TD Jakes reveals he almost died in emotional return to pulpit after surgery
In an emotional and triumphant return to the pulpit on New Year's Eve, Bishop T.D. Jakes, founder of The Potter's House megachurch in Dallas, Texas, revealed to congregants that the "slight health incident" he suffered on stage while preaching on Nov. 24 required emergency surgery to keep him alive.
Jakes, who said he struggled with a "fair amount of anxiety" before walking out on stage to thunderous applause and cheers from his adoring congregants, had initially appeared reticent to divulge too many details about the incident that forced him to undergo several hours of surgery at Southern Methodist Hospital. But he shared enough to convey that doctors told him that had his team waited five minutes longer to get him medical care, he would have been "DOA."
"I'm so grateful to the Lord," Jakes said. "To be perfectly honest, in the spirit of my daughter, I'm going to be very transparent. I had a fair amount of anxiety about walking on this stage standing in the same spot that I almost died in," Jakes said. "In fact, I think I did, but God, in His infinite wisdom and His great grace, brought me back to this same spot."
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A video clip of the health incident that was posted on YouTube shows Jakes sharing how much he loved preaching and wasn't tired of his job before he began experiencing what appeared to be seizure-like symptoms on stage.
Moments later, it became clear to attendees that something was wrong. People on the stage rushed to his aid and surrounded him while congregants began praying before the livestream was disconnected.
Many who watched the incident in person and online speculated that Jakes may have had a stroke.
While Jakes didn't reveal the exact condition he suffered, he suggested it may have been an issue with his heart by sharing that Dr. Joseph Amos, a member of his church and chief of staff at Southern Methodist Hospital, "stayed on the shift for 24 hours until he was sure my heart was pumping again" after he did surgery.
"I want you to know you were praying all the while they were doing surgery on me, and God brought me safely through. I went through several hours of surgery. They almost lost me twice, but every time my numbers dropped, your prayers prevailed, and I'm standing here today on the glory of God," Jakes told congregants.
"Death had to back up off of me," he said. "I came back as a testimony that God heard the prayers of the righteous."
Jakes said there are some parts of the day he fell ill that he does not remember. He did not learn about what happened to him on stage until he watched a recording of the incident while he was at the hospital.
"What you saw happen to me on the stage, I didn't experience that like that. I wasn't there like that. While I was hunched over in the chair, He had me cradled in his presence. I didn't even know that I did that until I was in the ICU unit. Watching it on TV was the first time I saw what you saw," he said. "There are parts of the day I can't even remember now."
As he celebrated his return to the pulpit, Jakes, who jokingly referred to himself as "Bishop Lazarus," also appeared to make a lob at his critics.
"They said I had a stroke. They said I died. They said I wouldn't be back," he continued, striking a pose next to his pulpit as his congregants filled his punctuated silence with cheers.
"On behalf of my entire family, I want to give honor, first of all, to God. I want to thank God for the intercessors of this church that immediately went into spiritual warfare and started praying," Jakes said. "They tell me some folks; they had to ask you to leave because you prayed so long."
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