Jay Bakker

Jamie Charles (Jay) Bakker (December 18, 1975) is an American Christian pastor and the son of Jim Bakker and Tammy Faye Bakker Messner. He ministers to Revolution Church, a church he founded in 1994 in Phoenix, Arizona with Kelli Miller and Mike Wall.^[1] Jay preaches at the New York City branch of Revolution Church located at Pete's Candy Store, 709 Lorimer St., Brooklyn, New York. Pete's Candy Store is a nightclub that features live music at night. Jay is separated from his wife, Amanda Bakker, who works with children with AIDS in Africa. Since his wife was moving to New York, Jay turned over the Atlanta location of Revolution to his friend and associate Stu Damron. Much of Jay's story was retold in a documentary on Sundance Channel called One Punk Under God: The Prodigal Son of Jim and Tammy Faye.

Influence of family scandals on early life

The trauma of his father being sent to prison, combined with the subsequent ostracism by others in the Church and religious community, led to a period of substance abuse and partying. ^[2] He was distrusting of other ministers and believed the late Jerry Falwell to be instrumental in ruining his family. In his autobiography, Son of a Preacher Man, he claimed Reverend Falwell deceived his father into relinquishing PTL and auctioned off much of the church's property, including some of the Bakker family's personal possessions that were left there. After becoming sober, he re-examined his faith and Christianity, adopting a philosophy that God is a loving and accepting entity rather than a judgmental one.

Jay Bakker's philosophy towards Christianity

Because his philosophy of inclusiveness extends to gays and gay marriage, Bakker falls outside of the beliefs of many in the conservative Christian community. When Larry King asked him if he was "part of the liberal sect of Christianity," he said that he was "more liberal than most" . ^[3] He also decries the influence of politics in religion, saying that it prevents civil discussion of topics such as homosexuality and abortion. ^[4]

Bakker also has several tattoos and piercings which give him more the appearance of a punk rocker than a traditional preacher.

Appearances in media

Bakker wrote the book Son of a Preacher Man: My Search for Grace in the Shadows which is an autobiography that details his youth, relationship with his parents, the PTL scandals, and the founding of Revolution Church.^[5]

In 2006, he was featured in the six-part documentary One Punk Under God on the Sundance Channel.

He has also appeared on Larry King Live and featured in Rolling Stone, The New York Times, Time, The Economist, and FHM.

Quotes

• "I think we get caught in this idea of pleasing God rather than trusting God. And I think once you learn to trust God, it's a lot easier to please God." - Jay Bakker (Larry King Live, December 15, 2006)
• "I think they (homosexuals) deserve equal rights just as much as anybody else does. And I think it's… it's such a big social issue right now, it's something that really needs to be looked at and I think passed." - Jay Bakker on gays and gay marriage (Larry King, December 15, 2006)
• "Well, these tattoos aren't really rebellion. These tattoos are all tattoos I've had since I have been a pastor." - Jay Bakker on his tattoos (Larry King, June 24, 2001)

See also

• Heritage USA

References

External links

• Website of Revolution Church
• Commentary about Christianity and politics for CNN
• Larry King Live on May 29, 2000
• Larry King Live on January 30, 2001
• Larry King Live on June 24, 2001
• Larry King Live on December 15, 2006