Free Republic

Two of Texas's most popular megachurch pastors, T.D. Jakes of The Potter's House and Robert Jeffress of First Baptist Church, Dallas, reflected dueling positions on the state's controversial voter identification law. Jakes dismissed it as "needless" while Jeffress argued that the law is necessary ahead of Tuesday's mid-term elections. The Texas legislature passed Senate Bill 14 (SB 14) into law in 2011 in a bid to curb voter fraud. It requires voters seeking to cast their ballots in person to present photo identification, such as a Texas driver's or gun license, a military ID or a passport according to votetexas.gov....

If I wanted to turn thousands of African-Americans and Hispanics away from churches committed to the Reformation doctrines of grace I would create a public event where a couple of white Calvinist pastors publicly argue against a well-known and respected black pastor in Pentecostal circles. This is exactly what could happen on Jan. 25, as James MacDonald, along with his co-moderator Mark Driscoll, will host pastor T.D. Jakes for a public conversation in The Elephant Room. According to the website, “The Elephant Room features blunt conversations between seven influential pastors who take differing approaches to ministry.” MacDonald, a council member...

Bishop T.D. Jakes, a Dallas megachurch pastor who will be preaching at Lakewood Church during Memorial Day weekend, is calling out Franklin Graham on his his hesitancy to accept Obama as a Christian and asking he apologize for casting speculation onto the president’s faith. We didn’t question the Christianity of President Bush when he said he accepted Christ, and I’m disappointed in Rev. Franklin Graham in that regard,” Jakes told Martin. ”…And I would hope that he would see the rationale in apologizing for such statements — because if the president’s faith is suspect, then all of our faiths are...

FORT WORTH, Texas—Authorities say they are investigating a natural gas explosion at the Fort Worth, Texas, home of megachurch pastor T.D. Jakes. Fort Worth fire spokesman Lt. Kent Worley says the blast Sunday in the sunroom of the home appears to have been an accident. Authorities say no one was injured and there was no fire. The sunroom was heavily damaged. Worley says the room had a gas-fed pool heater and a large gas-fed barbecue grill.

Obama eventually stopped defending and attending such a “church”, but only after poll numbers demanded that he do so. During Obama’s campaign he has not hesitated to throw anyone under the bus that threatens his shot at the prize, including his own place of worship. His loyalty to any one group, is always subject to “change.”

The Lighthouse Trails and Research Project, a religious watchdog organization founded in 2000 by David and Deborah Dombrowski, call eastern spiritual practices “New Age Spirituality” and list it as “a sweeping phenomenon.” The Lighthouse Trials and Research Project goes on to further say, “Christian leaders are embracing practices and a new spirituality that borrows from Eastern mysticism and New Age philosophy… and involve many of the most popular evangelical leaders including Rick Warren, Brian McLaren, Richard Foster, Tony Campolo, and Eugene Peterson.” In Warren's Purpose-Driven Life, he does encourages people to practice "breath prayers" by repeating words and phrases over...

GRAPEVINE, Texas (SBT)—Pentecostal mega-church pastor T.D. Jakes of Dallas, often criticized for holding a non-trinitarian view of God, will speak for the second time during Fellowship Church of Grapevine's Creative Church Conference (C3) for pastors. Jakes will appear at the Southern Baptist congregation Feb. 22-23 along with fellow preachers Mark Driscoll, pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, LifeChurch pastor Craig Groeschel of Edmond, Okla., and Houston pastor and former SBC president Edwin Young, father of Fellowship pastor Ed Young. Jakes is internationally known for his media ministry and as pastor of The Potter's House. He has been featured in...

As a sidebar to a story on the religious right, The Independent newspaper from the United Kingdom offers a brief review of some of the incredibly large Evangelical churches that are at the forefront of the movement: Radiant Church Surprise, Arizona; members: 6,000 Radiant spends $16,000 annually on Krispy Kreme donuts. Pastor McFarland told the New York Times: ''We want the church to look like a mall, so you come in and say, 'Dude, where's the cinema?' Brentwood Baptist Church Houston, Texas; members: 12,000 Has its own McDonald's, complete with golden arches and a drive-thru. Saddleback Church Lake Forest, California;...

In Mark 8:36, Jesus asked, "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" Now demographer George Barna has demonstrated the wisdom of those words—on more than one level.In a recent survey, Barna’s staff asked respondents for their reactions towards 16 public figures, ranging from actor Denzel Washington to singer Britney Spears to best-selling author and pastor Rick Warren.Not surprisingly, far more people recognized movie stars Mel Gibson (95 percent) and Washington (93 percent) than anyone else. What’s illuminating for evangelicals is the lack of recognition of most of their leading...

Warren's The Purpose Driven Life is reportedly the biggest selling non-fiction book in U.S. history, aside from the Bible. He heads one of the largest megachurches in the nation - Saddleback Community Church - and is publicized by media around the world. The survey released Monday, however, found that 72 percent of adults say they have never heard of him. The megachurch pastor is also unknown among born again Christians with 63 percent saying they have never heard of him. Americans are a little more familiar with Christian psychologist James Dobson. Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family, hosts a...

(Ventura, CA) – A new survey conducted by The Barna Group found that the most positive feelings Americans had toward 16 public figures, including politicians, entertainers and ministers, were awarded to actor Denzel Washington. The least favorable image was associated with singer Britney Spears. The range of opinions was significant: 85% had a favorable view of Mr. Washington and just 2% held a negative view of him. In contrast, 34% had a positive view of Ms. Spears but 54% had a negative opinion of her. The survey discovered several unexpected patterns in people’s reactions to the 16 public figures assessed....

From the best selling novel and stage play, WOMAN THOU ART LOOSED (WTAL), comes the film adaptation of Bishop T.D. Jakes’ tale of dysfunction, isolation and finally, inspiration. WTAL tells the story of Michelle Jordan (Kimberly Elise), a young woman who grows up in an environment of abuse and molestation by the hands of her mother’s boyfriend Reggie (Clifton Powell); while her mother Cassie (Loretta Devine) looks the other way. These circumstances lead young Michelle into the dark abyss of drugs, prostitution and prison. While incarcerated, Michelle sends Bishop Jakes (Bishop T.D. Jakes, playing himself) a letter seeking a visit....

Are you honked off at the article by so-called "reporter" Lara Jakes Jordan of the Associated Press? Well, here's how you can voice your opinion. LJordan@ap.org You can also send a message to her boss. NPrott@AP.org (I'm pretty sure about the spelling, but not 100% - it's hard to tell when you're calling from Qatar...) Or you can call or write to the DC bureau where Mrs. Jordan works. Washington 2021 K Street NW, 6th Floor Washington DC 20006-1082 (202) 776-9400