The Lasting Impact Of Jim Bakker And The “Prosperity Gospel”

The recent death of former PTL ministry leader Jim Bakker brings back memories of the 1980s, a time of Christian renewal across America but not without its corruption. Unfortunately, the Osmonds got it wrong when they sang about one bad apple not spoiling the whole bunch. The actions of Bakker and fellow evangelical leaders such as Jimmy Swaggart have left a lasting stain on modern Christianity that has been tough, if not impossible, to remove.

My generation of Baby Boomers have often believed the hype that, in our heyday, we had a ninja-like gift to identify hypocrisy and phoniness, from Holden Caulfield to antiwar protesters. And this “ability” certainly carried over to evangelical leaders who were caught in sexual and/or financial sin. The wheels of Bakker’s multi-million-dollar ministry started to come off when he was accused of rape by a former secretary. Then, he and his wife’s lavish lifestyle, financed largely by donations from gullible supporters, was seen for what it was. That is, despite their personal wealth, which was well-documented, the ministry was going broke. It should have been apparent then that this was not God’s richly blessing a couple who did His will, but rather a swindle of innocent people complete with promises that were not, and could not be, kept.

From his prison cell, Bakker apparently went through a time of genuine repentance and sorrow for what he had done; however, toward the end of his life he was huckstering again, giving credence to the old saying that a tiger doesn’t change its stripes. Although he renounced the prosperity gospel later in life, Bakker was instead hawking survivalist products, COVID “remedies,” and prophesying the future. Bakker also paid tribute to Donald Trump as a modern-day Saint Peter who, despite his sinful shortcomings, could lead us out of our present troubles. That kind of endorsement probably did more harm than good.

As a sure sign that many of today’s Christian leaders are playing defense these days, we need to look through the lens of how we’re viewed by the masses, especially unbelievers. Bumper stickers such as “Christians aren’t perfect – just forgiven" may seem to bring a positive message that we recognize our faults, but may also convey to the more skeptical a tacit justification for Bakker-like behavior. 

But perhaps the biggest cudgel held over us is that of our presumed “judgment” on alternative lifestyles that, when juxtaposed to what the Bakkers did in the name of God, gives us zero credibility to judge in the eyes of skeptics. It cannot be overstated the damage this credibility hit has done to the church of Christ, especially in affluent countries like ours. And it also doesn’t matter to our critics that we don’t mean to judge the person, only their behavior.

The uncertain trumpet of today’s mainline Christianity, shaken to its core by the Bakker and Swaggart scandals, has led to apathy, pandering to worldly things, a “watered-down” gospel, and the resulting rows of empty pews every Sunday.

The prosperity gospel should have been everlastingly discredited after the Bakkers’ disastrous downfall; however, it’s still alive in evangelical media stars such as Joel Osteen. While Osteen may be a somewhat less venal version of Bakker, the hustle of the faithful for their money, with promises of God’s prosperity blessings, is quite similar. The fact that there are people out there who still fall for this makes it a bit easier, at least, to understand the siren song of socialism’s attraction to so many willing and ignorant adherents. 

Where did the rationale for the prosperity gospel come from, anyway? Was it a by-product of the 1980s, which liberals sneeringly describe as a decade of greed and self-indulgence? The idea of God blessing His followers with a never-ending feast of wealth and health during our earthly lives flies in the face of the true gospel, does it not? Why else would Jesus say that those who truly follow Him need to “take up their cross,” and, to his closest disciples, “they will hate you as they have hated Me”?

However, there is a silver lining to all of this, provided by the Savior Himself: “Upon this rock I will build My church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.” When there seems to be nothing else to lean on, this proclamation provides comfort in these crazy, uncertain times.