Hello 

Create Profile

Creating your profile will enable you to submit photos and stories to get published on News24.


Please provide a username for your profile page:

This username must be unique, cannot be edited and will be used in the URL to your profile page across the entire 24.com network.

Settings

Location Settings

News24 allows you to edit the display of certain components based on a location. If you wish to personalise the page based on your preferences, please select a location for each component and click "Submit" in order for the changes to take affect.









Facebook Sign-In

Hi News addict,

Join the News24 Community to be involved in breaking the news.

Log in with Facebook to comment and personalise news, weather and listings.

 
 

TD Jakes heads to SA

2008-10-09 16:49
line

Johannesburg - It's time for Americans to look beyond their borders, superstar Texas preacher TD Jakes said on Thursday as he prepared to hold his trademark Megafest outside the US for the first time.

The best-selling pastor of Dallas megachurch The Potter's House is throwing his signature event - part religious festival, part self-help fair, part gospel concert - at a convention centre near Soweto this weekend.

Jakes debuted the event in Atlanta in 2004 and has drawn hundreds of thousands of people over the years.

He cited the global economic meltdown sparked by America's credit crisis and the terror attacks on September 11 as examples of why Americans need to pay more attention to the world and their role in it.

"We can no longer live in corners and just care about ourselves," he told The Associated Press.

Our brothers' keepers

"Americans are becoming increasingly global-minded. If there were anything positive that came out of 9-11, it's the realisation that we are our brothers' keepers."

Jakes has preached outside the US before, and South Africans at the press conference on Thursday quoted from his books. But he's never taken on anything so ambitious as staging a Megafest abroad.

For the past year, more than 300 people have worked in the US and South Africa to prepare for the event, in which he said his church had invested $7m.

Tickets were selling for just R25 ($2.71), and Jakes said he hoped only to break even.

The US has a tradition of superstar preachers. Jakes is among the best known of today's group, along with Rick Warren of the Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California and Joel Osteen of Lakewood Church in Houston.

Distinctly American

Their appeal is testament to the power of two ideas: That spirituality can be a kind of self-help therapy, and that churches can be more than places to worship, but catalysts for community and political activism.

When Jakes preaches that Jesus died to make us free, and "we are not truly free until we are economically free," he sounds distinctly American.

But the sentiment is not foreign to South Africa, where religious leaders like retired Cape Town Archbishop Desmond Tutu helped lead the fight against apartheid, and megachurches are blooming in Johannesburg suburbs.

Nkanyiso Bhengu, a popular South African actor, TV host and gospel singer, says young preachers across South Africa are copying Jakes' approach and warm style after seeing his DVDs. Bhengu listens to Jakes' CDs when he's on the road with his gospel group.

"He's very spiritual, but he understands the world that we live in," Bhengu said. "It makes Jesus tangible. It makes God tangible."

Megafest participants will also be able to get free Aids tests and advice on starting businesses.

While he's been in the region, Jakes has built homes for Aids orphans in the Johannesburg area and, working with the Christian aid group World Vision, opened a learning and feeding centre for Aids orphans in neighbouring Swaziland.

- AP

inside news24

 
1 of 10

140
1
 
Traffic
Lottery
 
  • Friday Carletonville - 10:01 AM
    Road name: N14
    ROAD CLOSED due to a large sink-hole between the two Carletonville exits - traffic is diverted onto a local bypass route
  • Sunday Volksrust - 07:33 AM
    Road name: N11 Both Ways
    Stop / go controls for construction works at Majuba Pass - expect delays between Volksrust and Newcastle
  • Monday Centurion - 15:41 PM
    Road name: Jean Avenue
    ROAD CLOSED between Rabie Street and Gerhard Street for sink hole repair works
 
More traffic reports...
 

Jobs [change area]

Cars[change area]

PEUGEOT

307 XT 1.6 5-dr
2004
R 85,000.00

TOYOTA

Corolla 160i GLE MY02
2005
R 99,990.00

TOYOTA

Corolla 140i MY05
2007
R 109,990.00

Property [change area]

Travel - Look, Book, Go!

Romance at the President

Spend two nights at the Protea Hotel President in Cape Town from R2601 per person sharing. Includes return flights, taxes, car hire and accommodation. Book Now!

Kalahari.com - shop online today

The Big Mama Sale

The Big Mama Sale is now on. Get up to 80% off Books, Music, DVDs, Games, Electronics, Toys & Gifts. Shop now.

Electronics on Sale

Up to 80% off electronics + 24hr delivery. Shop now.

50% Off Educo toys

Join the Big Mama Sale madness at kalahari.com and get 50% off all Educo toys for your kids. Terms and conditions apply. Shop now.

Books on Sale

Up to 80% off books & 1000s Of books to choose from. First come, first served. While stocks last. Shop now.

Blu-ray special offer

Buy 10 blu-rays and get a free Sony blu-ray player. Offer valid while stocks last. Shop now.

OLX Free Classifieds [change area]

Drain & Pipe Inspection System

For Sale, Garage Sale in South Africa, Gauteng, Johannesburg. Date January 21

2011 Mazda 2 1.5 Dynamic

Vehicles, Cars in South Africa, Gauteng, Johannesburg. Date January 22

Estimator

Jobs, Engineering Jobs - Architecture Jobs in South Africa, Gauteng, Johannesburg. Date January 21

The Big Mama Sale

The Big Mama Sale is now on. Get up to 80% off Books, Music, DVDs, Games, Electronics, Toys & Gifts. Shop now.

Visit www.kalahari.com for millions of books, music, DVDs, games & more!

BlackBerry Bold 9700

The BlackBerry Bold 9700 smartphone has a large, hi-res screen...

From R2800.00

I'm shopping for:

A local community where you can meet people, upload photos, videos and loads more...
There are new stories on the homepage. Click here to see them.