T.D. Jakes is the founder and senior pastor of one of the largest churches in the nation, The Potter’s House, in Dallas, TX. Jakes is a well-known prosperity gospel preacher who has embraced not only the heresy of the Word of Faith movement but also a heretical view of the trinity known as modalism.
The Prosperity Gospel–also known as “Health and Wealth Gospel,” “Name it and Claim it,” and “Word of Faith”–is a perversion of the biblical gospel that teaches that the primary purpose of Jesus’ death and resurrection is to create material gain for those who have enough “faith.” Other prominent adherents to this false gospel are found primarily in the charismatic movement and include prominent figures such as Kenneth Copeland, Creflo Dollar, and Joel Osteen.
But equally as troubling is Jakes’ view on the trinity. Modalism is the theological false doctrine that the members of the Trinity are not three distinct persons but rather three “modes” or “manifestations” of activity (the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) under which God manifests himself. The official statement of faith on Jakes’ church website reads:
There is one God, Creator of all things, infinitely perfect, and eternally existing in three manifestations: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
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This is clear and undeniable modalism, it is heresy.
And then we have Priscilla Shirer, a good friend and a disciple of well-known prophet-preacher Beth Moore. Besides the fact that women preaching and teaching men in the church is unbiblical, these two women regularly claim to receive extra-biblical revelation from God and promote other unbiblical practices such as mysticism, and contemplative prayer.
Priscilla Shirer was a participant in the heretical DVD on contemplative prayer, Be Still, and she even addresses this criticism on her web page. Though it may sound like she supports a biblical view of prayer at first glance, looking deeper into what she is saying, it becomes clear that she doesn’t understand what biblical prayer and meditation are. In her FAQ she says, “By participating in the Be Still project, we by no means meant to convey our agreement with the theological viewpoints and positions of other participants yet we did believe (and still do) in the over-arching theme of the resource and that is why I agreed to do it.” This is a contradictory statement. The theological viewpoints and positions of the participants are the overarching theme of the DVD, and she says she supports it.
So what do we get when we put these two heretics together? A social justice sermon about how Jesus came to set marginalized and oppressed women free.
In a recent Easter program on TBN, Shirer and Jakes team up with Max Lucado for a special program. During that program, Jakes introduces Priscilla Shirer who then goes on to preach this sermon that is more about Mary Magdalene than it is about Jesus.