The Bakker Tragedy

Well, embarrassed again. Jim Bakker, founder of the PTL cable television network, host of the “Jim and Tammy” television program, builder of Heritage Village, and long-time Assemblies of God minister, has resigned from all those responsibilities in disgrace. He has admitted to a sexual affair seven years ago, claims he paid $265,000 to cover the affair, and under that pressure has turned the leadership of his empire over to Jerry Falwell.

This is only the latest in a long line of escapades from Bakker, who with his wife, Tammy Faye, has lived a life that USA Today described as “more of a TV miniseries than a TV ministry.” In the meantime, however, the Bakkers have ministered to millions, doing as much as anyone else to bring grassroots Christianity to prime-time television. In spite of the excesses, the Bakkers have proclaimed the gospel of Christ to a vast audience that contributes $130 million per year to keep the good ship Bakker afloat.

That is what embarrasses us. They are one of us. Of course, we don’t agree with all their theology. But in our more honest moments, we recognize we are part of the same family as the Bakkers; and when one of us falls, we all feel the impact. Every time it happens we vow to forgive and forget. But increasingly, our willingness to forgive is exploited; the apologies and explanations of high-profile family members have that hollow sound of a poorly written script.

High Profile, Higher Stakes

Quite simply, we have had enough. We have been hurt by our brother and hurt badly. The world snickers. The secular press has a field day. And we find it harder to tell others we have the spiritual answers to the world’s problems when some of our own fail so miserably.

It was bad enough when a rare Elmer Gantry traveled around with a canvas tent, shooting the gospel (proclaimed so vividly) full of gaping, moral holes by an irresponsible lifestyle. At least such mavericks were limited by time and space to week-long crusades here and there.

But modern-day evangelists have, through television, direct access to millions. When they make mistakes, the consequences cannot be contained so easily. Fellow evangelists in particular suffer. A tasteless religious television program short-circuits others’ carefully crafted presentations; questions about one minister’s morals impute suspicions to others. The stakes are higher. Embarrassment is deeper. An unprecedented opportunity to influence the world for good through mass media is threatened.

The gospel teaches that we must be willing to accept the shortcomings of our brothers and sisters in Christ. To do that, we must be willing to suffer for what goes wrong in the family. It reminds us that we are the church, the church set apart—different from the world.

The Cost Of Moral Failure

But wholesale acceptance and forgiveness is not enough. The Bible teaches that a definite cost must be paid for our leaders’ stumblings. And once we have got our own attitudes toward the sinners straight, we need to start totaling up the bill and dealing with the payment. Look at what God demanded of David after his affair with Bathsheba and his murder of Uriah:

• The sin must be denounced. God accomplished this with David through the prophet Nathan. Although there are plenty of “Nathans” in the secular media to remind the Bakkers of their sins, we must make sure clear voices from our own community say loud and clear, for all to hear, Our brother has sinned.

At the same time, we must be careful not to denounce Jim Bakker—only his sin. That is one of the places where the church must be different from the world: our care for the person. But it is not enough simply to agree that a tragedy has occurred, hoping it does not happen again.

• The sinner must repent. David was called to admit his sin and ask God’s forgiveness—not on television, but in his own heart.

Bakker’s subsequent actions have raised many questions that distort our perceptions of his repentance. His initial innuendoes about a takeover come across more as excuses or, worse, attempts to divert attention from his sin. And recent attempts to portray himself as the naive victim of a worldly-wise companion further cloud the sincerity of his repentance. We need clearer affirmations that he really is sorry for what he did, and that he is willing to back that up with acts of contrition.

• A price must be paid. The price was high for David: the life of a newborn son.

For the Bakkers, giving up the leadership of PTL is a high price. Yet the unanswered question is whether his actions thus far fall more in the category of declaring moral bankruptcy, clearing him of all debts to date, and preparing him for a triumphal return. The Prodigal Son returned, but only after dining with the pigs.

• New realities are called for. Even though sin is denounced, repentance is sincere, and a personal price is paid, things cannot just go back to being the way they were. We need to take a longer look at the demands of television and the cult of personality it creates. Religious television, like most television, feeds on the star system. Good scripts help, and as far as scripts go, the gospel is the ultimate script. Yet without someone to deliver it handsomely, even the gospel gets low ratings.

Ministry, on the other hand, is the antithesis of personality building. It requires giving up the need to gratify ego. It means behind-the-scenes service more than up-front preaching.

Something has to give when these two opposites are wedded. The answer is not to abandon television as a medium. We have had just enough success with television evangelism to know it can work. But somehow, the dangers of the star system must be minimized.

For starters, television evangelists must submit to basic checks and balances commonly found in secular television. With rare exceptions, secular television personalities have little to say about programming. Producers do that. And producers are accountable to programmers and boards of directors. This natural system of checks and balances prevents one man or woman from inappropriately dominating the content of secular programs. Similar checks in religious television will help prevent ministers from becoming more important than ministry.

The Bakker bombshell underscores the danger of mixing television and ministry. It is an extraordinarily difficult thing to do. Indeed, without remaining fully accountable to our spiritual vows, it is impossible. We must recognize that the power of the gospel and its proclamation cuts two ways: It can be the salvation of the world. But it can also convict us of our own sin and ambition. Television raises the stakes of that judgment to levels that demand all the caution we can muster.

By Terry C. Muck.

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