I Was Wrong: The Untold Story of the Shocking Journey from PTL Power to Prison and Beyond

Back in the '70's Jim and Tammy Bakker brought my atheist father to Christ, so they'll always have my gratitude. I enjoyed the PTL Club myself and, in fact, had gone to Heritage U.S.A. twice. It was truly a beautiful place- something most of us wish the rest of the world could be like. I don't follow Jim Bakker anymore, but I stumbled across this book and wanted to read it. I'm about a third of the way through its six hundred and something pages, and let me tell you, there's not one boring word. Worth the read if anyone wants to know what really happened to this man who was taken down by, what I perceive to be, a bunch of jealous "brothers in Christ".

When Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker had their television ministry, they attracted a cult-like following of people who tuned in to see how long it would take Tammy Faye to start crying about how badly they needed money to continue spreading God's word and how long it would take Jim Bakker to start talking about how Satan was attempting to destroy their ministry. Of course, they also had a legion of believers in their ministry who tuned in and donated money to help build Heritage USA (as well as a Board of Directors who made the decisions as to how funds would be spent and the salaries of those -- including the Bakkers -- who worked for the ministry). Jim Bakker's vision for Heritage USA was wonderful and unique. Not only did they have the hotel and the Christian theme park, but also built facilities on the property to care for the handicapped, unwed mothers, etc. While I admit to having laughed at their means for fund raising, I did see great value in the concept of Heritage USA. Their ministry was televised in many countries around the world.Jim Bakker, due to his notoriety, was tortured and abused in prison and Tammy Faye divorced him. He was prosecuted for over- selling space in the hotels and received a long sentence as a result. Unfortunately for him, the government erred in their calculations and it turned out that the hotels could accommodate all of the people who bought time shares (although not everyone who invested would be able to stay during Christmas and Easter, but they knew that at the time they invested) at Heritage USA, but by the time the errors were discovered, the lives and reputations of Jim and Tammy Faye were ruined. Jerry Falwell took over Heritage USA and the television ministry Bakkers built, but failed miserably and Heritage USA closed.Bakker's book is the story of his ministry, but unlike many who are accused and imprisoned, Bakker doesn't blame everyone around him, but takes perhaps more than his fair share of the blame for what happened to both himself and the ministry. Bakker is still a minister as is his son, but he has "gone back to his roots" again, not being involved with ministering through medias.While many people felt that Jim and Tammy Faye were phony "Christian believers," their lives following the fall of their television ministry and Heritage USA prove otherwise. Tammy Faye, a small woman with a beautiful, powerful voice, died of cancer, but even on the day of her death was blogging about her strong belief in God and it being God's will that she was dying and her belief that she was going home to be with her Lord. She was very supportive of the gay community and particularly loved going to see the performances of drag queens who appeared as Tammy Faye. She was also known for hugging AIDS patients, and said that God put her on Earth to hug, so she hugs. Tammy Faye admitted to disliking Jerry Falwell even at the time of her death, and her sense of humor about the criticism she received for the amount of makeup she wore and the manner of her dress was wonderful. She said that she figured that God had more to worry about than how much makeup Tammy Faye was wearing or the clothes she wore.When you see the DVD "The Eyes of Tammy Faye," it's particularly sad to see what's become of Heritage USA thanks to government error and prosecution of innocent people -- decaying buildings, land overgrown with weeds, graffiti -- a mini version of today's Detroit. I have to admit that over the years I have become an admirer of both Jim Bakker and Tammy Faye Bakker Messner as rather than being bitter about the rise and fall of their ministry and the imprisonment of Jim, they learned from the experience and again found their place in ministering to others. I have donated copies of this book to various jails and prisons as the populations of those facilities are filled with people who don't accept the fact that their behavior and attitudes have put them behind bars, and this book is an example of the growth and strength one gains (even in personal relationships) when they can admit they were wrong. If you refuse to accept or recognize your role in the negative life events you experience -- instead blaming everyone else, then you don't learn from your mistakes and you risk making the same mistakes over and over again.

I found this book invaluable into the problems that the prosperity gospel can cause, and also not being right with God and it was used as a means that also confirmed what I already knew and have lived. I found what the problems are beyond what I already knew, that causes christians to err and saw the solutions to fix the problems. I can still see errors in this story but know how beautiful Lord Jesus Christ's grace can be through His redeeming restoration not just for one man, but how He can also redeem His church body on earth as it is in heaven that removes the errors that only truth remain.I saw the hope of Christ not just for one man, but his family as well as saw the hope that can silence the squabbling and infighting of a lot of Lord Jesus Christ's children that cause the worst case of sibling rivalry among Christians but yet be a means of a testimony and also a witness for the problems that are within the prison and justice system. But through it all, I saw how Lord Jesus Christ turns a disaster into a means of hope and a blessed life in and through Christ and His love and then be used as a means of an encouraging witness to others who r going through similar life events. I also saw that even though people's lives may be absolutely ruined, that Lord Jesus Christ can restore the ruined in this earth. May everyone be delivered from the love of money and only have the love of God within their hearts, minds and soul and to know the love of Christ that can lift up and lift off the dung hill from people's lives.

Wow! What an amazing story of redemption. This fills in all the missing pieces that the leftist controlled media would never publish. Well written.

I was hesitant to read this book, or more correctly to even buy it. When I saw its size I was also a little put off (632 pages)!I do remember this event as a Brit who was also in AoG at the time and who regarded "TV evangelists" with the highest order of life on the planet and I was one of those many people who felt badly let down by Jim Bakker.Having seen a string of other such cases since, I am now very dubious about TV ministries and those who have them.So...it was very unlikely that I was going to read it, but hoping I could learn from his seeming admission of failure, I started the book.I could not put it down! This is well written and very 'real' in its account of how he dealt with the situation and the shame of public humiliation.I was over half way through the book before I was convinced about the sincerity of the author, but then as he knows, he hurt a lot of people, but this story is gripping and powerful in its presentation. Ultimately we all give account of our lives to God, and I know that only by the grace of God will I stand there, so I would not have dreamed of criticising him personally, but the system seemed rotten to the core, and it is only by reading this account that anyone can see that Jim Bakker admits his own culpability, his own failures , his own stupidity and his own theological errors. He ends several chapters with the words "I was wrong".Do I believe him? Yes, I do! Does it matter whether I do or not? Probably not! But for me, JB has cleared up the matter and I have heard his own story.I really do recommend this book to you. It will make you question the authenticity of your own position and the respectful need we all have for confession and a recognition of our own standing in the eyes of God.I recognise that I discovered this book late, but it is still a worthwhile read in 2015!

Mom flipped when she got it. She wanted it for years

The American church culture is pretty strange to most British Christians, involved as it is with raising millions of dollars and setting up theme parks, mega churches, television channels and international television ministries. The hype seems so foreign to our culture, too. We tend to be cynical and critical of it all. Jim Bakker shows how easy it is to get involved in all that, in a culture which admires financial success and sees it as a sign of God's favour.The title of the book is 'I was wrong.' He does not admit that he was guilty of the charges for which he was imprisoned. In fact, he says that these charges have since been shown to be unfair. What he admits is that he was wrong to place such emphasis on money and success. in prison, he learnt lessons which humbled and corrected him. Obviously, the rest of the prosperity movement has not learnt the same lessons, because the follies and abuses continue. Yet those who regard these people as false prophets already condemned to an eternity in hell are also wrong. These, as this book demonstrates, are genuine Christians who have been seduced by the American Dream, thinking that it is identical with the message of the Bible.This book is really worth reading, as a revelation of a world which the British find it hard to understand. Jim Bakker emerges as a flawed but genuine Christian who has learnt very painful lessons.

This was an emotional roller coaster holiday read! The title 'I Was Wrong' has an intriguing twist right on the last page.The story isn't just about personal Jim's personal revelation leading him to confess publicly that he was wrong in the 'prosperity' teaching, but also deals with difficult issues of forgiveness, divorce, the relationship with his son, his business partners, wrong priorities in work ethic. He is totally 'wrung out' through his eight years in prison. BUT he is able to look back and say that God sent him to prison to learn who God was!Personally very challenging; possibly life changing!A must read.Thanks Jim!