What’s at Stake Depends on Who You Are

“Woman, thou art loosed,” a liberating declaration spoken first by Luke’s Jesus but more frequently associated with American megachurch pastor T.D. Jakes, was a linguistic fixture of my Evangelical-Pentecostal upbringing. Made iconic by “America’s Bishop,” the phrase gave life to what emerged as a brand — from a popular sermon to a well-attended annual women’s conference, best-selling book, and film.

While 2023 marked the conference’s last year — with Jakes encouraging followers to attend instead Woman Evolve, a conference hosted by his daughter Pastor Sarah Jakes Roberts — the message of “Woman, Thou Art Loosed” has cemented Jakes in the minds of many as a proponent of women’s empowerment and God’s redemption. No matter a woman’s past — or the past of any person for that matter — there was no wound that God could not heal, no bondage from which God could not deliver. For Jakes, redemption and rebirth are always possible, a message he has faithfully preached for years and one that foreshadows what he may now need.