I did my undergraduate studies at Morgan State University in Baltimore so you know what that means – I know how to play spades. To be perfectly honest with you, one of my favorite past times is whooping church folks in spades. But if there’s one thing I can’t stand is a person who renigs. Now some people renig on purpose and other people renig by “accident”. And I’m trying to find out which category Bishop TD Jakes belongs in.
Apparently, he just made a boo boo. Back in June, Jakes pledged to partner with Black media in an effort to strengthen the Black Church and the Black Media. However, these days the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), a federation of more than 200 Black newspapers, feels like it got….as the kids say…”dissed”.
Many of you know that MegaMess…oops…sorry, I’m still thinking about Elder Craige Lewis’ website MEGA FEST is going on this week down in Atlanta and the NNPA is saying that Jakes did not spend one dime on advertising with them this week.
Now ya’ll know me…I like to investigate and get the full story and here’s what I found. According to an NNPA article from June 2005; Jakes did not explicitly say that he would spend $$ on advertising for MegaFest with Black Newspapers he just talked about forging a partnership. Here…you read his quotes for yourself:
Today is the beginning of a reconciliation between the Black church and the Black Press. Not to say that we ever fell out, but, like many marriages, you don’t have to fall out to grow apart…She gets busy and you get busy and you don’t notice what day it is, but you have grown apart. And I think we were so busy finally building churches, finally being able to buy churches and facilities, and you were so busy doing what you’re doing that we just stopped talking to each other…I see our union as an opportunity to extend our voice to your audience and extend your voice to our audience. But that marriage has got to be a powerful tool and an impetus for great change…The reality is that we live in a nation as African-Americans, that we cannot get a GED without understanding White culture, but they can get a Ph.D and not understand us. And because we live in that environment, they can be well-educated, well-informed, oÂn the cutting edge, read the Wall Street Journal every day and not have a clue as to how to tap into our market base…By coming up with a way that we can say to our sources or to our sponsors that we not oÂnly represent 1.5 million oÂn our mailing list, 30,000 members in our church, but we have a relationship with 200 Black newspapers who are serving this number of people [15 million] and let’s negotiate and advertise collectively.
Ok that was Jakes back in June 2005 and here are some quotes from an NNPA article about what’s going on now…
…when his MegaFest 2005, one of the largest religious conferences ever, rolls into Atlanta this week with an estimated 150, 000 people in attendance not one single dime will have been spent with Atlanta’s Black press.
We got nothing, he’s not spending anything with Black newspapers,†says Cheryl Mainor, advertising and marketing director for The Atlanta Voice
President John Smith, publisher of the Atlanta Inquirer, says that Jakes can’t play dumb on this issue. He said that he called Jakes himself about supporting Black Newspapers during MegaFest, but it seems like the call fell on deaf ears.
So what do you think.
Did Jakes renig on his promise to support Black Media during MegaFest this week in Atlanta?
OR
Did the Black Newspaper folks down there read too much into his comments and ASSumed that Jakes would show them the money?
submit your comments below.
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First I find the article itself “interesting.” I understand that we as African Americans have a “tendency” to be separate on many issues concerning our community. Lets really look at the comments Bishop Jakes said. He never blatantly said that he would advertise with Black media nor did he say he wouldn’t either. What was said was that there needs to be some kind of agreement between the Black Church and the Black media so that both voices could be effectively heard. Now to be angry because he chose not to advertise with Black media is understandable yet at the same time a wealth of wasted energy on something that was a man’s choice. How can we be angry if a man chooses the way he wants to spend his money. Ultimately it was his decision, not our opinion.
Well I think the marriage analogy that he used was good. And I remember a song in the 80′s went a little like this “No romance without finance.” How are the black church and the black media going to come together without financially patronizing each other? Something smells a little fishy. I wrote a post on the same issue. A little more critical. Be sure to check the MLK link at the bottom and compare and contrast.
http://nopsychologicalromance.blogspot.com/2005/08/td-fakeson-black-news-media.htm
I have a question if his ministry was small with very little exposure would you be bashing him on your website? And this Elder Craig’s website is a joke..How can a man of God be so negative. The church is not about abuilding, but ministrying to the lost not just to your members.
T.D. Jakes, the man his mission his master.
I’m sure that anyone who came up from the same background as he, would find it hard to be perfect in the way that “Christians” would demand; if they rose to such a station in life.
I only hope and pray that he put’s God first and takes the focus and plces it where it should be. After all, that is what we will do when we lay our crowns at Christ’s feet.