ONE PUNK UNDER GOD {EPISODES 1 AND 2 OF 6} (TV)
Summary
The first and second episodes in this six-part miniseries following Pastor Jamie "Jay" Bakker, son of infamous televangelist couple Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker, as he charts a non-traditional course of religious worship.
The program begins as Jay explains how, after the fallout from his parents' well-publicized infidelity and fraud scandals, he grew frustrated with the hypocrisy of the church and started his own movement, the Revolution church, which meets in a bar called Masquerade and promotes a non-judgmental, love-centered, "punk" form of Christianity. Jay appears on the Air America Radio show and talks with Rachel Maddow about how many of his parents' followers felt "disillusioned" by their behavior, acknowledging that many felt satisfied in seeing the moralizing celebrities humbled by their own actions. Jay talks to businessman Stu Damron, director of Revolution, who is generally more conservative than Jay and agrees with "about 45 percent" of his positions. The two attempt to construct a hierarchy of the church's staff, with Jay pushing for equality within the "ranks"; he soon rallies his volunteers to hand out flyers and promote the church locally.
Jay's wife of seven years, Amanda, a mental health researcher, explains that she is not involved with Revolution except through emotional support of Jay. Jay then heads out to visit Heritage USA, the once-grand Christian retreat/theme park in South Carolina, which closed down in the late 1980s in the wake of the Bakkers' scandal. Jay tours the eerily empty structures, now rundown and abandoned, recalling how the park, which once rivaled Disney World in popularity and grandeur, was "his own playground" as a child. He explains that he has not spoken to Jim, who has remarried and adopted several children, in two years. Damron, his "surrogate" father, urges him to contact Jim. Jay leaves several messages and finally gets through to Jim's assistant, then admitting to Amanda that he is surprised to find himself upset over his father's apparent disinterest in reconnecting. Jay speaks honestly at the San Damiano Church in Wisconsin about the "devastating" experience of touring Heritage USA and of trying to repair his relationship with his father. Many parishioners are touched by his openness and sense of humility.
Jay next visits the Open Door Church, which actively welcomes LGBT members. He attends a same-sex commitment ceremony, eager to learn about the more liberal-minded forms of Christianity. He talks with two transgender churchgoers, seeking advice on how to make everyone feel welcome at church. Though aware that addressing the issue openly could "destroy" the church, Jay and Amanda agree that LGBT individuals deserve equal treatment and a place at Revolution if they desire it. Jay finally gets through to Jim, who is busy with his television series, and Jim invites him to come to Missouri for a visit. Nervous about the encounter, Jay first visits Tammy Faye, who is fighting stage-four colon cancer. She agrees that conversing openly with the non-demonstrative Jim will be challenging, as his relationship with his son has been "a hard road to hoe." Still, she urges him to speak from his heart.
Jay makes the decision to publicly declare Revolution as a "gay-affirming church," and while assistant pastor Matt DeBenedictis agrees that shunning LGBT individuals on religious grounds is simply "not Biblical," church business manager Marc Brown expresses doubts, worried that Damron – as well as Revolution's conservative financial backers – will disagree with the choice. Jay sits down with Damron, stating that no one should feel "ostracized" from God. Damron argues that his "agenda" will displease many traditionalists. Undeterred, Jay delivers a sermon, which is also broadcast on his website, called "Holding the Door Closed?", in which he cites several Bible passages about the importance of love and acceptance. He describes his meeting with the two trans women who told him about the experience of feeling rejected from their religious community and urging his fellow Revolution members to be open-hearted and accepting of those who are different. Several volunteers voice their pride in Jay's position, though others wonder if he will "destroy his life a second time"-- referring to the earlier bombshell of his parents' scandals -- through his controversial comments. Scenes are then shown from upcoming episodes.
Details
- NETWORK: Sundance
- DATE: November 30, 2005 9:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:53:00
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:89247
- GENRE: Documentary
- SUBJECT HEADING: Documentary; Religion; Christianity; Scandals; LGBT Collection
- SERIES RUN: Sundance - TV series, 2006-2007
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Fenton Bailey … Executive Producer
- Randy Barbato … Executive Producer
- Ann Rose … Executive Producer
- Lynne Kirby … Executive Producer
- Laura Michalchyshyn … Executive Producer
- Jeremy Simmons … Supervising Producer, Director
- Thairin Smothers … Producer
- Sita Glennon … Associate Producer
- Kyung Sun Yu … Writer
- David Benjamin Steinberg … Music by
- Jay Bakker … Interviewee
- Amanda Bakker … Interviewee
- Stu Damron … Interviewee
- Tammy Faye Messner (see also: Tammy Faye Bakker) … Interviewee
- Matt DeBenedictis … Interviewee
- Marc Brown … Interviewee
- Jim Bakker
- Rachel Maddow
- Jerry Falwell