(RNS) — Saying “I’m standing here as a testimony,” Bishop T.D. Jakes returned to his Dallas megachurch on New Year’s Eve for his first in-person appearance after suffering an unspecified medical incident in November.
“I had a fair amount of anxiety about walking out on this stage, standing in the same spot that I almost died in,” the Pentecostal minister told the congregation at The Potter’s House on Tuesday (Dec. 31). “In fact, I think I did. But God in his infinite wisdom and his great grace brought me back to this same spot,” he said to cheers and applause.
On Nov. 24, Jakes, 67, suffered what his church initially described as a “slight health incident” that prompted about a dozen people to rush to his side after he concluded preaching, lowered his microphone and started shaking in his seat.
Jakes spoke for about 55 minutes on Tuesday, standing occasionally at the pulpit on the stage but mostly walking and pausing near it. “I don’t come as Bishop Jakes. I come as Bishop Lazarus, to let you know that with God, all things are possible,” he said, citing the New Testament story about a man who is raised from the dead by Jesus.
A week after Jakes’ incident, the minister spoke in a seven-minute video to the congregation, describing himself as a “miracle” after surviving emergency surgery.
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As he did at that time and in an earlier video posted online, Jakes expressed his thanks to God, his supporters and his congregation.
“I want you to know you were praying all while they were doing surgery on me, and God brought me safely through,” Jakes said. He added, as he has previously, that he did not have a stroke but didn’t name a diagnosis. “I went through several hours of surgery. They almost lost me twice, but every time my numbers dropped, your prayers prevailed.”
Expressing his gratitude for the Dallas medical team that cared for him, Jakes asked a doctor and a chief of staff who were present to stand and be recognized as he reiterated his appreciation for being alive.
“Had the enemy had his way, we wouldn’t have had a Christmas. We’d have had a homegoing service,” he said, using a Black Christian term for a funeral. “But God.”
He also thanked his family, including Serita Jakes, his wife of 42 years, who had recently had knee surgery and stayed by his side during his hospital stay.
Bishop T.D. Jakes and his wife, Serita, during a New Year’s Eve service at The Potter’s House, Dec. 31, 2024, in Dallas. (Video screen grab)
When he spoke to the Dec. 1 service via video, Jakes said he would be taking a few weeks to recover. On Tuesday, Jakes implied he would both continue to get some rest and manage his obligations differently. “I have put the congregation first for 47 years,” he said. “I want you to be patient with me. I don’t want you to put all your expectations on me.”
He spoke of plans to “take care of me,” including beach time, water, oxygen and vitamin D, “and then whatever I got left, I’m going to serve you in the beauty of holiness.”
Jakes paused and took a drink from a goblet before adding that eventually “I’m gonna sit down,” and perhaps take up golf.
In a defamation lawsuit filed the day after Jakes’ medical incident, his lawyers attributed his illness to allegations by Duane Youngblood, a Pennsylvania minister, accusing Jakes of attempted sexual assault. “Youngblood’s intentional and malicious lies have taken a substantial emotional and physical toll on Bishop Jakes,” reads the suit. “On November 24 — the day before he filed this action — Bishop Jakes suffered a medical crisis on stage in the middle of his Sunday service in front of his entire church.”
In December, NBC News reported, a member of Jakes’ legal team filed a motion asking a California federal court to subpoena Google to reveal who posted videos about Jakes on YouTube that were generated by artificial intelligence. The motion said that Google, YouTube’s parent company, had violated its own misinformation policies.
Last year, NBC News said the videos “have implicated figures like Jakes in the allegations against (rapper Sean ‘Diddy’) Combs without evidence and used manipulated media to depict the celebrities engaging in lewd acts and exaggerated displays of emotion in video thumbnails.”
In May, the fact-checking website Snopes reported that Jakes had been the subject of “a months-old series of videos — many at least partially created with the assistance of artificial-intelligence tools — promoting unfounded rumors claiming Combs hosted ‘sex parties’ in which Jakes participated.”
Jakes spoke on Tuesday of his need for divine protection in the new year, including from manipulators of artificial intelligence.
“I need him because people have become more wicked, and they got more to be wicked with,” he said. “They’re taking good technical things like AI and using it for evil. I need him. I can’t even protect my image and my voice. I need the Lord.”
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