Televangelist Jim Bakker, who built a faith-based empire before resigning amid scandal, dies

Televangelist Jim Bakker, who rose to national prominence in the 1970s and ‘80s before stepping down from his ministry amid scandal, has died. He was 86.

“It is with a broken heart that I share that my beloved husband, Jim Bakker, went home to be with the Lord this evening,” according to an announcement from his wife, Lori Bakker, shared on the Jim Bakker Show’s Instagram Monday evening.

“For 66 years, Jim gave his life to preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He was a pioneer of Christian television, but to me, he was my husband, my best friend, and the man I was honored to walk beside through so many seasons of life and ministry,” she wrote in her statement.

Bakker and his then-wife, the late Tammy Faye Messner, ran the evangelistic empire “Praise the Lord,” or PTL – and eventually their own theme park – from suburban Charlotte, North Carolina, for some 15 years.

The couple hosted “The PTL Club,” one of the best-known Christian TV programs of its time. Messner, who divorced Bakker in the ‘90s and later remarried, died in 2007 .

Bakker resigned from the PTL ministry in 1987 amid a financial and sex scandal involving a secretary, Jessica Hahn, who he had paid to keep quiet.

Two years later, Bakker was charged with fraud and sentenced to 45 years in prison, though he served just under five .

“I wanted people to believe in my dream, and my dream became more important than the people,” Bakker told CNN’s Larry King in 2000 . “When the dream of Christian community becomes more important than the community, that’s when it’s a sin.”

Jim and Tammy Faye met at North Central Bible College in Minneapolis, she told CNN in a 2003 interview . They married in 1961.

Their path to TV fame started with puppet shows at a church . Televangelist Pat Robertson, who had a fledgling TV station in Portsmouth, Virginia, asked Bakker to bring the show to television . Bakker agreed, under the condition that they could eventually launch a “Tonight” show style program for Christians, Messner told CNN.

From 1966 to 1973 , the Bakkers hosted “700 Club,” which was syndicated across the nation.

“It just snowballed on us,” Tammy Faye said .

After about eight years at Robertson’s Christian Broadcasting Network, the Bakkers parted ways with the network. The move, Tammy Faye said, came after Robertson started reducing the number of nights for their show.

In 1974, they moved to Charlotte to start the Inspiration Network and “The PTL Club.”

Four years later, the Heritage USA theme park opened at the network’s headquarters across the state line in Fort Mill, South Carolina. The Heritage USA Grand Hotel was added in 1984, with a water park joining the complex in 1986. That year, more than 6 million people visited the park , making it the nation’s third most popular attraction after Walt Disney World and Disneyland.

At its peak , PTL was bringing in more than $128 million annually and was carried on 1,300 cable systems with 12 million subscribers.

“As I look back, you know, I had a tiger by the tail,” Bakker told CNN’s Larry King in 2000 . “The budgets kept getting bigger and bigger, and it got to the point where it was either, you know, raise the money or go broke. And so, you kept raising the money.”

Jim and Tammy Faye brought a casual and conversational style to their show, similar to daytime talk shows today – but with a Christian focus.

“Welcome back to our home,” Jim Bakker said at the start of one 1981 episode , which opened with the couple sitting in a group with a view of Lake Wylie behind them. “It’s nice to see you. It’s nice to see you, Tammy Faye.”

“It’s nice to see you, Jim,” said Tammy Faye.

But off camera, a scandal was growing, and on March 19, 1987, Jim Bakker resigned from PTL after paying a secretary, Jessica Hahn, to keep quiet about his affair with her. Hahn received a one-time $115,000 payment and monthly interest payments from a $150,000 trust fund.

The following month, PTL filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Also in 1987, Tammy Faye Bakker, whose heavy mascara became her trademark, was treated at the Betty Ford Center for prescription drug addiction.

In December 1988, Jim Bakker was indicted for fraud and conspiring to defraud churchgoers of $158 million. Tammy Faye Bakker was not named in the indictment.

In 1989 , Heritage USA and the Grand Hotel closed, and Jim Bakker was convicted of 24 counts of fraud and conspiracy and sentenced to 45 years in prison.

Bakker told CNN in an interview that his affair with Hahn was a mistake.

“God’s forgiveness is the only thing. And, you know, I take full responsibility for the adultery. It was my fault ,” Bakker said . “And, you know, no matter what went on, the man has to take responsibility, and I do.”

After more than 30 years of marriage, Tammy Faye Bakker divorced Jim while he was in prison, marrying Christian construction magnate and former PTL contractor Roe Messner in 1993. She died at 65 of inoperable cancer that had spread to her lungs.

They later became the subject of both the big screen and documentary lens.

Jessica Chastain and Andrew Garfield portrayed the couple in “ The Eyes of Tammy Faye ” in 2021 –- beginning in 1960 and following them into the ‘90s – adopted from a 2000 documentary of the same name.

Jim Bakker was paroled in December 1994 . Four years later, Bakker met Lori Graham while working in the inner-city ministry of the Dream Center of Los Angeles, according to his official bio. They married that same year.

“I’m put back together by my faith in Jesus Christ,” Bakker told CNN in the 2000 interview . “He forgives everyone. And if I don’t receive his forgiveness, how can I teach anyone else that God will forgive them?”

He returned to TV in the 2000s with “The Jim Bakker Show,” this time filmed from Branson, Missouri, with Lori as cohost.

Bakker faced controversy again in early 2020.

On a February 2020 episode of his show, Bakker and a guest discussed a product, “Silver Solution,” that they claimed could eliminate the coronavirus from the body within hours -– well before vaccines or any approved treatments.

The Missouri attorney general sued Bakker and his production company for misrepresenting “Silver Solution” as a coronavirus cure.

“Anyone who has bought ‘Silver Solution’ from ‘The Jim Bakker Show’ should know that it cannot cure or treat coronavirus,” the Missouri Attorney General’s office announced in a statement .

In May 2020 , Lori Bakker announced that her husband had had a stroke and would take a sabbatical from their TV show.

Working nonstop had taken a “huge toll” on her husband’s health, she said.

Two years earlier, in 2018, Bakker had returned to North Carolina for the funeral of the Rev. Billy Graham, the evangelist of an earlier generation who grew up in Charlotte.

“Billy Graham came into my prison when I was there ,” Bakker told CNN affiliate WBTV . “He wrapped his arms around me when I was a mess, I was cleaning toilets at that moment, and I was at a very low moment in my life. Billy Graham walked in and threw his arms around me and said ‘Jim, I love you.’

“The whole Graham family loved me, and I had to come and say goodbye, but he’s in Heaven,” Bakker said. “We’re gonna walk with him someday.”

CNN’s Scottie Andrew contributed to this report.

曾于上世纪七八十年代在全美声名鹊起，后因丑闻而退出传教事业的电视福音传道者吉姆·贝克去世，享年86岁。

“我怀着无比悲痛的心情告诉大家，我挚爱的丈夫吉姆·贝克尔今晚安息主怀了。”他的妻子洛里·贝克尔周一晚上在吉姆·贝克尔秀的Instagram账号上发布了这一消息。

“66年来，吉姆毕生致力于宣扬耶稣基督的福音。他是基督教电视的先驱，但对我而言，他是我的丈夫，我最好的朋友，也是我荣幸地陪伴他走过人生和事奉诸多阶段的人，”她在声明中写道。

巴克尔和他当时的妻子，已故的塔米·费伊·梅斯纳，在北卡罗来纳州夏洛特郊区经营着福音传播帝国“赞美主”（PTL），最终还拥有了自己的主题公园，长达 15 年之久。

这对夫妇曾主持“PTL俱乐部”，这是当时最知名的基督教电视节目之一。梅斯纳在90年代与巴克离婚，后来再婚，于2007年去世。

1987 年，巴克因卷入一起涉及秘书杰西卡·哈恩的财务和性丑闻而辞去了 PTL 事工的职务，他曾付钱给杰西卡·哈恩让她保持沉默。

两年后，巴克尔被控犯有欺诈罪，并被判处 45 年监禁，但他只服刑了不到 5 年。

“我希望人们相信我的梦想，但我的梦想变得比人们更重要，”巴克尔在2000年接受CNN的拉里·金采访时说。“当基督教社群的梦想比社群本身更重要时，那就是一种罪过。”

吉姆和塔米·费伊在明尼阿波利斯的北中央圣经学院相识，塔米在2003年接受CNN采访时表示。他们于1961年结婚。

他们的电视成名之路始于教堂里的木偶戏。当时在弗吉尼亚州朴茨茅斯拥有一家初创电视台的电视福音传教士帕特·罗伯逊邀请巴克将木偶戏搬上电视荧屏。梅斯纳告诉CNN，巴克同意了，但条件是他们最终可以推出一档面向基督徒的“今夜秀”式节目。

从 1966 年到 1973 年，巴克夫妇主持了“700 俱乐部”节目，该节目在全国范围内播出。

“事情就像滚雪球一样越滚越大，”塔米·费伊说道。

在罗伯逊基督教广播网工作了大约八年后，巴克夫妇离开了该广播网。塔米·费伊表示，此举是因为罗伯逊开始减少他们节目的播出场次。

1974 年，他们搬到夏洛特，创办了灵感网络和“PTL 俱乐部”。

四年后，位于南卡罗来纳州福特米尔（与州界线隔州相望）的Heritage USA主题公园在该网络总部所在地开业。1984年，Heritage USA Grand酒店建成，1986年，水上乐园也加入其中。同年，超过600万人次参观了该主题公园，使其成为继华特迪士尼世界和迪士尼乐园之后，全美第三大最受欢迎的景点。

PTL 鼎盛时期每年收入超过 1.28 亿美元，在 1300 个有线电视系统中播出，拥有 1200 万用户。

“回想起来，你知道，我当时就像抓住了老虎的尾巴，”巴克尔在2000年接受CNN的拉里·金采访时说道。“预算不断增加，到了要么筹钱要么破产的地步。所以，你只能不断地筹钱。”

吉姆和塔米·费伊的节目风格轻松随意，类似于今天的日间脱口秀——但以基督教为中心。

在1981年的一集节目开头，吉姆·贝克尔说道：“欢迎回到我们的家。”这集节目以这对夫妇坐在一起、背后是威利湖的景色开场。“很高兴见到你。很高兴见到你，塔米·费伊。”

“很高兴见到你，吉姆，”塔米·费伊说道。

但镜头之外，丑闻正在酝酿。1987年3月19日，吉姆·贝克尔在向秘书杰西卡·哈恩支付封口费，以掩盖两人之间的婚外情后，从PTL电视台辞职。哈恩一次性收到了11.5万美元，并从一个15万美元的信托基金中每月领取利息。

次月，PTL公司申请破产保护。同样在1987年，以浓重睫毛膏著称的塔米·费伊·贝克尔（Tammy Faye Bakker）在贝蒂·福特中心接受处方药成瘾治疗。

1988年12月，吉姆·贝克尔因涉嫌欺诈和合谋诈骗教会信徒1.58亿美元而被起诉。塔米·费伊·贝克尔没有被列入起诉书。

1989 年，Heritage USA 和 Grand Hotel 关闭，Jim Bakker 因 24 项欺诈和共谋罪被判处 45 年监禁。

巴克尔在接受 CNN 采访时表示，他与哈恩的婚外情是个错误。

“只有上帝的宽恕才能让我摆脱困境。而且，你知道，我愿为我的婚外情承担全部责任。这是我的错，”巴克尔说。“而且，你知道，无论发生了什么，男人都必须承担责任，而我愿意承担。”

在结婚 30 多年后，塔米·费伊·贝克尔在吉姆入狱期间与他离婚，并于 1993 年嫁给了基督教建筑业巨头、前 PTL 承包商罗伊·梅斯纳。她因无法手术的癌症扩散到肺部，于 65 岁去世。

后来，他们成为了大银幕和纪录片的拍摄对象。

杰西卡·查斯坦和安德鲁·加菲尔德在 2021 年上映的电影《塔米·费的眼睛》中饰演了这对夫妇——该片从 1960 年开始，一直讲述到 90 年代——改编自 2000 年同名纪录片。

吉姆·贝克于1994年12月获得假释。据他的官方传记记载，四年后，贝克在洛杉矶梦想中心从事城市贫民区事工工作时结识了洛里·格雷厄姆，两人于同年结婚。

“我对耶稣基督的信仰让我重获新生，”巴克在2000年接受CNN采访时说道。“他宽恕所有人。如果我得不到他的宽恕，我又怎能教导别人上帝会宽恕他们呢？”

2000 年代，他重返电视荧屏，主持了《吉姆·贝克秀》，这次节目在密苏里州布兰森拍摄，洛里担任联合主持人。

2020年初，巴克再次面临争议。

在 2020 年 2 月的一期节目中，巴克和一位嘉宾讨论了一种名为“银溶液”的产品，他们声称该产品可以在几小时内清除体内的冠状病毒——远早于疫苗或任何获批的治疗方法。

密苏里州总检察长起诉巴克及其制作公司，指控他们将“银溶液”宣传为冠状病毒的治疗方法。

密苏里州总检察长办公室在一份声明中宣布：“任何从‘吉姆·贝克尔秀’购买过‘银溶液’的人都应该知道，它不能治愈或治疗冠状病毒。”

2020 年 5 月，洛里·巴克宣布她的丈夫中风了，并将暂时离开他们的电视节目。

她说，丈夫不停地工作对他的健康造成了“巨大的损害”。

两年前，也就是 2018 年，巴克回到北卡罗来纳州参加老一代福音传教士葛培理牧师的葬礼，葛培理牧师在夏洛特长大。

“我被关在监狱里的时候，葛培理牧师来看望过我，”巴克尔告诉CNN附属电视台WBTV。“当时我一团糟，正在打扫厕所，那是我人生中最黑暗的时刻。葛培理牧师走进来，拥抱了我，说：‘吉姆，我爱你。’”

“格雷厄姆一家都很爱我，我必须来和他道别，但他现在在天堂，”巴克尔说。“总有一天我们会和他重聚。”

CNN的斯科蒂·安德鲁对本报道亦有贡献。