More than 20 years later, he pastors what Christianity Today calls โone of Americaโs fastest growing mega-churches.โ The Potterโs 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 Potterโs House has grown from 50 families to more than 28,000 members to date. Rivaling many corporations, The Potterโs House employs more than 300 staff members including full-time finance, human relations, information technology, materials distribution, public relations and television production departments. The Potterโs 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 Potterโs House, a nonprofit organization that produces three major national conferences โ โThe Pastorโs and Leadership Conference,โ โManPowerโ and โWoman, Thou Art Loosed.โ 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. โManPower,โ equips and encourages men to build strong marriages, increase their confidence and take on more responsibility in their community. โMega Festโ is a family affair combining โWoman, Thou Art Loosed,โ โManPowerโ and the โYouth 3-D Experience,โ 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 โ 6 in Atlanta, Georgia.
In addition to the major conferences, Bishop Jakes hosts the Godโs 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 Potterโs 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 Potterโs House invested over $500,000 in outreach to prison inmates. Their โAdopt A Prisonโ 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 Jakesโ 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 Godโs 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 Jakesโ 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 โWoman, Thou Art Loosedโ and โBehind Closed Doors.โ Both became number one gospel plays in the United States. Recently his advocacy for womenโs rights enabled him to develop the cinema production โWoman, Thou Art Loosed,โ with Rueben Cannon Productions. The movie is based on his book โWoman, Thou Art Loosed,โ 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, โA Wing and a Prayerโ featuring Bishop Jakes and The Potterโs House Mass Choir, received a 2004 Grammy award in the โBest Gospel Choir or Chorus Albumโ category. His album โT.D. Jakes presents Follow the Starโ also received a nomination in the category of โBest Contemporary Soul Gospel Album.โ
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 Jakesโ 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 Godโs 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 Jakesโ 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 โWoman, Thou Art Loosedโ and โBehind Closed Doors.โ Both became number one gospel plays in the United States. Recently his advocacy for womenโs rights enabled him to develop the cinema production โWoman, Thou Art Loosed,โ with Rueben Cannon Productions. The movie is based on his book โWoman, Thou Art Loosed,โ 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, โA Wing and a Prayerโ featuring Bishop Jakes and The Potterโs House Mass Choir, received a 2004 Grammy award in the โBest Gospel Choir or Chorus Albumโ category.
His album โT.D. Jakes presents Follow the Starโ also received a nomination in the category of โBest Contemporary Soul Gospel Album. http://www.godsleadingladies.com/_downloads/bio_td_jakes.pdf
Oh Give Thanks
Bishop T.D. Jakes Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Give thanks to the holy one
Give thanks for he has given
Jesus Christ his son
And now let the weak say I am strong
Let the poor say I am rich
Because of what the lord has done for us
And now let the weak say I am strong
Let the poor say I am rich
Because of what the lord has done for us
Give thanks
Give thanks
Give thanks
In Bishop T.D. Jakes's song "Give Thanks," the lyrics speak to the importance and power of giving thanks to God for all that he has done for us. The first verse encourages us to give thanks with a grateful heart and to give thanks to the holy one, acknowledging that God has given us his son, Jesus Christ. The second verse takes it a step further by urging the weak to say that they are strong and the poor to say that they are rich because of what the Lord has done for them. The repetition of this verse emphasizes the idea that no matter our circumstances, we have reason to give thanks to God.
The chorus simply repeats the phrase "Give thanks," driving home the idea that we should be constantly giving thanks to God. The song is a powerful reminder to focus on all the good things that God has done for us, both big and small, and to express our gratitude for them. By doing so, we are reminded of God's love and provision in our lives, which can, in turn, bring us peace, joy, and hope.
Line by Line Meaning
Give thanks with a grateful heart
Show your gratitude with a heart full of thankfulness
Give thanks to the holy one
Be grateful to the divine being
Give thanks for he has given
Express appreciation for the gifts received
Jesus Christ his son
The valuable gift given to us is God's son, Jesus Christ
And now let the weak say I am strong
Let those who are vulnerable confidently proclaim they are capable
Let the poor say I am rich
Empower those who lack resources to feel abundant
Because of what the lord has done for us
The reason for our gratitude is what the divine has gifted us with
Give thanks
Continue to show appreciation
Lyrics ยฉ Universal Music Publishing Group, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: DENNIS BROWN, WINSTON HOLNESS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@brucemoore6829
Heard it after Katrina storm. This album got me through. God thanks us to be good.
@masimbavilika5953
I can never get enough of this song...in my top 10 all time favorites indeed!!
@theplaza8307
Boy it's almost Thanksgiving and I'm already Hungry boy oh boy I can't wait for Thanksgiving.
@laurabaylessjohnson6749
For He is worthy! Oh, give thanks!! unto the Lord! For He is good! ๐
@leronjgwinn2054
One of my favorite albums from bishop Jakes from the first track to last you can listen to without skipping tracks
@cy3995
I totally agree. this never gets old ๐๐ป
@masimbavilika5953
LeRon J Gwinn am still crazy about this ability man
@20062bMinnieSmooth
I heard this on The Tom Joyner Morning Show in Summer 2002 (I miss 98.7 Kiss FM). Can't believe his show is ending soon.
@magssekhu6181
Still loving this song and the album ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ
@magssekhu6181
Still love it ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ