T.D. Jakes The Pentecostal Media Mogul:
Even in a profession peopled with multi-taskers, Bishop Thomas Dexter
(T.D.) Jakes stands out. Last year the African-American preacher's
R-rated religious movie about sexual abuse, Woman, Thou Art Loosed,
cracked the
box-office top 10. His self-empowerment book He-Motions: Even Strong
Men Struggle was a best seller. And his record label Dexterity
Sounds/EMI Gospel won its first Grammy. Jakes' teachings of faith,
family and financial prosperity reach far beyond the Potter's House,
his 35,000-member suburban Dallas church. This year he has two more
movies in the works and plans a business-networking cruise to Alaska,
a leadership conference in London and the second annual Mega Fest, a
gathering for families that is expected to draw 200,000 people to
Atlanta in August. A master of pop psychology, Jakes, 47, represents
a new wrinkle for Evangelicals, the neo-Pentecostals, who combine
intense spirituality with a therapeutic approach. Dealing with
critics of his popular style has taught Jakes a few lessons of his
own: his latest book is titled Ten Commandments of Working in a
Hostile Environment.
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Text David Van Biema, Cathy
Booth-Thomas/Dallas, Massimo Calabresi and John F.
Dickerson/Washington
John Cloud and Rebecca Winters/New York, and Sonja Steptoe/Los
Angeles.
With reporting by Amanda Bower/New York, Rita Healey/Denver,
Sean Scully/Philadelphia and Elaine Shannon/Washington
FROM THE FEBRUARY 7, 2005 ISSUE OF TIME MAGAZINE; POSTED SUNDAY, JANUARY 30, 2005
