WHAT’S T.D. JAKES HIDING? (PART II)

“T.D. Jakes’ Delusion of Grandeur”

By Akin Ojumu

Puffery, embellishment, and prevarication of evasion have come to define contemporary Christianity. Ruling over the Body of Christ are powerful men and women oozing the odor of mendacity. Thick smoke of their hubris fills the air with pungent stench as they make sacrifice on the altar of haughtiness.

These anointed authoritarians demand from their followers, absolute devotion, total surrender, and unquestioning loyalty. And from everyone else, they expect submission of intellectual agency and suspension of disbelief. They see themselves as demigods and want to be worshiped as such.

It’s in this broader context that one should interpret Bishop T.D. Jakes’ expectation of blanket immunity from accountability for God’s anointed regardless of what they do. This is the backdrop for his expressed sentiment that the person anointed by God is above reproach and untouchable. It’s when you understand this, that you’ll appreciate why T.D. Jakes would say:

“We don’t have enough respect for God's anointed. When God anoints a person, no matter what they do, be careful about putting your mouth on them because they belong to God. If there’s any bringing down to be done God will bring them down not you. Because if you touch what God has appointed you become an enemy not of the person but an enemy of God. Talk to me, somebody!”

Now, to the question of why such an all-powerful deity like T.D. Jakes would want to crush a pesky but insignificant YouTube channel like African Plume just for posting a 34 second clip of his 80-minute sermon, here are some of the reasons he did.

Firstly, T.D. Jakes invoking a copyright violation against African Plume is an indication that the man is trying to hide something. A Christian preacher who claims copyright on a Christian sermon he preaches is a minister attempting to conceal something sinister.

For those of you who may not have heard, T.D. Jakes has been in the news recently, and it’s all for the wrong reasons. For the past several months, rumors of sexual impropriety have been swirling around the rambunctious prosperity preacher on social media. Several unverified allegations that he has engaged in sexual orgies have been levied against him.

“More recently, unverified allegations of sexual misconduct at parties hosted by hip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs have put Jakes in headlines. In December, a TikTok and YouTube video alleged that Jakes engaged in gay sex at Combs’s parties. Separately, a talk-show host accused Jakes of improper behavior with a young male.” (Christianity Today, January 12, 2024).

Allegation of sexual hanky-panky, even if it’s uncorroborated, is a ballistic missile that could potentially blow up a multi-million-dollar business empire to smithereens. This would explain why T.D. Jakes and his minions are scouring the internet and social media looking to snuff out anyone who could potentially say something bad about the man.

Secondly, even though the African Plume YouTube is far removed from the major league of social media and cannot be considered a social media influencer, it became a target of T.D. Jakes’ censorship anyways because the post for which it was stamped with a copyright strike garnered a lot of attention. As of the time the post was pulled down on YouTube, it had attracted more than 2,600 views, and hundreds of likes and comments.

Most of the comments, as you can imagine, were negative and unflattering. The people wanted to know why a man of God would want to shield himself from public scrutiny by claiming he is an untouchable anointed of God. Such public reprimand and admonishment must have rubbed the great T.D. Jakes the wrong way.

Furthermore, T.D. Jakes has a god complex. This man has an inflated view of his privilege, ability, and infallibility. A Christian minister who believes “When God anoints a person, no matter what they do, be careful about putting your mouth on them because they belong to God,” is a minister with serious moral blemishes and deep darkness in their soul.

“Touch not my anointed ones, do my prophets no harm!” (1 Chronicles 16:22 and Psalms 105:15).

It’s bad enough that a man of God believes he is untouchable and unassailable, it’s even much worse that he’d manipulate and twist Scripture to justify his faultlessness. Be wary of any preacher who tells you God’s anointed is beyond reproach and that it’s not your place to question God’s anointed. Anyone who uses the above Bible texts as a shield against criticisms is a Bible twister and blasphemer.

“But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge.” (1 John 2:20).

It’s important for the Church to remember that Christianity has no caste system. There are no Christian elites and God does not have special breeds. 

All believers in Christ need to realize that they also are God’s anointed. Every born-again Christian is full of the Holy Spirit and anointed to preach the Gospel. None is greater than the other in God’s Kingdom.