Black Enterprise Exclusive: The Business Of Faith

The combination of church and business is booming as ministries grant pastors oversight of both for-profit and nonprofit ventures. A prime example is Bishop T.D. Jakes. As head of the Dallas-based The Potter's House-one of the nation's most prominent non-denominational churches with roughly 30,000 congregants-Jakes, 48, is adept at juggling projects. He successfully serves as the chief spiritual leader of his vast number of parishioners while simultaneously pursuing his entrepreneurial dreams. His $15 million for-profit media empire, T.D. Jakes Enterprises L.L.C., includes books, plays, a record label, and motion pictures, including Woman, Thou Art Loosed!

"The pastor oversees two kingdoms divided by a carefully constructed firewall," says BE News Editor Nicole Marie Richardson, who co-wrote the feature and spent months researching black megachurches. "The ministry has a compensation board that determines Bishop Jakes' salary and approves all budgets, including last year's $15 million MegaFest. This solid financial infrastructure has enabled the church to fund nearly 100 charitable ministries ranging from grief management to debt consolidation." To secure the flow of revenue for his far-reaching endeavors, Jakes employs what he calls the three Ps: partners, corporations that help fund programs and initiatives; products, items sold to the public for proceeds that go to the church; and people, congregants who make significant contributions.

To avoid conflicts, Bishop Jakes employs two staffs and uses different accounting systems and financial institutions for The Potter's House and T.D. Jakes Enterprises. He also has two sets of accountants perform separate compliance audits. By embracing entrepreneurship and sound business practices for both his church and his companies, Bishop Jakes says he's answering God's call. "(Our) compliance audits are so thorough that if I bought you a Coca-Cola on my church card, it would show up in the audit," says Jakes. "We are pastoring to the equivalent of a small city. If you're going to be here for longevity's sake, you have to do things right."

In 2005, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that Bishop Eddie Long, minister of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Lithonia, GA may have violated IRS regulations by accepting compensation totaling $3.07 million in the use of property and salary from a charity he helped oversee. "They are baseless allegations," maintains Long. "When you grow and become this kind of power base, a lot of things are done to discredit you. There is no indictment. The IRS is fine with us." Long says his woes are partly due to a misunderstanding that many people have about the role and function of the modern day megachurch. "The megachurch is a new thing," says Long, who manages an annual budget of $30 to $40 million. "When you talk to Bishop Jakes, Bishop Charles E. Blake, and Kirbyjon Caldwell, you will find that we have entered into something there is not a lot of history about, but at the same time we collaborate with one another to realize that we have a great power base economically, and we have a great voice in our community that has to be heard. One of Dr. King's legacies is economic empowerment, but the message that is getting out is that we ministers are trying to chase money and that is not the case."

Additional features in the current issue:
"How to Hold Your Church Accountable" (pg. 114)
"Secrets of Successful Investment Clubs" (pg. 87)
"Shopping for the Right Mortgage" (pg. 94)

The May issue of BLACK ENTERPRISE is on newsstands now.

BLACK ENTERPRISE, your ultimate guide to financial empowerment, is the premier business and investment resource for African Americans. Since 1970, BE has provided essential business information and advice to professionals, corporate executives, entrepreneurs, and decision makers on a monthly basis. The publication provides 3.7 million readers with information on entrepreneurship, careers, and financial management. As the definitive source of information for and about African American business markets and leaders, BE is the authority for business news and trends.

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