Pamalicious
07-19-2006, 04:56 AM
MegaFest message of salvation, wealth to draw thousands
By JOHN BLAKE
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 07/19/06
Bishop T.D. Jakes was delivering a sermon to a throng of cheering women at the Georgia World Congress Center one morning when he said something that caused the cascade of amens to halt.
"If I asked how many women in this room purchased a new outfit within the last 30 days, hands would shoot up," Jakes said. "But if I asked how many had a CD (certificate of deposit) or a mutual fund, the numbers would decline significantly."
AJC file
(ENLARGE)
T.D. Jakes is expected to draw thousands downtown for MegaFest.
The amens resumed after scattered murmuring, but Jakes made his point. He wasn't going to just preach about sin. He was going to preach about financial deliverance as well.
That moment took place six years ago, but Jakes is going to drive home that message again today at MegaFest, a sprawling conference in downtown Atlanta that's expected to draw tens of thousands of visitors.
The four-day event at the Georgia World Congress Center, Georgia Dome and Philips Arena features a concert Thursday night with Aretha Franklin, a gospel talent search, a fashion show, a comedy show hosted by Steve Harvey and a health expo. And, of course, Jakes is preaching tonight, Friday night and Saturday at 1 p.m. Tickets cost $40, with separate tickets required for three of the entertainment events.
Route to financial freedom
Since Jakes first held MegaFest three years ago, much of the attention has focused on his charisma. The 49-year-old Dallas-based pastor delivers foot-stomping sermons that regularly reduce listeners to tears. Most publicity photos show him preaching, sweating and shouting. Yet Jakes also has deftly fashioned MegaFest — and his ministry — into a resource where people can find financial as well as spiritual healing.
Take the lineup of MegaFest's speakers. Most religious revivals feature fiery speakers who know how to bring down the house. MegaFest's looks like it was pulled from a chamber of commerce brochure. It includes financial guru Dave Ramsey, a nationally syndicated radio show host. There's Kwame Jackson, an entrepreneur with a Harvard MBA who just started his own company. And there's Susan L. Taylor, the editorial director of Essence magazine who formed her own cosmetics company.
All but one of MegaFest's seven main speakers are described as entrepreneurs or pastors with extensive business accomplishments. They want to save souls and money. It's a message that's resonated among Jakes' core audience, working-class black people trying to find a place in the middle class.
"Bishop Jakes said poverty is the slave master of the 21st century," said Roland Hairston, CEO of The Potter's House, the 30,000 mega church that Jakes leads in Dallas, Texas. "If we're going to be able to be free, then we're going to have to learn how to manage our finances."
Shayne Lee, a Tulane University sociologist, calls Jakes a "ferocious capitalist" who echoes Booker T. Washington, the 19th-century black leader who emphasized self-help and thrift while discouraging political activism.
"He really feels that the time has gone for us to challenge institutions," says Lee, author of "T.D. Jakes: America's New Preacher."
"He thinks the time has come for us to look inward for personal life skills and health."
Gaining a following
Jakes built his reputation as one of the country's most effective preachers in the 1990s on two events he took on the road: "Woman, Thou Art Loosed!" and "ManPower." They drew hundreds of thousand to stadiums across the country, but were combined into the once-a-year MegaFest in 2004. Jakes also has written more than 30 books, produced a film and broadcasts his sermons weekly on Trinity Broadcasting Network and Black Entertainment Television.
Jakes' holistic approach can be seen in MegaFest's fan-friendly lineup. There is programming aimed directly at men, women, families, youth and children.
Jakes' own life is part of his message. He's a multimillionaire who often cites his business acumen and faith as reasons for his financial success. He encourages people to save and invest. But Jakes has been criticized by preachers, scholars and authors for preaching the "prosperity gospel," a theology that claims that Jesus was rich and that God rewards the faithful with wealth.
Jakes denies preaching prosperity. "I've built my ministry talking about pain and problems," he said in a 2004 interview. "I never did say that if you walk with God everything will be wonderful. I've built my ministry talking to people who have been raped, molested and abused."
Wealth 'not a sin'
Robert Franklin, a professor of social ethics at Emory University's Candler School of Theology, questions another aspect of Jakes' message — his "blind faith that the market will transform and improve everyone's lives.''
"That kind of philosophy encourages us to live with growing inequities in wealth that really are immoral," Franklin said.
Jakes' financial empowerment message has been generally well-received. His fans say he's not teaching greed. He's teaching them to gain more so they can give more, said Sabrina Busby, owner of Crown & Glory Hair Studio in College Park, who is attending this year's MegaFest.
"If you come to me and tell me of a need, and all I can say is, 'Brother, I'll pray for you,' wouldn't you rather hear me say instead, 'Brother, what do you need?' "
Ramsey, the financial guru who's one of MegaFest's main speakers, says he's teaching people how to be savvy handlers of their money.
"Being wealthy is not a sin," Ramsey said. "Solomon was wealthy. David was wealthy. Moses was wealthy. What Jesus is saying is that we don't own it [wealth], we just manage it."
Jakes recently broadened his message to go beyond financial empowerment. He challenged the lending industry in a USA Today column this month after learning about a report that concluded that black and Hispanic home buyers were being targeted by "predatory" lenders. Jakes cited a study that showed blacks and Hispanics are 30 percent more likely than whites to be charged the highest rates.
"What year is this?" Jakes wrote. "Will well-meaning Americans stand by and send millions of people to the back of the lending bus while institutions target the neediest and pocket the money?"
Busby said Jakes doesn't need a seminar or a speaker to preach his message of financial empowerment. His own life offers supreme evidence that piety leads to prosperity. "That's why he's allowed to prosper," Busby said. "He's teaching us to do what he's doing."
By JOHN BLAKE
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 07/19/06
Bishop T.D. Jakes was delivering a sermon to a throng of cheering women at the Georgia World Congress Center one morning when he said something that caused the cascade of amens to halt.
"If I asked how many women in this room purchased a new outfit within the last 30 days, hands would shoot up," Jakes said. "But if I asked how many had a CD (certificate of deposit) or a mutual fund, the numbers would decline significantly."
AJC file
(ENLARGE)
T.D. Jakes is expected to draw thousands downtown for MegaFest.
The amens resumed after scattered murmuring, but Jakes made his point. He wasn't going to just preach about sin. He was going to preach about financial deliverance as well.
That moment took place six years ago, but Jakes is going to drive home that message again today at MegaFest, a sprawling conference in downtown Atlanta that's expected to draw tens of thousands of visitors.
The four-day event at the Georgia World Congress Center, Georgia Dome and Philips Arena features a concert Thursday night with Aretha Franklin, a gospel talent search, a fashion show, a comedy show hosted by Steve Harvey and a health expo. And, of course, Jakes is preaching tonight, Friday night and Saturday at 1 p.m. Tickets cost $40, with separate tickets required for three of the entertainment events.
Route to financial freedom
Since Jakes first held MegaFest three years ago, much of the attention has focused on his charisma. The 49-year-old Dallas-based pastor delivers foot-stomping sermons that regularly reduce listeners to tears. Most publicity photos show him preaching, sweating and shouting. Yet Jakes also has deftly fashioned MegaFest — and his ministry — into a resource where people can find financial as well as spiritual healing.
Take the lineup of MegaFest's speakers. Most religious revivals feature fiery speakers who know how to bring down the house. MegaFest's looks like it was pulled from a chamber of commerce brochure. It includes financial guru Dave Ramsey, a nationally syndicated radio show host. There's Kwame Jackson, an entrepreneur with a Harvard MBA who just started his own company. And there's Susan L. Taylor, the editorial director of Essence magazine who formed her own cosmetics company.
All but one of MegaFest's seven main speakers are described as entrepreneurs or pastors with extensive business accomplishments. They want to save souls and money. It's a message that's resonated among Jakes' core audience, working-class black people trying to find a place in the middle class.
"Bishop Jakes said poverty is the slave master of the 21st century," said Roland Hairston, CEO of The Potter's House, the 30,000 mega church that Jakes leads in Dallas, Texas. "If we're going to be able to be free, then we're going to have to learn how to manage our finances."
Shayne Lee, a Tulane University sociologist, calls Jakes a "ferocious capitalist" who echoes Booker T. Washington, the 19th-century black leader who emphasized self-help and thrift while discouraging political activism.
"He really feels that the time has gone for us to challenge institutions," says Lee, author of "T.D. Jakes: America's New Preacher."
"He thinks the time has come for us to look inward for personal life skills and health."
Gaining a following
Jakes built his reputation as one of the country's most effective preachers in the 1990s on two events he took on the road: "Woman, Thou Art Loosed!" and "ManPower." They drew hundreds of thousand to stadiums across the country, but were combined into the once-a-year MegaFest in 2004. Jakes also has written more than 30 books, produced a film and broadcasts his sermons weekly on Trinity Broadcasting Network and Black Entertainment Television.
Jakes' holistic approach can be seen in MegaFest's fan-friendly lineup. There is programming aimed directly at men, women, families, youth and children.
Jakes' own life is part of his message. He's a multimillionaire who often cites his business acumen and faith as reasons for his financial success. He encourages people to save and invest. But Jakes has been criticized by preachers, scholars and authors for preaching the "prosperity gospel," a theology that claims that Jesus was rich and that God rewards the faithful with wealth.
Jakes denies preaching prosperity. "I've built my ministry talking about pain and problems," he said in a 2004 interview. "I never did say that if you walk with God everything will be wonderful. I've built my ministry talking to people who have been raped, molested and abused."
Wealth 'not a sin'
Robert Franklin, a professor of social ethics at Emory University's Candler School of Theology, questions another aspect of Jakes' message — his "blind faith that the market will transform and improve everyone's lives.''
"That kind of philosophy encourages us to live with growing inequities in wealth that really are immoral," Franklin said.
Jakes' financial empowerment message has been generally well-received. His fans say he's not teaching greed. He's teaching them to gain more so they can give more, said Sabrina Busby, owner of Crown & Glory Hair Studio in College Park, who is attending this year's MegaFest.
"If you come to me and tell me of a need, and all I can say is, 'Brother, I'll pray for you,' wouldn't you rather hear me say instead, 'Brother, what do you need?' "
Ramsey, the financial guru who's one of MegaFest's main speakers, says he's teaching people how to be savvy handlers of their money.
"Being wealthy is not a sin," Ramsey said. "Solomon was wealthy. David was wealthy. Moses was wealthy. What Jesus is saying is that we don't own it [wealth], we just manage it."
Jakes recently broadened his message to go beyond financial empowerment. He challenged the lending industry in a USA Today column this month after learning about a report that concluded that black and Hispanic home buyers were being targeted by "predatory" lenders. Jakes cited a study that showed blacks and Hispanics are 30 percent more likely than whites to be charged the highest rates.
"What year is this?" Jakes wrote. "Will well-meaning Americans stand by and send millions of people to the back of the lending bus while institutions target the neediest and pocket the money?"
Busby said Jakes doesn't need a seminar or a speaker to preach his message of financial empowerment. His own life offers supreme evidence that piety leads to prosperity. "That's why he's allowed to prosper," Busby said. "He's teaching us to do what he's doing."