The PTL Club
Encyclopedia
The PTL Club later called The Jim and Tammy Show, and in its last days PTL Today and Heritage Today, was a Christian
television program first hosted by evangelist
s Jim
and Tammy Faye Bakker, which ran from 1974 to 1989. The PTL Club, which adopted a talk-show format, was the flagship television program of the Bakkers' PTL Satellite Network
. It was one of the first Christian broadcasts in the U.S. to deal with subjects such as AIDS
/HIV and homosexuality
.
furniture store, hosted by Jim Bakker
and his wife, Tammy Faye Bakker. In February of 1974, Bakker and his staff built what became known as the PTL Television Network (later named The Inspirational Network), a worldwide Christian satellite cable television network. In a Tonight Show-type format, the program featured many well-known ministers and Christian recording artists. The program was later broadcast from Bakker's Heritage Village ministry headquarters and complex on Park Road in Charlotte, and was later moved to studios constructed at the ministry's new 2500 mixed use family theme park and resort in Fort Mill, South Carolina
known as Heritage USA
.
Due to his involvement in highly publicized financial and sexual scandals, Bakker resigned on March 19, 1987 turning the cable network, the Heritage USA
complex and all ministry assets over to fellow televangelist Jerry Falwell
. Falwell became CEO of parent company, Heritage Village Church & Missionary Fellowship, Inc. and assumed control of the network and its flagship program. Falwell's involvement was deemed newsworthy as the PTL ministries were a part of the Assemblies of God
denomination and Falwell was a Baptist. Ministry supporters questioned Falwell's intentions and speculated that he was solely interested in maintaining control of the lucrative cable television empire owned by PTL to use to broadcast his own ministry programmming from his Lynchburg, Virginia
headquarters.
One commentator noted that "Bakker arranged for Falwell to take over PTL in March in an effort to avoid what he called a 'hostile takeover' of the television ministry by people threatening to expose a sexual encounter he admitted to having seven years earlier with church secretary Jessica Hahn
." According to Hahn, on the afternoon of December 6, 1980, when she was a 21 year-old church secretary, Bakker and another preacher, John Wesley Fletcher drugged her and raped for "about 15 minutes". Hahn stated she overheard Bakker say afterward to another PTL staffer, "Did you get her too?"
Bakker was ultimately indicted for directing millions of dollars of church funds to personal use. Much of the nation watched the court case to see the outcome of the 165 million dollars in donations.
The PTL Club continued as a television program for considerable time after this, first with Falwell as its host and PTL personality Doug Oldham
as co-host. Falwell later brought in Christian singer Gary McSpadden as the show's co-host along with PTL musical talent Ron Aldridge. The show was renamed PTL Today, then in an effort to distance the show from the PTL name, Heritage Today. Aldridge continued as co-host along side another PTL singer, Brenda Davis after Falwell suddenly resigned from the now bankrupt PTL ministry and McSpadden and Oldham subsequently left the show out of support for Falwell's decision to resign his position with the ministry.
Under Falwell's leadership, the ministry filed for bankruptcy and after disagreements with the bankruptcy judge and PTL's donors, Falwell and his team abruptly resigned. With Falwell's resignation, Sam Johnson, a member of the PTL ministry team, assumed leadership and incorporated a new entity known as Heritage Ministries to run the television program and associated ministry functions. With Heritage USA and the PTL assets now tied up in bankruptcy reorganization, the new ministry and the television program were forced to move from their longtime Heritage USA broadcast studios to newly purchased property on Nations Ford Road in Charlotte that was named Heritage Place.
The program remained on the air as late as September 1988 when Johnson faced problems with the IRS.
In 1989, the network was purchased out of bankruptcy by evangelist Morris Cerullo
. It is now known as INSP from broadcast facilities in Charlotte with headquarters in nearby Indian Land, South Carolina.
On August 23, 1991, after the second and final day of his re-sentencing hearing, the court reduced Bakker's original 45-year sentence to 18 years—five of which he actually served before being released.
In February 2009, Atlanta, Georgia
area investment banker Ben Dyer announced his intention to auction off over 15,000 videotaped episodes of The PTL Club on March 27, 2009. The programs were purchased by a friend of Jim Bakker's.
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
television program first hosted by evangelist
Evangelist
-Religion:*one of the Four Evangelists, the authors of the canonical Christian Gospels in the New Testament*a Christian who explains his or her beliefs to a non-Christian and thereby participates in Evangelism...
s Jim
Jim Bakker
James Orsen "Jim" Bakker is an American televangelist, a former Assemblies of God minister, and a former host of The PTL Club, a popular evangelical Christian television program.A sex scandal led to his resignation from the ministry...
and Tammy Faye Bakker, which ran from 1974 to 1989. The PTL Club, which adopted a talk-show format, was the flagship television program of the Bakkers' PTL Satellite Network
PTL Satellite Network
The PTL Television Network -- often referred to as simply PTL -- was a global evangelical Christian television network based in Fort Mill, South Carolina, founded by Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker in 1974. PTL Satellite Network was dedicated in April of 1977...
. It was one of the first Christian broadcasts in the U.S. to deal with subjects such as AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
/HIV and homosexuality
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
.
History
The program began as a local TV broadcast in a converted Charlotte, North CarolinaCharlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the seat of Mecklenburg County. In 2010, Charlotte's population according to the US Census Bureau was 731,424, making it the 17th largest city in the United States based on population. The Charlotte metropolitan area had a 2009...
furniture store, hosted by Jim Bakker
Jim Bakker
James Orsen "Jim" Bakker is an American televangelist, a former Assemblies of God minister, and a former host of The PTL Club, a popular evangelical Christian television program.A sex scandal led to his resignation from the ministry...
and his wife, Tammy Faye Bakker. In February of 1974, Bakker and his staff built what became known as the PTL Television Network (later named The Inspirational Network), a worldwide Christian satellite cable television network. In a Tonight Show-type format, the program featured many well-known ministers and Christian recording artists. The program was later broadcast from Bakker's Heritage Village ministry headquarters and complex on Park Road in Charlotte, and was later moved to studios constructed at the ministry's new 2500 mixed use family theme park and resort in Fort Mill, South Carolina
Fort Mill, South Carolina
Fort Mill is a fast-growing suburban town in both York and Lancaster counties in the U.S. state of South Carolina, and a suburb of the city of Charlotte, North Carolina, and Rock Hill...
known as Heritage USA
Heritage USA
Heritage USA was a Christian theme park, water park, and residential complex built in Fort Mill, South Carolina, USA, by PTL Club founders televangelist Jim Bakker and Tammy Faye Bakker Messner...
.
Due to his involvement in highly publicized financial and sexual scandals, Bakker resigned on March 19, 1987 turning the cable network, the Heritage USA
Heritage USA
Heritage USA was a Christian theme park, water park, and residential complex built in Fort Mill, South Carolina, USA, by PTL Club founders televangelist Jim Bakker and Tammy Faye Bakker Messner...
complex and all ministry assets over to fellow televangelist Jerry Falwell
Jerry Falwell
Jerry Lamon Falwell, Sr. was an evangelical fundamentalist Southern Baptist pastor, televangelist, and a conservative commentator from the United States. He was the founding pastor of the Thomas Road Baptist Church, a megachurch in Lynchburg, Virginia...
. Falwell became CEO of parent company, Heritage Village Church & Missionary Fellowship, Inc. and assumed control of the network and its flagship program. Falwell's involvement was deemed newsworthy as the PTL ministries were a part of the Assemblies of God
Assemblies of God
The Assemblies of God , officially the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, is a group of over 140 autonomous but loosely-associated national groupings of churches which together form the world's largest Pentecostal denomination...
denomination and Falwell was a Baptist. Ministry supporters questioned Falwell's intentions and speculated that he was solely interested in maintaining control of the lucrative cable television empire owned by PTL to use to broadcast his own ministry programmming from his Lynchburg, Virginia
Lynchburg, Virginia
Lynchburg is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The population was 75,568 as of 2010. Located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains along the banks of the James River, Lynchburg is known as the "City of Seven Hills" or "The Hill City." Lynchburg was the only major city in...
headquarters.
One commentator noted that "Bakker arranged for Falwell to take over PTL in March in an effort to avoid what he called a 'hostile takeover' of the television ministry by people threatening to expose a sexual encounter he admitted to having seven years earlier with church secretary Jessica Hahn
Jessica Hahn
Jessica Hahn is an American model and actress. She is best known for a sex scandal involving televangelist Jim Bakker while she was employed as a church secretary.-Jim Bakker scandal:...
." According to Hahn, on the afternoon of December 6, 1980, when she was a 21 year-old church secretary, Bakker and another preacher, John Wesley Fletcher drugged her and raped for "about 15 minutes". Hahn stated she overheard Bakker say afterward to another PTL staffer, "Did you get her too?"
Bakker was ultimately indicted for directing millions of dollars of church funds to personal use. Much of the nation watched the court case to see the outcome of the 165 million dollars in donations.
The PTL Club continued as a television program for considerable time after this, first with Falwell as its host and PTL personality Doug Oldham
Doug Oldham
Doug Oldham was an American Southern Gospel singer and a member of the Gospel Music Hall of Fame.-Musical career:...
as co-host. Falwell later brought in Christian singer Gary McSpadden as the show's co-host along with PTL musical talent Ron Aldridge. The show was renamed PTL Today, then in an effort to distance the show from the PTL name, Heritage Today. Aldridge continued as co-host along side another PTL singer, Brenda Davis after Falwell suddenly resigned from the now bankrupt PTL ministry and McSpadden and Oldham subsequently left the show out of support for Falwell's decision to resign his position with the ministry.
Under Falwell's leadership, the ministry filed for bankruptcy and after disagreements with the bankruptcy judge and PTL's donors, Falwell and his team abruptly resigned. With Falwell's resignation, Sam Johnson, a member of the PTL ministry team, assumed leadership and incorporated a new entity known as Heritage Ministries to run the television program and associated ministry functions. With Heritage USA and the PTL assets now tied up in bankruptcy reorganization, the new ministry and the television program were forced to move from their longtime Heritage USA broadcast studios to newly purchased property on Nations Ford Road in Charlotte that was named Heritage Place.
The program remained on the air as late as September 1988 when Johnson faced problems with the IRS.
In 1989, the network was purchased out of bankruptcy by evangelist Morris Cerullo
Morris Cerullo
Morris Cerullo is an American pentecostal televangelist.-Early life and ministry:Cerullo, whose evangelistic ministry is based in San Diego, California, was born in Passaic, New Jersey to a Russo Jewish/Italian family. His parents died in an automobile accident when he was only two years old...
. It is now known as INSP from broadcast facilities in Charlotte with headquarters in nearby Indian Land, South Carolina.
On August 23, 1991, after the second and final day of his re-sentencing hearing, the court reduced Bakker's original 45-year sentence to 18 years—five of which he actually served before being released.
In February 2009, Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
area investment banker Ben Dyer announced his intention to auction off over 15,000 videotaped episodes of The PTL Club on March 27, 2009. The programs were purchased by a friend of Jim Bakker's.