(Photo : TD Jakes)

Tonight at 9 p.m. EST, Black Entertainment Television (BET) will honor Bishop TD Jakes for his extraordinary achievements in the field of education during the annual BET Honors celebration.

Each year, BET recognizes African-American excellence in the fields of Service, Education, Musical Arts, Athletics and Entrepreneurship. In addition to his work as pastor of The Potter's House ministy in Dallas, Bishop Jakes has ventured outside of the pulpit to take his message to a mainstream audience. Through his film Jumping the Broom and book Woman, Thou Art Loosed, Bishop Jakes seamlessly integrates quality entertainment with a powerful, life-changing lesson.

"We want to do entertainment with a message," says Bishop Jakes. "It may not be preachy, but it will be a message. It may be hanging there with your family; it may be [to] change how you raise your kid; it may be [to] give love a second chance; it may be to watch out for this disease. But it's always going to have a message in it because I realize that there are more people in the theater on Friday and Saturday night than there are in the pews on Sunday morning. It's a much wider platform for a much broader discussion."