I chose to present myself as one who comes from among the people, and I can be touched by their pain because I have my own.
— T. D. Jakes
One of the things about my ministry is that I have never branded myself as being above the people or superior to people.
I think the first step is to understand that forgiveness does not exonerate the perpetrator. Forgiveness liberates the victim. It's a gift you give yourself.
I think that my preaching style and many of my ideas and ideals about faith are based in both Pentecostal and Baptist background.
I was raised in the Baptist church... but I didn't really have a real committed experience with Christ until my father died.
I think it is important that we rebuild an atmosphere of forgiveness and civility in every aspect of our lives.
Children are not unforgiving. You can punish them and they will hug you in a few minutes.
The first time I walked on a stage I knew that was what I was created to do. I knew that there was a calling and a sense of purpose in my life that gave me fulfillment and a sense of destiny.
Forgiveness is about empowering yourself, rather than empowering your past.
I don't dislike anybody. I love everybody.
There is nothing I'm any more passionate than empowering the next generation.
And another thing is that I think as a church whenever we become politically driven, we alienate at least 50 percent of the people that God called us to reach with our political orientations.
I raised five children. They all have different personalities. All of them have different issues, different levels of success. That was a learning experience for me.
When you make a decision to forgive it's a decision that you have to make intellectually.
My first church had seven members in it, and I have to remember, the rent was $225 a month and I worked for Union Carbide and took the check I made from work to pay for the rent to keep the church open.
I actually grew up playing the piano in the church and was deeply involved in music ministry.
When my father died, I had a real experience with Christ, a real conversion with Christ and I had it in a Oneness church.
We cannot embrace God's forgiveness if we are so busy clinging to past wounds and nursing old grudges.
Resist your fear; fear will never lead to you a positive end. Go for your faith and what you believe.
We think that forgiveness is weakness, but it's absolutely not; it takes a very strong person to forgive.
I'm for people bettering themselves, no matter who they are and where they are, doing all they can to be all they can be.
So though there are many things I would have done differently, I submit to God's sovereignty and His purpose in my life and I thank Him that He brought me the way He brought me and gave me what He gave me when He thought I could handle it.
But I think my mistakes became the chemistry for my miracles. I think that my tests became my testimonies.
As a Christian, Christ died so that we will have eternal life in Him in Heaven. What it looks like doesn't matter, what it smells like doesn't matter, as long as Christ is there it will be Heaven to me.
I don't think that you can let the storms of life overwhelm you. When you do that, you are no better than the craziness that caused you to be under attack.
Here is the amazing thing about Easter; the Resurrection Sunday for Christians is this, that Christ in the dying moments on the cross gives us the greatest illustration of forgiveness possible.
I like to see myself as a bridge builder, that is me building bridges between people, between races, between cultures, between politics, trying to find common ground.
There are no college courses to build up self-esteem or high school or elementary school. If you don't get those values at a early age, nurtured in your home, you don't get them.
My father was a Methodist and my mother was a Baptist.
We develop our propensity to forgive or not to forgive by what we see illustrated at the early ages of our development.
It is your passion that empowers you to be able to do that thing you were created to do.
If you learn how to forgive others for not being strong, then people can learn how to forgive you for your own issues.
I'm not particularly political. I'm not particularly denominational. I'm not worried about any of that.
I think most people who get into their 50s reassess what made sense and what didn't make sense.
I want to congratulate all the men out there who are working diligently to be good fathers whether they are stepfathers, or biological fathers or just spiritual fathers.
I think the amazing thing about gospel music is that not only does it lift up the death and resurrection of our Lord, which is consistent with the Gospel, but it is uniquely communicated depending upon the generation.
