In his charge to his new senior pastors, Jakes urged them to preach God’s Word. He said:
I charge you not to forget the trust of those who have chosen you above all things in this famine in the land. Preach the Word. Preach the Word. It’s enough. It’ll get the job done. It is the power of God unto salvation to all them who believe. To the Jew and also to the Greek, it is enough. Preach the Word when they say amen and when they don’t say a word. Preach the Word in season and out of season. Teach faithfully, watching over these people by providing for their spiritual life, but yet not so spiritual that you are not concerned about their instruction and their natural life. Nourish them with wisdom and strengthen them to glorify God. Care for them with patience. It’s going to take a lot of patience, too. Young and old, strong and weak, rich and poor. I found out that if you give mercy, it comes back to you. If you give patience, it comes back to you. That it is not so much what you say that is your sermon—it is the things you do. I urge you to remember the friendless and the needy. Not always the person who runs up to you, but the one who hangs out in the back and is scared to come near you. Don’t be quick to assume that they’re standoffish because they don’t like you. Sometimes, they’re just scared. Sometimes, they’re just not sure. And don’t let your insecurities make you prejudge their action. Show the love of Christ to all people. To all people. To the homeless, to the wayward, to the haves and the have-nots, to the rich and the poor. Don’t think that because people have money, they have Jesus.
Jakes anointed the couple’s right ears so they could hear what the Spirit of the Lord says to the church and their right hands so that God will move through everything they touch in order to heal, fix, change, and set free. He then anointed their right feet, saying, “How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel, that God will protect you and go with you everywhere you go.”
Lastly, Jakes anointed their heads with oil and told them, “One of the tactics that shepherds used in Jerusalem, they said the sheep had a way of sticking their nose in holes where snakes see it. But the oil was a snake repellent.” He continued, “And even if you stick your head in a dangerous place, they can’t bite you because I anoint my head with oil. My cup runeth over. This ain’t just oil. This is snake repellent.”
“Wherever you stick your head, wherever you got to go,” he added, “whether by plane or boat or car or come to your house, if you stick your head in a dangerous hole, the snake may have to recoil.”
With many of those who were on the stage laying hands on them, the Roberts then received prayer before signing an official document that certified them as senior pastors of The Potter’s House of Dallas.
“What you are doing is freeing me so that I can do everything that God put in my heart to do here and around the world,” Jakes told them. “And I’ll be here getting in everybody’s way and getting on everybody’s nerves until I’m not.”
Jakes said, “When you sign this, you take the mantle. You take the place, you take the weight, and you take the glory.”
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As Jakes placed white stoles around the necks of Touré and Sarah, the congregation erupted in applause in a sign of the church receiving them as their new senior pastors.
Touré Roberts and Sarah Jakes Roberts Share Their Vision for The Potter’s House
The Roberts then shared their vision statement, which read:
We are a multigenerational church passionately committed to uplifting humanity by embodying Christ’s call to salvation and addressing the world’s most pressing challenges, both locally and globally. We believe that thriving in an ever-changing world requires a holistic approach to human development that cultivates spiritual depth, emotional resilience, meaningful community, intellectual growth, and economic empowerment. Through innovative solutions, we meet people at every stage of life, equipping them to evolve with purpose and power.
Jakes plans to dedicate more time to his role as chairman of the T.D. Jakes Group.
