You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. - James 4: 4 (ESV)
"The world is gonna be the world and the
Church is gonna be the Church, and you have to understand the difference."
These were the words of Pastor TD Jakes just a few weeks ago after the Supreme Court ruled in favor of same sex marriage. To be honest, his assessment then was correct. The chicken little reaction across Christianity about the sky falling was far too shrill and frantic for people who claim to have a peace that surpasses all understanding. So TD was right when he said that we must understand the difference between the church and the world. And then he announced today that he would be featuring a cross-dresser at his annual "Mega-Fest" this summer. Many will remember at the 2013 Mega-Fest Bishop Jakes and Tyler Perry put on quite a show during the offering time. Perry pretended that God had spoken to him at that moment and instructed him to give a million dollars, hallelujah pass the offering plate! Of course for a man who has made 400 million dollars dressing as a woman, the one million represents less than half a tithe. In return for the million Jakes allowed Perry to play church on stage and lay hands on him. Jakes did the hallelujah shake as Perry rambled incoherently and all the charismaniacs went wild. This disgusting display was geared to maximize the offering and was manipulation of the highest order.
Fast forward two years and not only has Jakes not learned anything but he is doubling down in a most obscene way. Tyler Perry is not the guest at the year's Mega-Fest. His female persona, Madea is. Jakes will be putting on a play starring the cross-dressed Perry. With prices between $50-$90 per head, Jakes seems quite proud of himself:
"Madea always makes us all laugh while teaching valuable lessons that we remember long afterwards," Bishop T.D. Jakes said. "We are excited to welcome Tyler Perry back to MegaFest. Tyler is a friend and constant supporter of ours. We are happy to extend this platform to his fan base knowing that MegaFest attendees will enjoy this hilarious play. "
A million dollars goes a long way. It gets you an extended platform. The notion however that a preacher of the Gospel is turning to the world for "teaching valuable lessons" shows how far down the rabbit hole we have gone in modern day Christianity. We know Bible verses but do we believe them anymore? The key verse expressly teaches us that friendship with the world makes us an enemy of God! Do we understand that today? Do you think it is lost on the world that Christians were apoplectic when the Supremes ruled on gay marriage but two weeks later are openly embracing transvestitism? Not only that but in between his visits to the Potter's House Mega-Fests, Perry found time to father a child out of wedlock.
No big deal you say? Do you think for one minute it is lost on the world that most of Perry's films extol the virtues of traditional marriage and family yet he chose not to embrace that in his own life? Many have already dismissed Jakes and his Mega Fest because of the overt secular influences and the involvement of Oprah Winfrey but this year TD is taking it to another level in carnality. Do we even pretend to be in a spiritual war anymore? Is it any wonder that the church is impotent today? Jakes was absolutely right to declare that we need to understand the difference between the world being the world and the church being the church. It is just a shame that he clearly does not understand those differences.
Rev. Anthony - July 7, 2015
