TD Jakes, Oprah to Continue Talk on Fatherless Children Sunday
Bishop T.D. Jakes, senior pastor at The Potter's House church in Texas, and Oprah Winfrey will carry on their conversation on fatherless children on "Oprah's Lifeclass" show Sunday evening, focusing on the healing process. The show was taped during Jakes' recent three-day MegaFest.
The show's website features a preview clip, showing Jakes telling an audience at the American Airlines Arena in Dallas, Texas, that children who grew up without their fathers around them should try to "understand the wounds of your father," as that would help them heal faster.
The show, to be aired Sunday at 9 p.m. ET on OWN, is the second of the two episodes taped during the MegaFest event on Aug. 29 in Dallas.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
"The problem is generational," Jakes says. "It's not situational. It didn't just start with you. There is a reason when you go to the physician today, he asks you about the health of your grandmother and your mother and your aunt. Your story doesn't begin with you. It started before you got here."
Oprah responds, "Oh, that's good."
Bishop Jakes said it is possible that you could be angry with a victim, and therefore it is important to understand that your father could be a victim himself. "And if you don't understand that, you don't have the connectivity to understand and work together on the issue to break that generational problem… curse that's hanging over your life …so that you can be free and stop it from happening to the next generation."
Airing on Oprah Winfrey Network, "Oprah Lifeclass" is an Emmy Award-winning primetime show hosted and produced by Oprah. Each episode revolves around a central topic or lesson that teaches viewers how to live their best life.
Talking about fatherless homes, Oprah said during the recording, "The truth is that you can't be a father and a mother," The Christian Post reported last week. Jakes then stresses that God designed the family to have a father and a mother to provide children with comfort and security.
Jakes also said some women find it difficult to believe that the man can become a good father if given the opportunity, and that's because she was not treated well by him. "Mothers use the children as a switch to beat-up their fathers," he said. "If anyone's ever seen a switch, the switch gets beat too."
Jakes urged mothers to abstain from using their children as a weapon against their exes. "Don't allow your personal feelings to make you an unjust judge." However, he added, "Not every man is good. If your ex is a substance abuser or physically abusive, then you are wise not to send your child to be with him."
Jakes also said having a relationship with God helps in the healing process. "You are not unprotected, you are not in that apartment by yourself, you are never alone," he said. "When the disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray, the very first words out of his mouth was our Father."
Jakes was twice featured in Time magazine as "America's Best Preacher" and one of the nation's "25 most influential evangelicals."
