MegaFest To Mega-Controversy

If controversy was what Bishop T.D. Jakes wanted as a result of MegaFest 2013, then he got ALL that he asked for and then some...

Put T.D. Jakes, Oprah Winfrey, and Tyler Perry together in one room, and what do you have? 3 of the wealthiest Black business people in the United States and 3 of the most popular individuals associated with the modern entertainment industry and at least one of which is associated with the gospel and gospel ministry. 

Now, place the same three people at a 3 day MegaFest Conference, add to that by having Tyler Perry lay hands on Jakes,  and Jakes and Oprah share the stage to talk about fatherlessness in America, and top all of that off with Oprah saying, while she's reaching out to God, "I need you"...and what do you have? Probably one of the most controversial and talked about events of the year. 

From pillar to post this event and what happened at the event is reverberating around facebook, google, and every internet venue.  If that was the point of the conference, then on that merit alone, it was a high success.

Why We Are Shocked. 

Many people are shocked because they don't want to believe that any of these people are real. Look at the criticisms, according to them; Tyler is gay, and if he isn't gay, he is unsaved. Look at the reasons why. His
stage presentations are more and more secular and worldly and he dresses in drag to entertain the masses. (which is a shameful thing that most Black actors have been made to do at some point in their entertainment careers) 

Then Oprah, a self proclaimed "Christian free-thinker" who has taken God "out of the box", as we all know, has embraced eclecticism and universalism and what I have called the "many paths" doctrine stating that God can be accessed through many other and various faith paths and beliefs any or all of which have nothing to do with Jesus and some of which are even contrary to the teachings of Jesus. For instance, she has embraced the spiritual deception and ramblings of Eckhart Tolle as I have documented in my series "The New Enlightenment", and teaches that Jesus did not come to die upon the cross, but came to show us the "Christ consciousness" which we all can have just like Jesus did...Oprah has been criticized by some as a modern type of "Jezebel" and a false "prophetess" for all of the aforementioned reasons and more. 

Then T.D. Jakes himself is also controversial. Aside from all that he has done and continues to do to better the plight of humanity through the work of his ministry, the critic says he is not saved because he doesn't understand or teach the trinity and or he too is an "in the closet" homosexual...Well, it is a fact that he tried to suggest that Ruth and Naomi had a lesbian relationship and that David and Jonathon's relationship was suspect as well. In fact here is his exact statement from a message:

“Ruth turns to Naomi and says “I shall not leave thee.” She makes her statement to this woman…that sounds somewhat, somewhere in between poetry, intimacy, and borders on lesbianism. People don’t even know how to explain what Ruth said to Naomi. It makes them uncomfortable. They’re afraid to talk about it. They don’t want to teach on it. Same thing with David and Jonathan…where there were same-sex relationships getting too close, people don’t even know what to say.” ~ [Bishop T.D. Jakes, "Nothing Just Happens" 2001 Woman Thou Art Loosed Conference]

Now, I am yet awaiting anyone who knows whether Bishop clarified or straightened up that statement to let me know...I am awaiting ANYONE who can clarify Oprah's statements and beliefs with additional statements she has made recanting the previous ones to point me toward them also. I certainly don't want to bear false witness. If either of these have corrected their statements, because they are human and may have spoken wrongly, we can promote their corrections just as readily as what was spoken was in obvious error.



So far as Jakes is concerned, even given that he meant what he said, while this teaching, probably done in effort to affirm homosexuals reaching toward Christianity, is no proof or evidence that Jakes himself is Gay. Some criticisms borderline on hysteria. The fact is that in spite of all the criticisms Jakes has managed to continue on and on and even larger and more far reaching in his influence than ever before. 

There are facts which cannot be denied mingled together with lies and aspersions that don't hold out, but many have assumed that God is not near any of these people. Is that a wrong or a false assumption to make however? 

Why Are We Shocked? 

Using the same words, switching the middle two "are" and "we" and adding a question mark creates a question. Who do we think God is, and do we think he has any limits?

Matthew 9:12 ~ But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. 

Luke 19:10 ~ For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. 

Christ has come to save and heal all of those who are what???....SICK and LOST!!!

As I stated some of the criticisms are FACTUAL without a doubt. I have presented the proof of such false doctrines and teachings. However, if any of the above criticisms, rumors, gossip and innuendo reflect the character of these people and is wholly true and reflective of the conditions of the hearts, why would God not show up to deliver these people?

Can anyone explain to me why a good God would withhold salvation from Jakes, Winfrey and Perry if they were not saved, and why we can't seem to fathom that God can touch, help, and heal ANYBODY of anything, even false doctrine, and beliefs? 

Have we lost our minds and been duped into believing that God isn't real? Must we have an intellectually fulfilling sentiment regarding someone else's plea, cry and petition to God, before we can authenticate them before God? Is there a vested interest in critics maintaining that some of the most influential and wealthiest Black individuals are somehow "inadequate"?

That is a topic worth discovering. I don't hear the criticism coming from the White community as much as I hear it from the Black community. What is that about?

I am not saying that they are real and I am certainly not saying that they are not. What I do know is this for sure:

Matthew 12:33 ~ Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit.

If Jakes, Winfrey and or Perry were not and are not real, they will produce the fruit that displays their falsity. What we as Saints  or believers, are charged to do is recognize "good fruit". "Good fruit" has nothing to do with buildings and bank accounts and or popularity. So on what basis can we assess their "fruit"? How do we know they are producing "good fruit"? 

Seems that is the conversation worth having. God is everywhere and if he was not at MegaFest, then he is not God. He blesses the just as well as the unjust everyday. Those blessings are not a license to sin, but some folk continue in sin even with HIS blessings. They will have to pay for their actions, just like each of us will.

Blessed!    

Proverbs 10:22 ~The blessing of the LORD, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it.