As I am making my daily rounds on LGBT news websites I came across the story of T.D. Jakes son, Jermaine Jakes being arrested in a "gay sex sting." The first question that came to my mind was, "how will the church respond to him?"
I can only imagine the conversations, arguments, accusations, etc. that are going on within the Jakes family and the Potters House Church. I do not condone Jermaine's behavior, however Martin Luther King Jr. once said, "Any religion that professes to be concerned with the souls of men and is not concerned with the slums that damn them, the economic conditions that strangle them, the social conditions that cripple them is a dry-as-dust religion."
It is important for us to understand the oppression that brings not just Jermaine but others to the point where they have to live their lives in secret. When we are not able to live open and honest lives (no matter what its about) the oppression of our secrets leads to incidents like this. It causes us to live double lives, to go out and get what we need in ways that may not be healthy. We need to be concerned with this oppression and why Jermaine and others feel he has to fear who he is. I hope his church and the church as a whole will understand this and not cast him out.
This is the time where the church needs to open their arms wider, love Jermaine stronger, and not let him go. Instead of calling out the hypocrisy in this situation, let us recognize the oppression which has caused this and hope to bring it to an end.
Spread love,
Azariah Southworth
