T. D. Jakes

I raised five children. They all have different personalities. All of them have different issues, different levels of success. That was a learning experience for me.

We cannot embrace God's forgiveness if we are so busy clinging to past wounds and nursing old grudges.

Forgiveness is about empowering yourself, rather than empowering your past.

I like to see myself as a bridge builder, that is me building bridges between people, between races, between cultures, between politics, trying to find common ground.

I'm not particularly political. I'm not particularly denominational. I'm not worried about any of that.

And another thing is that I think as a church whenever we become politically driven, we alienate at least 50 percent of the people that God called us to reach with our political orientations.

Here is the amazing thing about Easter; the Resurrection Sunday for Christians is this, that Christ in the dying moments on the cross gives us the greatest illustration of forgiveness possible.

I chose to present myself as one who comes from among the people, and I can be touched by their pain because I have my own.

One of the things about my ministry is that I have never branded myself as being above the people or superior to people.

If you learn how to forgive others for not being strong, then people can learn how to forgive you for your own issues.

It is your passion that empowers you to be able to do that thing you were created to do.

I don't dislike anybody. I love everybody.