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Church & Ministry
Jim Bakker
Televangelism
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“Bakker, the pioneering televangelist and head of Praise the Lord Ministry, who was later imprisoned for financial misconduct, died Monday evening at the age of 86.” - CPost

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Discussion

Thu, 10/08/26

The Scheme (Lifetime Partnerships)

  • The Pitch: Between 1984 and 1987, Bakker sold over 159,000 fraudulent "lifetime partnerships" (costing around $1,000 each) to contributors.
  • The Promise: Buyers were told their $1,000 purchase gave them a right to a free annual stay at a luxury hotel at the Heritage USA resort.
  • The Fraud: Bakker promised to limit these partnerships to 25,000 (a number the resort could actually accommodate), but instead oversold them nearly seven times over to raise more than $158–$400 million.
  • Luxury Spending: Instead of using the funds to build and maintain the promised lodgings, Bakker and his inner circle diverted the money to fund an opulent lifestyle—including six-figure salaries, luxury cars, a private jet, and gold-plated fixture

My memory: con man and false teacher

https://www.uspis.gov/history-spotlight/heritage-usa-fraud

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Fri, 10/09/26

Jerry Falwell. After taking over PTL in 1987 following Bakker's sex and financial scandal, Falwell reportedly called Bakker the greatest scab and cancer on the face of Christianity in 2,000 years of church history.

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Fri, 10/09/26

Colloidal silver, marketed on his show as "Silver Solution." In early 2020, he and a guest suggested it could kill coronaviruses, which drew warnings from the FDA, FTC, and New York's attorney general. Missouri's attorney general later sued, and in 2021 Bakker settled, agreeing to pay refunds (about $156,000) and stop selling the product with health claims.

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Fri, 10/09/26

One thing that reveals Bakker as a huckster is the reality that, when kept sealed (optimally with a nitrogen atmosphere), dry beans and grains can keep for decades. For that matter, things like cheese and cured meats can also keep for an awfully long time--and if a disruption in the economy lasts more than a few months, whether or not you've got a few bins of "Bakker's Soylent Green" in your basement will be the least of your problems.

Also worth noting is that his "Heritage USA" complex had building practices that were appallingly bad. I remember driving through it in 2002, not that long after it was built (my step-dad's cousin lives in Fort Mill), and being shocked that brick veneers were peeling off some of the buildings. That's what happens when you hire your buddy to build it instead of a competent general contractor.

Aspiring to be a stick in the mud.

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Sun, 10/11/26

Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker Redefined Faith-based Fraud: The Bakkers left a debt that evangelicalism is still paying @ MinistryWatch

Views expressed are always my own and not my employer's, my church's, my family's, my neighbors', or my pets'. The house plants have authorized me to speak for them, however, and they always agree with me.

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Mon, 10/12/26

Tammy Faye inspired a couple of my favorite pre-Internet themes. First, from Dave Barry, I believe:

If you can stick a pin more than a quarter inch into your face without feeling anything, you might be wearing too much makeup for the business environment.

And then, from Bloom County, we of course ought to remember The night of the Mary Kay Commandos, which occurred after "Opus" (the penguin/tuba player) wrote a letter to the editor stating "Women wearing too much makeup look hideous." Poor Opus was on the run for his life after that one.

Aspiring to be a stick in the mud.

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