Leadership author Jim Collins believes that people are endowed with many different gifts and callings throughout their lives. If that’s true, then I knew in the sixth grade that one of my encodings was that of a journalist. I knew early on, watching my dad come home from the Orlando Sentinel, that I loved the news.
Hearing of the passing of Televangelist Jim Bakker at age 86 has brought back many memories as I type these words. I’m headed to my home church tomorrow to do a story, where I was rooted in becoming the person I am today.
My favorite days of the week in the sixth grade were current events days; I lived for Tuesday and Thursday. I can’t explain why, but I was clued to the Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker saga that was playing out across America. I was glued to the rise and fall of the Bakkers. Every Tuesday and Thursday, I thought it was my duty to tell my sixth-grade public school class what was happening. I can remember telling the class that the words PTL meant not just “Praise the Lord” but “people that love.” I was everything Jim and Tammy Bakker, to the point that my parents grew worried about my obsession with it. I can still remember parts and pieces of the Bakkers’ to this day. Little did I know that God was planting a seed in me that would fully flourish when I decided to submit to the calling of a journalist at forty-one years of age.
Growing up in Orlando, Florida, we were known for all things Disney, so the thought that I would meet Jim and Tammy’s son Jamie never would have crossed my mind. I can still remember my friend Tammy coming up to meet me in the church lobby of my home church, First Baptist Church/Orlando, and introducing me to Jamie, with whom I would become best friends instantly. We became roommates at all the church’s overnight retreats and camps.
I can remember vividly the torture that Jamie had to endure; the media was constantly on his family, and just about every network covered the family’s downfall. There were many times, watching Jamie endure the harsh realities of his father and mother’s downfall, that I can remember thinking that I wanted no part of anything celebrity-oriented. Looking back as an adult, I have no clue how Jamie didn’t crack.
My job was to be that of a caring friend. I can also remember thinking that if I ever became a journalist, I would treat everyone with dignity and respect. As I grew up and went off to college, Jamie and I lost track of each other as we took different paths, but we would eventually both enter the calling of ministry.
Jamie and I reunited in Atlanta, where he was pastoring a church, and I was a youth pastor. I can remember hearing Jamie speak at a youth specialties conference and reuniting with him there. Although we hadn’t seen each other in years, we picked up right where we left off as teenagers.
Over the years, Jamie and I have communicated on social media, and I’ve written about his family before. Looking back as an adult, I see that a lot has changed in the body of Christ. Many of the things we see today were started by Jim Bakker. There will be historians who will look through the life of Jim and Tammy Bakker, and I’ll leave that for them. For me, I’m thankful for the life of Jim Bakker, who was a father to his son Jamie, who has shaped me and my calling.
My DNA as a journalist was formed by witnessing how the media treated their family. My prayer is that as we reflect back on the life and ministry of Jim Bakker, we remember and honor his desire to love people, to be people that love.
Originally published October 06, 2026.
