best-selling book, Woman Thou Art Loosed, has finally come to the big screen debuting in 400 theaters across the nation and winning the 2004 Santa Barbara International Film Festival.
Bishop Jakes has developed business partnerships with Sony, EMI, Time Warner, Warner, Rueben Cannon Productions, Clear Channel, Thomas Nelson Publishing and a host of other highly respected companies. His theatre production company, Touchdown Concepts, created and produced the Christian plays “Woman, Thou Art Loosed” and “Behind Closed Doors.” Both became number one gospel plays in the United States. Recently his advocacy for women’s rights enabled him to develop the cinema production “Woman, Thou Art Loosed,” with Rueben Cannon Productions. The movie is based on his book “Woman, Thou Art Loosed,” and speaks out against domestic violence while encouraging women to rise above injustices. Bishop Jakes also operates Dexterity Sounds, a music label in collaboration with EMI Gospel Music that develops music with a divine message. The label has produced eight albums, five of which have received Grammy nominations. The album, “A Wing and a Prayer” featuring Bishop Jakes and The Potter’s House Mass Choir, received a 2004 Grammy award in the “Best Gospel Choir or Chorus Album” category.
His album “T.D. Jakes presents Follow the Star” also received a nomination in the category of “Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album. http://www.godsleadingladies.com/_downloads/bio_td_jakes.pdf
Micheal O'Brian & Micah Stampley
Bishop T.D. Jakes Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Believe me, I′ve been there
We let each other down and
Pretend that we don't care
But love will reveal, that own one′s can't hear
Open your heart and take the chance
Oh, I'll be your brotherYou′ll be my friend
We′ll lean on each other
Through thick and through thin
Your're standing again
I′ll get your back
Our bound will amend
With brothers and friends
If I should disappoint you
Don't give up on me
A friend should carried on, on ending felling
We reach on the poor
We wait in the storm
The treasure of love will see us through
I′ll be your brother
You'll be my friend
We′ll lean on each other
Through thick and through thin
While standing again, I gat your back
By binding again...
With brother and friend.
The lyrics of Bishop T.D. Jakes's song "Brothers and Friends" depict the importance of companionship, understanding, and sharing through good times and challenging times. The opening lines in the first verse are self-explanatory and express empathy towards those who have gone through challenging phases in their lives. Bishop T.D. Jakes acknowledges that we often tend to let each other down and pretend like nothing has happened, but love and its significance will reveal the true nature of ourselves. We must be open-hearted, take a chance and trust our hearts.
The lyrics for the chorus are powerful and emphasize the unbreakable bond of brothers and friends. Bishop T.D. Jakes sings about the brotherhood that we can form with our friends, by leaning on one another through thick and thin, standing up for each other when necessary, and being there when it matters the most. He reminds listeners that if we disappoint one another, we should not give up but continue to carry each other's backs. We should stick by each other through the good and bad times, trusting that the treasure of love will see us through.
In conclusion, "Brothers and Friends" is a song about the significance of human connection, empathy, and understanding. We must cultivate meaningful relationships and support each other through good and bad times.
Line by Line Meaning
I know that life can hurt you
I understand that life can be painful and difficult.
Believe me, I′ve been there
I have personally experienced those hardships.
We let each other down and
As humans, we sometimes disappoint each other.
Pretend that we don't care
We may act like we don't care, but deep down we do.
But love will reveal, that own one′s can't hear
Love will expose what we may not have been able to recognize on our own.
Open your heart and take the chance
Be willing to be vulnerable and give love a chance.
Oh, I'll be your brother
I will be your trusted companion and support system.
You′ll be my friend
I value our relationship and consider you a friend.
We′ll lean on each other
We will rely on each other for comfort and support.
Through thick and through thin
Through the ups and downs of life.
Your're standing again
You have overcome a difficult situation and are now strong.
I′ll get your back
I will always support and defend you.
Our bound will amend
Our relationship will be strengthened.
With brothers and friends
We will have a strong bond like that of brothers and friends.
If I should disappoint you
If I let you down.
Don't give up on me
Don't lose faith in our relationship.
A friend should carried on, on ending felling
A true friend will endure through difficult emotions and challenges.
We reach on the poor
We support those who are struggling.
We wait in the storm
We endure difficult situations together.
The treasure of love will see us through
The power of our love and friendship will help us overcome any obstacle.
By binding again...
By strengthening our relationship once more.
With brother and friend.
As brothers and friends, we will always have each other's backs.
Contributed by Lauren J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@CBNnewsonline
Several television evangelists and popular Christian teachers have recently hosted summer conferences, some of which we've covered. But we were most surprised by the varied responses received from our followers concerning Bishop T.D. Jakes' Megafest, where he married the sacred and the secular by inviting entertainment artists and television personalities. Here are some behind-the-scene comments from both attendees and celebrity participants.
What are your thoughts? We want to hear from you!
#megafest #bishoptdjakes #autismspeaks #tishacampbell #boriskodjoe
@danhayes4203
The church should not be giving the world a stage to promote their immorality. Of course all are welcomed in the house of God, but God's house are run by God's people who are lead by God's Holy Spirit. Oprah nor any other unbeliever should stand before God's people and deliver a message, or a Lifeclass, or R&B songs or anything for that matter. They should seek first the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness then wait on the Lord to call them to led in His house if He so choses.
@One1973CeCe
All things Jesus would not say. This interview is one sided.