The Evangelist

Growing up as an Assemblies of God Pastor's son from Louisiana, Jimmy Swaggart had a huge influence on my upbringing. He was the consummate evangelist, the Pentecostal Billy Graham, traveling the world filling stadiums with a world wide telecast reaching millions. He was a preaching machine and with musical influences shared by cousins Jerry Lee Lewis and Micky Gilly, he brought a southern rockabilly to gospel music, along with a powerful anointing that was loved by so many - including my parents who had all his records. 

When I got saved in my early twenties, I felt called to write and record contemporary Christian music. At that time CCM was a fledgling genre that Brother Swaggart was very critical of. That soured me to his influence and despite the inspiration I drew from him as an evangelist and the admiration I felt for the incredible church and Bible College he built in Baton Rouge, I always felt conflicted about the man. I both loved him and resented him at the same time. 

When his moral failure happened in the late 1980's it impacted me in a transformational way. I have often shared that the event is what shaped my ethic and conviction about the role of accountability in the life of believers. I knew if someone like Jimmy Swaggart was vulnerable then I certainly needed a spiritual covering. I have prioritized it ever since. 

I never listened to him much after that. Not because of the failure - any of are capable of that. There was a certain air of judgementalism toward those that didn't completely see things the was he did that I never liked. Even writing this I am torn between the admiration I had for him and the frustration I often felt toward his criticism of those of a different stripe. Regardless, I am thankful for the life, the ministry and the influence of the evangelist and I am praying for his family.