\n<\/p>\n
On the stage of First Baptist Church of Glenarden International, Bishop T. D. Jakes didn\u2019t spend much time preaching from the lectern at center stage of the megachurch.<\/p>\n
Instead, the televangelist walked back and forth in his dark suit and striped tie, switching a handheld microphone from his left to his right hand, sometimes facing the predominantly Black congregation of thousands gathered for an annual revival at the start of the year, other times turned toward the clergy and the choir members sitting on the large stage.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Holy Spirit sent me all the way to the DMV to tell you this is your year to pivot,\u201d the Dallas-based Pentecostal minister said to cheers and applause from the Washington, DC-area crowd, many on their feet on January 5. \u201cYou have to surround yourself with people who can pivot because they\u2019re following who you used to be. Now they\u2019ve got to follow who you have become.\u201d<\/p>\n
As he expounded on the biblical story of Joshua succeeding Moses, it was not readily apparent that two weeks before, rumors of the kind that might have led to his own succession had gone viral on social media. While some of his many ministries and businesses issued statements in response, Jakes appeared to be treating the rumors as a bit of turbulence rather than lasting turmoil.<\/p>\n
The prosperity gospel preacher, entertainment executive, and ministry entrepreneur has grown exponentially since his early days as a storefront pastor in West Virginia. Jakes moved to the Dallas area in 1996 and founded The Potter\u2019s House, now a nondenominational megachurch with multiple locations and more than 30,000 members, according to the Dallas Morning News<\/em>.<\/p>\n In 2001, Time<\/em> magazine featured the traveling evangelist on its cover, asking, \u201cIs This Man The Next Billy Graham?\u201d<\/a> He now sits at the helm of numerous ministries and businesses and keeps the company of high-powered executives and A-list celebrities.<\/p>\n But those connections have spawned criticism and prompted salacious rumors.<\/p>\n In May, University of Pennsylvania religious studies chair Anthea Butler used her MSNBC column to question Jakes\u2019s new 10-year partnership with Wells Fargo & Company<\/a> that he has said aims to reduce food deserts and increase affordable housing in Atlanta<\/a> and other cities.<\/p>\n \u201c(I)n working with a financial institution that\u2019s been repeatedly accused of racist lending practices, Jakes will likely be hurting a Black community he says he wants to help,\u201d Butler wrote shortly after the partnership was announced. \u201cIndeed, his partnership with Wells Fargo is tantamount to his working with the fox to raid the henhouse.\u201d<\/p>\n Kelley Cornish, who became the CEO of the T. D. Jakes Foundation in April after serving as an executive overseeing DEI at Wells Fargo, said the foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization separate from Jakes\u2019s church, is hoping to build 300 affordable homes as part of a new development with retail stores and schools at the former site of Fort McPherson in Atlanta in addition to helping bring a grocery store to an area outside the city that has none.<\/p>\n \u201cI would say organizations that want to come together for good, let it happen,\u201d she said in a Thursday interview with Religion News Service in response to Butler\u2019s assessment. \u201cThe past is the past, but at some point, you have to figure out how do you course correct, and so our partnerships, a lot, are about course correction. And we\u2019re excited about that. We have access to the community that they want to serve or serve better.\u201d<\/p>\n More recently, unverified allegations of sexual misconduct at parties hosted by hip-hop mogul Sean \u201cDiddy\u201d Combs have put Jakes in headlines. In December, a TikTok and YouTube video alleged that Jakes engaged in gay sex at Combs\u2019s parties. Separately, a talk-show host accused Jakes of improper behavior with a young male.<\/p>\n Jakes, 66, was not available for an interview at the time of the early January revival but appeared to deny the claims during his Christmas Eve sermon.<\/p>\n \u201cI will not use his sacred day and this sacred pulpit to address a lie when I have a chance to preach a truth,\u201d he said. \u201cI will stand straight up, head up, back straight, and preach the unadulterated, infallible word of God because that is what the pulpit is for. But there will be a time.\u201d<\/p>\n His ministry responded more directly when asked for a statement.<\/p>\n \u201cRecent claims circulating on pockets of social media about Bishop T. D. Jakes are unequivocally false and baseless, said Jordan A. Hora, executive director of PR & communications for T. D. Jakes Group, T. D. Jakes Ministries, and The Potter\u2019s House in a statement.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s disheartening to witness the proliferation of numerous deepfake photos and the distortion of words through false, sensationalized misrepresentations, encapsulating purported statements to falsely speculate and attack others, including Bishop Jakes. \u2026 Chairman Jakes, undeterred by false, perverse, ignorant, and conspiratorial speculations, will persevere in his continued dedication to create meaningful change for millions around the globe guided by the timeless principles of compassion, service, and ministry.\u201d<\/p>\n Derrick Williams, executive vice president of T. D. Jakes Entertainment, added a statement related specifically to Jakes\u2019s connections to Combs, who chaired REVOLT Media & TV, a Black-owned media company that announced in 2021 it would feature a sermon series hosted by Jakes.<\/p>\n \u201cAs a filmmaker, executive producer and one of the pioneers of value-based movies, Bishop Jakes, in his role as CEO of T. D. Jakes Entertainment, paid respect to the former Chairman of Revolt during the celebration of his birthday,\u201d Williams stated. \u201cWe both greeted the family, Bishop Jakes recorded a brief celebratory birthday video and left immediately to take our other scheduled meetings. Any accusation to the contrary is wholly unsubstantiated, unverified and false.\u201d<\/p>\n While some of the companies Jakes leads or works with, including his foundation, did not respond to requests for comment about the rumors, a number of his collaborators were quick to express their support for him.<\/p>\n \u201cBishop Jakes is too smart to do something that these people are accusing him of,\u201d said Pastor John K. Jenkins Sr. of First Baptist Glenarden and board chair of the National Association of Evangelicals, who cohosted the January revival with leaders of D.C.\u2019s Greater Mount Calvary Holy Church. \u201cI don\u2019t subscribe to just embracing accusations like that.\u201d<\/p>\n Values Partnerships CEO Joshua DuBois, who most recently worked with Jakes on mental health campaigns for Black men, Hispanic men, and faith leaders<\/a>, described Jakes as a leader focused on eternal truths, \u201cnot sort of short-term, cultural conversations and innuendo,\u201d in a January interview with RNS.<\/p>\n Pray.com CEO Steve Gatena, who in November launched a \u201cSleep Psalms\u201d prayer and meditation podcast featuring Jakes\u2019s deep voice at the beginning of episodes, told RNS that working with Jakes has been an \u201cincredible experience\u201d and that the two hope to continue the partnership. \u201cWe love making a difference in the lives of millions of people together,\u201d Gatena said in a statement.<\/p>\n Just as with the Christmas Eve congregation, Jakes told the revival audience early in his time on stage that he could sense their care for him.<\/p>\n \u201cI love you back,\u201d he said, as people filling the 4,000-seat suburban Maryland sanctuary welcomed him back to the revival where he had been a guest speaker for more than 30 years. \u201cI feel your love. I feel your prayers. I\u2019m thankful to God for them.\u201d<\/p>\n The Rev. Cheryl Townsend Gilkes, professor emerita of African American studies and sociology at Colby College, said she was \u201cnot surprised at all\u201d to hear how the revival\u2019s congregation welcomed and responded to Jakes so soon after the rumors appeared. She describes Jakes as a Black leader who has long represented \u201cthe unusual combination of giftedness in preaching and giftedness in administration.\u201d<\/p>\n She expects his preaching\u2014which has occurred at national gatherings, including the annual conference of Black ministers at Hampton University, and occasions of national crisis, such as his Washington National Cathedral sermon after Hurricane Katrina<\/a>\u2014will continue \u201cas long as the Lord keeps him healthy.\u201d<\/p>\n