Q&A with Bishop T.D. Jakes

By Jackie Moore
B-Zine Writer

 Bishop T. D. Jakes, one of the world's most widely recognized pastors, is the bestselling author of Woman Thou Art Loosed and 16 other popular books. He has inspired millions through his speaking tours, and his television show, The Potter's Touch, airs weekly on Trinity Broadcast Network. Senior Pastor of The Potter's House, a multiracial, nondenominational church, Bishop Jakes lives in Dallas, Texas with his wife, Serita, and five children. I recently spoke with him via telephone regarding relationships and marriage and his latest novel, Not Easily Broken.

JM: Good afternoon Bishop.  First of all please let me say that I am a huge admirer of your work both in and out of the pulpit.  Your ministry is far-reaching, yet very personable.  You have an awesome gift that allows you to touch the hearts and souls of those you are ministering to. This leads me to my first question. How do you find the time to write?

TDJ: I find writing to be very therapeutic.  I write whenever I can. I write early in the mornings, late at night and even on the airplane.  To me writing books is just an extension of my writing sermons.  However, there are times when I have to have help for example, when I am writing a screenplay.

JM: As I mentioned earlier, you definitely have a gift that allows you to touch people’s hearts, but I believe that gift extends even further with your ability to confront real issues from a woman’s perspective.  That’s not something that you see everyday from male ministers, how do you explain that?

TDJ: In my work as a minister, I have counseled many women.  Then one day I realized that I got it!  I heard their issues and I wanted to address them.  Which led to me to write “Woman Though Art Loose,” as well as other books that addressed women’s issues.  

What I garnered from my experiences was that what most women learned about men came from other women.  I wanted to talk to them from a man’s perspective and let them know, that we hear them and we have some of those same issues.

JM: After reading “Not Easily Broken, I must say that once again, you have managed to capture some very real issues. Why fiction?  Why this theme, why troubled marriages in fiction?

TDJ: I think its reality.  It’s easier to look at other people lives, in a proactive way to draw attention to the experience.  It goes beyond the teaching element and works better in theory, than in reality.  You see the reality of day-to-day life.  Just connecting different personalities and how we mesh personalities based on how we are raised, and how they impact our relationships.  

JM: What was the message of this book?

TDJ: My message was from the book of Ecclesiastes 4:12: “Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves.  A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” When God is at the center of a marriage, that marriage is not easily broken.  If both parties are willing to work things out, the marriage can be saved.  God hates divorce, however, God still loves you whether you are divorced or not.  My job as a minister is to reconcile relationships and help couples work things out.  Whether you fall short of scriptures doesn’t mean that God won’t still love you.  Unfortunately, not all marriages can be worked out.  I try to help couples make the best choice for themselves.

JM: In your ministry you seem to be moving more to relationships with marriage ministry.  What impacted that change?

TDJ: As you get older your experiences change and as I minister to a much wider audience, I see a change in marriage statistics. In the book we look at the catalyst for this.    African Americans tend to be impacted more by this change.  The book reflects traditional modern day families.

JM: What can men and women do to prepare for successful or long-term marriages?

TDJ: Too much emphasis or focus is put on packaging, not product.  Couples need to focus more on the internals of who you will be with for the long haul.  Ask the right questions. See how they feel about children, bills, money, how do they deal with anger, or how do you handle a bad day at work.  

JM: What do you want readers to take away from this book?

TDJ: When God is in the marriage, when God is apart of that unity a marriage is not easily broken.  It is possible to hold a marriage together when flawed.  Don’t give up too easily.

JM: Will this book be made into film?

TDJ: Yes, I am currently working on the screenplay.  The concept for the story came from a play we did at the Potter’s House, entitled, “Behind Closed Doors.” It was loosely based on the Old Testament story about Abraham, Sarah and Hagar and how bringing others into your relationship impact that relationship.

JM: Well Bishop Jakes, I want to thank you for your time and I want you to know that I thoroughly enjoyed both your book and our interview.


For more information on Bishop Jakes and his new novel, Not Easily Broken, please visit his website at www.tdjakes.com. You can find his books at bookstores nationwide.