Jim Bakker was born on January 2, 1980 in Muskegon, Michigan. He attended North Central University and it was there where he met Tammy Faye. Eventually they married and left college to become evangelists. In 1966, the Bakkers began working at Pat Robertson's Christian Broadcasting Network where they contributed greatly to the network's growth. In 1972, they left Robertson's network and with Paul and Jan Crouch, they cofounded the Trinity Broadcasting Network.
From 1974-1987, the Bakkers hosted the PTL Club, which functioned like a late-night talk show. There were all types of guests on this show, ranging from religious figures to entertainers. This show, in addition to the amusement park, Heritage USA, that they set up, were huge successes. In fact, view contributions were estimated to exceed $1 million a week, with proceeds to expand the amusement park and The PTL Club's mission.
Two scandals brought down the ministry in 1987. It was found out that there was a $279,000 payoff for the silence of Jessica Hahn that was paid with PTL's funds through Bakker's associate Roe Messner. Jessica Hahn had allegedly been drugged and raped by Bakker and former PTL co-host John Wesley Fletcher. After disclosure of a payoff to Hahn, Bakker resigned from PTL but denied that he raped her.
Additionally, 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. Ten of thousands of memberships were sold but only a 500-room hotel was ever finished. From these memberships, Bakker raised more than twice the amount of money needed to buy the hotel. Some of the money was used to pay Heritage USA's operating expenses and Bakker also kept $3.4 million for himself. Baker was originally sentenced to 45 years in prison and a $500,000 fine, however, in 1992 his sentence was reduced to eight years. That same year, him and his wife got divorced.
In 2003, Bakker returned to Televangelism with the creating of the Jim Bakker Show. It is still running today and recently has been in a bit of trouble. A few week ago, his guest on the show, Sherrill Sellman, falsely implied that a Silver Solution would be an effective treatment to coronavirus. Selling a fake treatment violates both state and federal law, and the State of Missouri filed a lawsuit against Bakker to stop him from trying to advertise and sell products as treatments for the coronavirus. Missouri was the first state to file a lawsuit but others will probably follow in its footsteps.
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Bakker
https://www.npr.org/2020/03/11/814550474/missouri-sues-televangelist-jim-bakker-for-selling-fake-coronavirus-cure
It's very interesting to me to see how someone who was such a huge figure in the 80s has recently come back in the news for another scam. It's shocking to me that he is still able to have a position as a televangelist despite his scandals. His fake coronavirus cure is not the only one being marketed, with other people who have some public standing using that power to sell everything from herbs to other strange chemicals to prevent the virus. This culture of selling things seems to be very engrained in religion and its shocking to see how many religious leaders use God as a marketing tool like Jim.
ReplyDeleteSource: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/04/01/scams-coronavirus-remedies/
I found this post very interesting and informative. I was reading some more, and I found about other televangelists, who have not been involved in so many scandals. Joel Osteen, for example, who still preaches on TV today, is the leader of the largest church in America. Lakewood Church has over 50,000 members spread out across the country. People generally like his message, which is known as the Prosperity Gospel, and his charisma. His church also draws from a very diverse group of people of different races and socio-economic classes. He did come under fire during Hurricane Harvey, where his Church turned away people seeking shelter.
ReplyDeleteSource: https://www.indystar.com/story/news/2018/08/09/joel-osteen-house-net-worth-lakewood-church-wife-why-televangelist-so-beloved-and-controversial/935789002/