Bishop T.D. Jakes says he’s grateful to be alive. For the first time, the Dallas pastor is revealing that a ‘massive heart attack’ caused an on-stage medical emergency during a sermon last year. Speaking exclusively to Craig Melvin on TODAY, Jakes detailed what happened in November 2024 during a Sunday sermon at The Potter’s House in Dallas. A livestream showed Jakes pausing and shaking after sitting down during his sermon. Church leaders quickly rushed to his side. “I didn’t really realize what was happening to me on stage until I got to the hospital and in an ambulance,” Jakes said. “The doctor leaned over in my ear and said, ‘You had a massive heart attack.’ And the reason I didn’t realize it was because I had none of the symptoms. No numbness, no sharp pain, no anything. I just kind of drifted off to sleep. I didn’t know what it was, but I almost died.” Jakes said doctors performed emergency surgery. Dallas Bishop TD Jakes, right, talks with TODAY co-host Craig Melvin, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. “[The doctor] said five minutes later I’d be dead on arrival,” Jakes said. “The right side of my heart had completely stopped getting blood at all. As long as I was preaching, I felt fine. But when I sat down, the adrenaline dropped, and it exposed the fact that I was preaching with half of my heart closed through a clot. And they had to go get it.” Months later, Jakes said it was still hard to watch a video of the incident and described it as an out-of-body experience. “In my mind I was in a quiet, peaceful, serene, white-enveloped, cloud-enveloped space,” Jakes said. “I was on my way out. Afterwards, in retrospect, it was such a privilege to stand on the other side, to get a glimpse of what it might be like, or at least what it was like in the moment for me. I think it was absolutely amazing.” Jakes said he’s grateful for the continued prayers and has no plans to slow down. “I’m getting faster because one, I’m older. Two, I’m grateful. Three, I’ve got something to say,” Jakes said. During the interview with Melvin, Jakes also responded to allegations of sexual assault by two brothers and talked about why he filed a defamation lawsuit against one of them. “I filed the suit because if you don’t ever speak back, it just continues to go on and on and on, and I decided enough is enough,” Jakes said. TD JAKES Dallas Jan 1 TD Jakes returns to pulpit for NYE sermon, says his return is a message from God Dallas Nov 28, 2024 ‘I'm just grateful,' T.D. Jakes goes home after potentially fatal medical incident Dallas Nov 24, 2024 Bishop T.D. Jakes stable after ‘slight health incident' during Sunday service Dallas Dec 19, 2024 TD Jakes, plagued by Diddy misinfo on YouTube, asks court to intervene Dallas Mar 21, 2024 T.D. Jakes hosts international leadership summit in North Texas ...read more read less