Stretch to the Treetops! With Bishop T.D. Jakes | 2016 GLS Faculty Spotlight

Bishop T.D. Jakes, founder and senior pastor of The Potter’s House, will be joining us at the Summit. We fully anticipate a preaching treat – as Jakes consistently ranks among America’s best and most influential preachers. To give you a flavor of Jakes’ style, take a look at the short clip below.

While on safari, Jakes gained insights into God’s purpose, poignantly illustrated in the animals he encountered. In observing the giraffe, he was reminded of a time when he allowed negative internet comments to halt his attempts at writing an online column. Here, he explains, in classic T.D. Jakes fashion, that God wants us to live the vision of a giraffe – and not be distracted by the turtles.

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He describes this insight further in his book, Instinct: The Power to Unleash Your Inborn Drive.

At the heart of our instincts, we discover our primary purpose. Our purpose provides the message or mission by which we live out of gifts and talents. Our instinctive life mission cannot be purposeless and powerful. In film development, the heart of a movie is the script. If the screenplay doesn’t feed the actor the lines she needs to develop a compelling character, then even the greatest actor becomes powerless to deliver the punch.

The giraffe has a tongue like no other animal.  It can reach around branches and pull down fruit, and its fur-covered horns are strong enough to ram through any obstacle in its path. However, none of its attributes and strengths matter without the heart energizing the activity. Yes, the heart must function properly to sustain the body.

Life sometimes presents us with strange teachers, but their lessons are often the most memorable. This has certainly been true of my experience with sighting a group of giraffes in the African bush. They immediately triggered an epiphany that allowed me to realize why I had let my loudest critics demotivate my budding journalistic efforts.

But more important, the giraffe inspired me to want to reach higher, to extend my abilities farther and taste new treetops. If you want to live by instinct, feed your heart and stretch to the treetops!

Check out the Global Leadership Summit Website to see other members of the faculty and for additional information. Register here to attend the GLS at a premier host site near you. Super Early Bird pricing ends of May 24, 2016.

Bishop T.D. Jakes is a visionary, provocative thinker and entrepreneur who serves as the senior pastor of The Potter’s House, a global humanitarian organization and 30,000-member church.  Named “America’s Best Preacher”, by TIME magazine, Jakes’ reach and presence spans films, television, radio and books, including his most recent New York Times bestseller, Destiny: Step Into Your Purpose and his latest film, Miracles from Heaven, starring Jennifer Garner. Follow him on Twitter @BishopJakes.