TD Jakes made his return to the pulpit on New Year’s Eve after a very public health incident while delivering a sermon just before Thanksgiving required him to be rushed to the hospital. Speaking to his congregation at The Potter’s House in Dallas, Jakes revealed just how serious the incident had really been. “I’m so grateful to the Lord. To be perfectly honest, in the spirit of my daughter, I’m going to be very transparent,” he said, admitting he had been anxious about appearing on stage and that he had nearly died there. “In fact, I think I did [die], but God, in His infinite wisdom and His great grace, brought me back to this same spot.” He further revealed that he’d had a stroke and that during his hours-long surgery, “they almost lost me twice.” “They said if I’d have gotten there five minutes later, I’d have been D.O.A.” He credited prayers for his survival.
Jakes used his experience to try to encourage the members of his congregation. “I don’t know what you’re going through tonight but let this be a signal to you that you’re on your way to a comeback. And if I’m talking directly to you, and if all the odds have been against you, and if they couldn’t hardly get a pulse on you, and if you couldn’t hardly recognize anybody, and everybody said you weren’t going to make it, I’m standing here as a testimony.” Jakes then referred to himself as “Bishop Lazarus” as he wanted “to let you know that with God all things are possible.”
Jakes had spoken to his congregation in December after the incident through a video message. “Many of you don’t realize that you’re looking at a miracle. I faced a life-threatening calamity, was rushed to the ICU unit, had emergency surgery, survived the surgery,” he said. “I’m grateful to God for his goodness and his mercy, and to not just our local church, but to the global community that follows this ministry. I’m in good spirits,” he continued. “I feel good, I’m in no pain, I’m in peace and tranquility, and I want you to know that I can feel your prayers.”
2024 was a trying year for the megachurch pastor, with social media conspiracies linking him to the alleged “sex parties” hosted by Sean “P Diddy” Combs. Jakes’s lawyer filed a defamation lawsuit against a minister in Pennsylvania named Duane Youngblood, who has accused Jakes of sexual assault. The suit, filed just after Jakes’s health incident, implied that the false allegations could be responsible for Jakes’s deteriorating health. “Youngblood’s intentional and malicious lies have taken a substantial emotional and physical toll on Bishop Jakes,” it said, citing the incident on stage. Jakes’s attorney, Dustin Pusch, has also filed a motion to subpoena Google to discover the identities of four YouTube accounts that have made videos alleging Jakes’s involvement in Combs’s parties. The accounts appear to be using AI-generated images according to the motion. Jakes referred to the accounts during his NYE sermon, stating, “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.” The motion against Google has not yet been approved, but it is likely that Jakes will also seek defamation charges against the YouTube account owners should their identities be obtained.