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Jim Bakker
Bakker in 1977
Born
James Orsen Bakker

(1940-01-02)January 2, 1940(age 84)
Spouses
(m.1961;div.1992)
Lori Beth Graham
(m.1998)
Children7, includingJay Bakker
ChurchAssemblies of God(1960–1988)
Charismatic(2003–present)
Congregations served
The PTL Club
Heritage USA
Heritage Village Church
Morningside Church

James Orsen Bakker(/ˈbkər/;[1]born January 2, 1940) is an Americantelevangelistand convicted felon. Between 1974 and 1987, Bakker hosted the television programThe PTL Cluband its cable television platform, thePTL Satellite Network,with his then wife,Tammy Faye.He also developedHeritage USA,a now-defunct Christian theme park inFort Mill, South Carolina.

In the late 1980s, Bakker resigned from the PTL ministry over a cover-up of hush money to church secretaryJessica Hahnfor an allegedrape.Subsequent revelations ofaccounting fraudbrought about felony charges, conviction, imprisonment, and divorce. Bakker later remarried and returned to televangelism, founding Morningside Church inBlue Eye,Missouri,and reestablishing the PTL ministry. He currently hostsThe Jim Bakker Show,which focuses on theend timesand theSecond Comingof Christ while promotingemergency survivalproducts. Bakker has written several books, includingI Was WrongandTime Has Come: How to Prepare Now for Epic Events Ahead.

Early life and education

[edit]

James Orsen Bakker was born inMuskegon,Michigan,the son of Raleigh Bakker and Furnia Lynette "Furn" Irwin.[2]Bakker attendedNorth Central University,aMinneapolisBible collegeaffiliated with theAssemblies of God,where he met fellow studentTammy Faye LaValleyin 1960.[3]Bakker worked at a restaurant in theYoung-Quinlandepartment store in Minneapolis; Tammy Faye worked at the Three Sisters, a nearby boutique.[4]Despite already having a fiancee in Muskegon, Jim began courting Tammy Faye.[5]

The Bakkers married on April 1, 1961, and left college to becomeitinerantevangelists.They had two children, Tammy Sue "Sissy" Bakker Chapman (born March 2, 1970) andJamie Charles "Jay" Bakker(born December 18, 1975). The couple divorced on March 13, 1992.[6]On September 4, 1998, Bakker married Lori Beth Graham, a former televangelist, fifty days after they met.[7]In 2002, theyadoptedfive children.[8][9][10]

Career

[edit]

Early career

[edit]

In 1966, Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker began working atPat Robertson'sChristian Broadcasting Network(CBN) inPortsmouth,Virginia,which had an audience in the low thousands at the time.[11]The Bakkers contributed to the network's growth, hosting a children's variety show calledCome On Overthat employed comic routines withpuppets.[12]Due to the success ofCome On Over,Robertson made Bakker the host of a new prime-time talk show,The 700 Club,which gradually became CBN's flagship program.[13]The Bakkers left CBN in 1973 and, soon after, joined withPaulandJan Crouchto help co-found theTrinity Broadcasting Network(TBN) inCalifornia.However, this partnership lasted only eight months until a falling-out between Jim Bakker and Paul Crouch caused the Bakkers to eventually leave the new network.[citation needed]

PTL

[edit]
Heritage USA sign in 2007. The site is now mostly demolished.[14]

While under TBN, the Bakkers moved toCharlotte,North Carolina,where in May of 1973 they launched an east coast version ofPraise The Lordunder TBN's umbrella. Less than a year later the Bakkers formed their own non profit organization, registered thePTLtrademark, left the umbrella of TBN and the Crouches, and continued their show on 36WRETCharlotte, 16WGGSGreenville, South Carolina,and a few other stations. In 1975, they nationally debuted their ownlate night-style talk show, known asThe PTL Club.[15]Bakker founded thePTL Satellite Networkin 1974, which airedThe PTL Cluband other religious television programs through local affiliates across the U.S.[16]

Throughout the 1970s, Bakker built a headquarters for PTL inthe Carolinascalled Heritage Village.[16]Over time, the Bakkers expanded the ministry to include theHeritage USAtheme park inFort Mill,South Carolina,which became the third most successful theme park in the U.S. at the time. Viewer contributions were estimated to exceed $1 million a week, with proceeds to expand the theme park andThe PTL Club'smission.[1][17]Bakker responded to inquiries about his use of mass media by saying: "I believe that ifJesuswere alive today, he would be on TV ".[18]

Two scandals brought down PTL in 1987: Bakker was accused ofsexual misconductby church secretaryJessica Hahn,which led to his resignation, and his illegal misuse of ministry funds eventually led to his imprisonment.[16]Bakker was dismissed as anAssemblies of Godminister on May 6, 1987.[19]In 1990, the biographic television movieFall from Grace,starringKevin Spaceyas Bakker, depicted his rise and fall.[20]On January 18, 2019,ABC's20/20aired a two-hour special, entitledUnfaithfully Yours,about the PTL scandal.[21]

Early investigations

[edit]

In 1979, Bakker and PTL came under investigation by theFederal Communications Commission(FCC) for allegedly misusing funds raised on the air. The FCC report was finalized in 1982 and found that Bakker had raised $350,000 that he told viewers would go towards funding overseas missions but that was actually used to pay for part of Heritage USA. The report also found that the Bakkers used PTL funds for personal expenses.[22]FCC commissioners voted four to three to drop the investigation, after which they allowed Bakker to sell the only TV station that he owned, therefore bypassing future FCC oversight.[23]The FCC forwarded its report to theU.S. Department of Justice,which declined to press charges, citing insufficient evidence.[22]Bakker used the controversy to raise more funds from his audience, branding the investigation a "witch-hunt"and asking viewers to" give the Devil a black eye ".[23]

A confidential 1985Internal Revenue Service(IRS) report found that $1.3 million in ministry funds was used for the Bakkers' personal benefit from 1980 to 1983. The report recommended that PTL be stripped of itstax-exemptstatus, but no action was taken until after the Jessica Hahn scandal broke in 1987. Art Harris andMichael Isikoffwrote inThe Washington Postthat politics may have played a role in the three government agencies taking no action against PTL despite the evidence against them, as members of theReagan administrationwere not eager to go after television ministers whose evangelical followers made up their base.[24]

Sexual misconduct and resignation

[edit]

A $279,000 payoff for the silence ofJessica Hahn,who alleged that Bakker and formerPTL Clubco-hostJohn Wesley Fletcherdrugged and rapedher, was paid with PTL funds through Bakker's associateRoe Messner.[25][26]Bakker, who made PTL's financial decisions, allegedly kepttwo sets of booksto conceal accounting irregularities. Reporters forThe Charlotte Observer,led by Charles Shepard, investigated PTL's finances and published a series of articles.[27]

On March 19, 1987, after the disclosure of a payoff to Hahn, Bakker resigned from PTL.[25]Although he acknowledged that he had a sexual encounter with Hahn at a hotel room inClearwater, Florida,he denied raping her.[28]Bakker was also the subject ofhomosexualandbisexualallegations made by Fletcher and PTL director Jay Babcock, which Bakker deniedunder oath.[29][30]Rival televangelistJohn Ankerbergappeared onLarry King Liveand made several allegations of moral impropriety against Bakker, which both Bakkers denied.[31]

Bakker was succeeded as PTL head by the Rev.Jerry FalwellofThomas Road Baptist ChurchinLynchburg, Virginia.[28]Bakker chose Falwell as his successor because he feared that fellow televangelistJimmy Swaggart,who had initiated an Assemblies of God investigation into Bakker's sexual misconduct, was attempting to take over his ministry.[32]

Bakker believed that Falwell would temporarily lead the ministry until the scandal died down,[33]but on April 28, 1987, Falwell barred Bakker from returning to PTL upon hearing of allegations of illicit behavior which went beyond the Hahn allegations.[34]Later that summer, as donations declined sharply in the wake of Bakker's resignation and the end ofThe PTL Club,Falwell raised $20 million to keep Heritage USA solvent and took a promisedwater slideride at the park.[35]Falwell and the remaining members of the PTL board resigned in October 1987, stating that a ruling from abankruptcy courtjudge made rebuilding the ministry impossible.[36]

In response to the scandal, Falwell called Bakker a liar, anembezzler,a sexual deviant, and "the greatest scab and cancer on the face of Christianity in 2,000 years of church history".[37]OnCNN,Swaggart stated that Bakker was a "cancer in the body of Christ".[33]In February 1988, Swaggart became involved in a sex scandal of his own after being caught visiting prostitutes inNew Orleans.[38]The Bakker and Swaggart scandals had a profound effect on the world of televangelism, causing greater media scrutiny of TV ministers and their finances.[39]Falwell said that the scandals had "strengthened broadcast evangelism and made Christianity stronger, more mature and more committed."[40][41]

Fraud conviction and imprisonment

[edit]

The PTL Club's fundraising activities between 1984 and 1987 were reported byThe Charlotte Observer,eventually leading to criminal charges against Bakker.[42]Bakker and his PTL associates sold $1,000 "lifetime memberships", entitling buyers to an annual three-night stay at a luxury hotel at Heritage USA during that period.[43]According to the prosecution at Bakker's fraud trial, tens of thousands of memberships were sold but only one 500-room hotel was ever finished.[44]Bakker sold "exclusive partnerships" which exceeded capacity, raising more than twice the money needed to build the hotel. Much of the money paid Heritage USA's operating expenses, and Bakker kept $3.4 million.[45]

After a 16-month federalgrand juryprobe, Bakker wasindictedin 1988 on eight counts ofmail fraud,15 counts ofwire fraudand one count ofconspiracy.[25]In 1989, after a five-week trial which began on August 28 inCharlotte, North Carolina,a jury found him guilty on all 24 counts. JudgeRobert Daniel Pottersentenced Bakker to 45 years infederal prisonand imposed a $500,000 fine.[46][47][48]At theFederal Medical Center, RochesterinRochester, Minnesota,he shared a cell with activistLyndon LaRoucheand skydiverRoger Nelson.[49]

TheUnited States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuitupheld Bakker's conviction on the fraud and conspiracy charges, voided Bakker's 45-year sentence and $500,000 fine and ordered a new sentencing hearing in February 1991.[50]The court ruled that Potter's sentencing statement about Bakker, that "those of us who do have a religion are sick of being saps for money-grubbing preachers and priests",[51]was evidence that the judge had injected his religious beliefs into Bakker's sentence.[50]

A sentence-reduction hearing was held on November 16, 1992, and Bakker's sentence was reduced to eight years. In August 1993, he was transferred to a minimum-security federal prison inJesup, Georgia.Bakker wasparoledin July 1994, after serving almost five years of his sentence.[52]His son, Jay, spearheaded a letter-writing campaign to the parole board advocating leniency.[53]Celebrity lawyerAlan Dershowitzacted as Bakker's parole attorney, having said that he "would guarantee that Mr. Bakker would never again engage in the blend of religion and commerce that led to his conviction."[54]Bakker was released fromFederal Bureau of Prisonscustody on December 1, 1994,[55]owing $6 million to the IRS.[56]

Return to televangelism

[edit]
The set ofThe Jim Bakker ShowinBlue Eye, Missouri

In 2003, Bakker began broadcastingThe Jim Bakker Showdaily at Studio City Café inBranson, Missouri,with his second wife Lori;[57]it has been carried onCTN,Daystar,Folk TV, Grace Network (Canada),Daystar Television Canada,GEB America,Hope TV(Canada), Impact Network,WGN,WHT,TCT Network,The Word Network,UpliftTV, andZLivingnetworks.[58][59][60]Most of Bakker's audience receives his program onDirecTVandDish Network.[61]

Bakker condemned theprosperity theologyin which he took part earlier in his career, and has embracedapocalypticism.[16]His show has amillennial,survivalistfocus and sells buckets offreeze-driedfood, such as beans on toast,[62]to his audience in preparation for theend of days.[63]Elspeth Reeve wrote inThe Atlanticthat Bakker's "doomsday survival gear" is overpriced.[64]A man named Jerry Crawford, who credits Bakker with saving his marriage, invested $25 million in a new ministry for Bakker inBlue Eye, Missouri,named Morningside USA. Production forThe Jim Bakker Showmoved to Morningside in 2008.[16]

Prophecies and statements

[edit]

In 2013, Bakker wroteTime Has Come: How to Prepare Now for Epic Events Aheadabout end-time events.[65]Bakker has changed his views onprosperity theology.[66]In his 1980 bookEight Keys to Success,he stated, "God wants you to be happy, God wants you to be rich, God wants you to prosper."[67][68]In his 1996 book,I Was Wrong,he admitted that the first time he actually read the Bible all the way through was in prison. Bakker also wrote that he realized that he had taken passages out of context and used them asprooftextsto support hisprosperity theology.[69]

Bakker's revived show features a number of ministers who bill themselves as "prophets". He now says that "PTL" stands for "Prophets Talking Loud".[70]

In an October 2017 video, Bakker said that "God will punish those" who ridicule him;[71]he has said thatHurricane Harveywas a judgment of God, and he blamedHurricane Matthewon then-PresidentBarack Obama.[72][73]Bakker predicted that if then-PresidentDonald Trumpwasimpeached,Christians would begin a Second American Civil War.[74]He compared the2017 Washington train derailmentto thesinkingof theRMSTitanicand stated theAmtraktrain derailment was a warning from God.[75]He also claimed that he predicted theSeptember 11 attacksof 2001, stating that he "saw 9/11 in 1999 beforeNew Year's Eve"and that there would" be terrorism "and bombings in New York City andWashington, D.C."[76]A few days after theStoneman Douglas High School shooting,he stated that "God came to [him] in a dream... and he was wearing camouflage, a hunting vest and had anAR-15strapped to his back "and that God supported Trump's plan toarm teachers.[77]Following the death ofBilly Grahamon February 21, 2018, Bakker attended Graham's funeral and paid his respects, stating that Graham was the greatest preacher sinceJesus,[78]and also remarking that Graham had visited him in prison.[79]

On theStand in the Gap Todayradio program, Pennsylvania Pastors Network president Sam Rohrer criticized Bakker's civil-war prediction.[80]Christian Todaycriticized Bakker's show for preying on "the most vulnerable kinds of people" and claimed that it had "no place on our TV screens."[81]

COVID-19 misinformation

[edit]

Bakker soldcolloidal silversupplements that he advertised as apanacea.In March 2020, the office of theAttorney General of New Yorkordered Bakker to cease making false medicinal claims about his supplements' alleged ability to cure the2019–2020 strains of coronavirus,and theFederal Trade Commissionand theFood and Drug Administrationalso sent a warning letter to Bakker about his claims regarding the supplements and coronavirus.[82][83]

Missouriattorney generalEric SchmittandArkansasattorney generalLeslie Rutledgefiled lawsuits against Bakker for allegedly pushing the supplements as a treatment for the virus.[84][85]In the State lawsuit against him, Bakker is represented by former Missouri governorJay Nixon,who has argued for the suit to be dismissed. Nixon says that the allegations made in the lawsuit are false, stating: "Bakker is being unfairly targeted by those who want to crush his ministry and force his Christian television program off the air."[86]

In April 2020, prohibited from receiving credit card transactions, Bakker disclosed to his viewers that his ministry was on the brink of filing for bankruptcy and urgently petitioned them for donations.[87]

The following month, GEB America and World Harvest Television dropped Bakker's program from their networks afterDirecTVownerAT&Tasked channels to reconsider airing the show. AT&T made the request of its channels in response to adeplatformingcampaign from the liberal Christian group Faithful America.[88][89]

On May 8, 2020, Lori Bakker announced that Jim Bakker had suffered a stroke that his son Jay described as "minor". Lori stated that he would be taking a sabbatical from the program until he recovers. She blamed the stroke on Bakker's hard work on his show and wrote that he had described the criticism against him as "the most vicious attack that he has ever experienced".[89]Bakker returned to his program for the first time following his stroke on July 8, 2020.[90]

On June 23, 2021, Missouri Attorney GeneralEric Schmittannounced the settlement of the state's lawsuit against Bakker. Bakker and Morningside Church would be prohibited from saying silver solution could "diagnose, prevent, mitigate, treat, or cure any disease or illness". Restitution of about $157,000 would also be paid to those who bought silver solution between February 12, 2020, and March 10, 2020.[91]

Bibliography

[edit]
  • Move That Mountain(1976),ISBN978-0-88270-164-6
  • Eight Keys to Success(1980),ISBN978-0-89221-071-8
  • I Was Wrong(1996),ISBN978-0-7852-7425-4
  • Prosperity and the Coming Apocalypse(1998),ISBN978-1-4185-5422-4
  • The Refuge: The Joy of Christian Community in a Torn-Apart World(2000),ISBN978-1-4185-5423-1
  • Time Has Come: How to Prepare Now for Epic Events Ahead(2014),ISBN978-1-61795-134-3
  • You Can Make It: God's Faithfulness in Dark Times-Past, Present and Future(2021)ISBN978-1-63641-047-0

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[edit]
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  71. ^Mazza, Ed (October 17, 2017)."Jim Bakker Says God Will Punish You For Making Fun Of Him".HuffPost.Archivedfrom the original on January 7, 2018.RetrievedFebruary 11,2018.Jim Bakker: One day, you're going to shake your fist in God's face. And you're going to say, 'God, why didn't you warn me?' He's gonna say, 'You sat there and you made fun of Jim Bakker all those years. I warned you, but you didn't listen.
  72. ^"Disgraced pastor Jim Bakker says Hurricane Harvey was 'judgment' from God while selling his Tasty Pantry bucket for $175".Daily News.New York. September 5, 2017.Archivedfrom the original on February 12, 2018.RetrievedFebruary 11,2018.
  73. ^Tashman, Brian (October 17, 2016)."Jim Bakker Blames Hurricane Matthew On Obama".Right Wing Watch.Archivedfrom the original on February 12, 2018.RetrievedFebruary 11,2018.
  74. ^Delk, Josh (August 29, 2017)."Televangelist Jim Bakker: Christians will start a civil war if Trump is impeached".The Hill.Archivedfrom the original on February 14, 2018.RetrievedFebruary 13,2018.Jim Bakker: If it happens, there will be a civil war in the United States of America.
  75. ^Mantlya, Kyle (January 3, 2018)."Jim Bakker: Washington Train Derailment Was A Warning From God".Right Wing Watch.Archivedfrom the original on February 26, 2018.RetrievedFebruary 25,2018.Jim Bakker: The great preachers of all times have said theTitanicis God's warning
  76. ^"Televangelist Jim Bakker claims he predicted 9/11 disaster".Jolt Left. August 23, 2011.Archivedfrom the original on February 26, 2018.RetrievedFebruary 25,2018.Jim Bakker: I saw 9/11 in 1999 before New Year's Eve... I said there's going to be terrorism; there's going to be a bombing in New York and Washington DC. I said it would be at a high defense location in DC...
  77. ^"Jim Bakker Supports Arming Some Teachers: 'Jesus Loves AR-15'".nova-magazine.net.February 22, 2018. Archived fromthe originalon March 6, 2018.RetrievedMarch 5,2018.To me, that is a sign that he is against gun control. God ordained Donald Trump and he supports his plan to arm teachers.
  78. ^Marusak, Joe; Funk, Tim (February 27, 2018)."Fallen evangelist Jim Bakker and wife pay their respects to Billy Graham in Charlotte".The Charlotte Observer.Archivedfrom the original on February 28, 2018.RetrievedMarch 5,2018.
  79. ^Dyches, Chris (February 27, 2018)."Fallen PTL pastor Jim Bakker recalls prison visit from Rev. Billy Graham".Charlotte, N.C.:WBTV.Archivedfrom the original on March 6, 2018.RetrievedMarch 5,2018.
  80. ^Gryboski, Michael (August 31, 2017)."Pastors Network Pres: Jim Bakker Is Wrong, Christians Won't Start 'Civil War' Over Trump Impeachment".The Christian Post.Archivedfrom the original on February 14, 2018.RetrievedFebruary 13,2018.
  81. ^Saunders, Martin (May 1, 2018)."Jim Bakker's TV show amounts to spiritual abuse – so why is he still broadcasting?".Christian Today.Archivedfrom the original on May 2, 2018.RetrievedMay 1,2018.
  82. ^"NY AG Letitia James orders televangelist Jim Bakker to quit advertising coronavirus cure".New York Post.March 6, 2020.Archivedfrom the original on March 6, 2020.RetrievedMarch 6,2020.
  83. ^"FDA, FTC sends warning letter toJim Bakker Show".Ozarks Independent.March 9, 2020. Archived fromthe originalon April 6, 2020.RetrievedMarch 9,2020.
  84. ^"Federal government, Missouri AG tell area pastor to stop claiming coronavirus cure".Branson tri-lakes News.Archivedfrom the original on March 11, 2020.RetrievedMarch 11,2020.
  85. ^"Jim Bakker sued by second state for selling fake coronavirus cure".CBS News.June 17, 2020.Archivedfrom the original on July 17, 2020.RetrievedJuly 16,2020.
  86. ^Salter, John (May 5, 2020)."Jim Bakker seeks dismissal of suit claiming he touted false virus cure".Star Tribune.Archivedfrom the original on May 7, 2020.RetrievedMay 6,2020.
  87. ^Slisco, Aila (April 22, 2020)."Televangelist asks viewers to send checks after credit card companies cut him off for selling fake coronavirus cure".Newsweek.Archivedfrom the original on April 26, 2020.RetrievedApril 23,2020.
  88. ^Holman, Gregory J. (May 6, 2020)."Liberal Christian group says TV network tied to Oral Roberts University drops Bakker show".USA Today.RetrievedMay 8,2020.
  89. ^abMarusak, Joe (May 8, 2020)."TV pastor Jim Bakker suffers stroke, wife and son confirm. 'Jim will be back!'".The Charlotte Observer.Archivedfrom the original on May 10, 2020.RetrievedMay 8,2020.
  90. ^Marusak, Joe (July 8, 2020)."TV pastor Jim Bakker returns to his show for the first time since suffering a stroke".The Charlotte Observer.Archivedfrom the original on July 10, 2020.RetrievedJuly 16,2020.
  91. ^Wert, Jason (June 23, 2021)."Attorney General settles suit with Jim Bakker".KWTO (AM).Archivedfrom the original on June 23, 2021.RetrievedJune 23,2021.
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