Thread by @CTmagazine

Jim Bakker’s in the news again. We asked out news editor @danielsilliman, who is also an evangelical historian, to look back at Bakker in the CT archives for a #CThistory thread.

@danielsilliman .@danielsilliman: What ever else you can say about Jim Bakker, the longtime televangelist has a talent for spectacle and crisis. Evangelicals have often been embarrassed by that, but Bakker also prompts some critical self reflection.

@danielsilliman Bakker is best known for his sex scandal and big resignation in 1987, but almost a decade before that he was in another kind of crisis: financial.

CT reported in 1978:

christianitytoday.com/ct/1978/decemb…

@danielsilliman The next year, author @philipyancey visited the set of Bakker’s show. It’s a fascinating piece. Yancey actually sat in the PTL call center, talking to people who watched Bakker and reached out for help.

@danielsilliman @philipyancey Yancey talked to one woman who seemed to need “some old-fashioned, sacrificial Christian love.” Then he wondered, “how many of her Christian neighbors are too busy watching TV to give her that love?”

christianitytoday.com/ct/1979/septem…

@danielsilliman @philipyancey Then Bakker was in crisis again. The Federal Communications Commission investigated Bakker from 1980 to '83, before finally deciding not to recommend charges.

christianitytoday.com/ct/1983/januar…

@danielsilliman @philipyancey Two seconds later (Not literally. But it was the same year), Bakker’s back in the pages of CT, with a report he spent A LOT of money on a hotel suite, w/ five bedrooms, a living room, dining room, and kitchen, plus a sauna, and a whirlpool.

christianitytoday.com/ct/1983/octobe…

@danielsilliman @philipyancey Then came the big scandal, and big crisis. CT called it “The Jim Bakker Affair.”

christianitytoday.com/ct/1987/april-…

@danielsilliman @philipyancey And: The Bakker Tragedy:

“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.“

christianitytoday.com/ct/1987/may-15…

@danielsilliman @philipyancey There was a lot of coverage of the fallout from the scandal over the next few years. My favorite is probably the review of _Forgiven: The Rise and Fall of Jim Bakker and the PTL Ministry_, by Charles E. Shepard. With this amazing title:

christianitytoday.com/ct/1990/februa…

@danielsilliman @philipyancey Bakker staged a come-back in the 1990s. He told CT he was renouncing the prosperity gospel, after reading the Bible in prison. The writer seems really hopeful that's true. Time will disappoint. christianitytoday.com/ct/1998/decemb…

@danielsilliman @philipyancey That’s the last we hear of Bakker for a little bit, until a notice in 2003: He’s back to TV.

That’s the beginning the Bakker we see trending on Twitter today.

christianitytoday.com/ct/2003/junewe…

@danielsilliman @philipyancey In recent years, historian John Wigger wrote a book on the “rise and fall” of Bakker and his “evangelical empire,” which was reviewed for CT by @heathwcarter. He called the story of the Bakkers “a spur to sober reflection” for evangelicals. christianitytoday.com/ct/2017/septem…

@danielsilliman @philipyancey @heathwcarter .@markgalli, CT’s now retired editor-in-chief, saw Jim Bakker that way too. An opportunity to reflect. When Galli started a series on evangelicalism's current crisis, he started by thinking about Jim Bakker. christianitytoday.com/ct/2017/novemb…

@danielsilliman @philipyancey @heathwcarter @markgalli There is nothing new under the sun, Galli wrote in '17. So it’s not surprising that Bakker’s in the news. Or that many evangelicals find that embarrassing. But then as Yancey said in '79, the challenge might be to pull ourselves away from the spectacle and go love our neighbors.

@danielsilliman @philipyancey @heathwcarter @markgalli /end

@danielsilliman @philipyancey Two seconds later (Not literally. But it was the same year), Bakker’s back in the pages of CT, with a report he spent A LOT of money on a hotel suite, w/ five bedrooms, a living room, dining room, and kitchen, plus a sauna, and a whirlpool. christianitytoday.com/ct/1983/octobe…

@danielsilliman @philipyancey Then came the big scandal, and big crisis. CT called it “The Jim Bakker Affair.”

christianitytoday.com/ct/1987/april-…

@danielsilliman @philipyancey And: The Bakker Tragedy:

“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.“ christianitytoday.com/ct/1987/may-15…

@danielsilliman @philipyancey Bakker staged a come-back in the 1990s. He told CT he was renouncing the prosperity gospel, after reading the Bible in prison. The writer seems really hopeful that's true. Time will disappoint. christianitytoday.com/ct/1998/decemb…

@danielsilliman @philipyancey That’s the last we hear of Bakker for a little bit, until a notice in 2003: He’s back to TV.

That’s the beginning the Bakker we see trending on Twitter today. christianitytoday.com/ct/2003/junewe…

@danielsilliman @philipyancey In recent years, historian John Wigger wrote a book on the “rise and fall” of Bakker and his “evangelical empire,” which was reviewed for CT by @heathwcarter. He called the story of the Bakkers “a spur to sober reflection” for evangelicals. christianitytoday.com/ct/2017/septem…

@danielsilliman @philipyancey @heathwcarter .@markgalli, CT’s now retired editor-in-chief, saw Jim Bakker that way too. An opportunity to reflect. When Galli started a series on evangelicalism's current crisis, he started by thinking about Jim Bakker. christianitytoday.com/ct/2017/novemb…

@danielsilliman @philipyancey @heathwcarter @markgalli There is nothing new under the sun, Galli wrote in '17. So it’s not surprising that Bakker’s in the news. Or that many evangelicals find that embarrassing. But then as Yancey said in '79, the challenge might be to pull ourselves away from the spectacle and go love our neighbors.

@danielsilliman @philipyancey @heathwcarter @markgalli /end