Bishop T.D. Jakes rebukes ‘Preachers of LA,’ calls it ‘junk’

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Preachers of LA debuted on Oxygen last week and the unscripted show had one of the biggest series premieres for the network to date.

However, one vocal pastor isn’t singing the show’s praises.

Bishop T.D. Jakes, the senior pastor of The Potter’s House megachurch in Dallas, addressed his congregation on Sunday and rebuked the show, calling it “junk.”

“Now, I know you been watching that junk on TV. I want to tell you right now, not one dime of what you’re sowing right now will buy my suit. I want you to know my car is paid for,” Jakes told his congregation Sunday, according to EEW magazine. “I want you to know I got my house on my own. I want you to know I’m not bling-blinging. I am not shake and bake. I had money when I came to Dallas and I plan to have some when I leave,” he added.

“You did not buy what I got. I had it when I came here. You know I had it when I came here. The devil is a lie. I have sold enough books and produced enough movies. I don’t need your offering to pay for this little slimy suit. So I rebuke that spirit in the name of Jesus Christ,” he added.

The pastor expressed his criticism of the show and told his congregation, “I’m not from L.A. I’m from Dallas!”

Preachers of LA is a docu-series that chronicles the lives of six high-profile pastors and the daily “struggles and triumphs” they face.

However, the show has received some scrutiny from viewers, and members of the clergy, who don’t believe it sheds the best light on predominately black churches.

A prominent Los Agneles pastor  has joined Jakes in criticizing the show.

“I’m totally against it,” Pastor William J. Smith of Saint Tabernacle Church in L.A. told theGrio. “When you put the church in the category of all these other shows – though I don’t watch them, I don’t have time for that foolishness – it demeans the church. It brings it down and it takes away the value of why it’s here. That’s why the church is in the condition that it’s in. Because the church has, in a sense, aligned itself with themes of the world.”

Despite the controversy, Preachers of LA has managed to deliver some impressive ratings. The show’s debut averaged 1.1 million viewers, according to Variety and Nielsen.

What do you think of the show? Tell us in the comments section below.

Follow Lilly Workneh on Twitter @Lilly_Works