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USA Today
02-07-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Pioneering televangelist Jimmy Swaggart's rise and fall remembered
Swaggart embodied the transition from traveling evangelist to radio preacher and then televangelist, garnering huge audiences along the way. Before his career ended in shame, televangelist Jimmy Swaggart was a pioneering legend, a magnetic preacher and performer whose mastery of both pulpit and piano earned a groundbreaking national and global following. Along with Robert Schuller and Jerry Falwell, the Louisiana-born televangelist was among the primary trailblazers and, at his 1980s peak, one of the most familiar faces in Christian television, bringing an expressive Pentecostal-style of worship into the evangelical mainstream. 'His preaching on television was particularly powerful because of his facial expressions,' said Quentin Schultze, professor emeritus of communication at Calvin University in Grand Rapids, Michigan. 'He helped lead many viewers to a more charismatic style of worship.' Swaggart, who died Tuesday morning at age 90, was a riveting and dramatic preacher, said Randall Balmer, a professor of religion at Dartmouth College, a private university in Hanover, New Hampshire. 'He pulled out all the stops – the tears, the exclamations,' Balmer said. 'He understood pacing and had an innate sense of how to manipulate people.' Swaggart, he said, embodied the transition from traveling evangelist to radio preacher and then televangelist, garnering huge audiences along the way. 'He was phenomenally successful at each one of those iterations,' said Balmer, author of 'Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory: A Journey into the Evangelical Subculture of America.' Swaggart pursued full-time ministry in 1955 and in 1969 launched 'The Campmeeting Hour,' broadcasting on more than 700 radio stations around the country. Four years later, 'The Jimmy Swaggart Telecast' would pivotally put him in front of a television audience. At the time, well-financed preachers could purchase nationally syndicated, Sunday morning airtime with the potential of reaching large audiences, Schultze said. Swaggart was among the few able to significantly capitalize on that opportunity, mastering the small screen with his intensely emotional delivery. In the 1970s and 1980s, television was really 'a medium of the face,' said Schultze, author of 'Televangelism and American Culture.' 'Not so much anymore, because of big screens, but back then most visual expression came from the face, and he had a very expressive face, along with his musical voice.' Swaggart's show would eventually air in more than 100 nations weekly. At his peak, according to the publication 64 Parishes, Swaggart's TV ministry would reach more than 2 million Christians around the globe. 'There was a time when 30% of all Americans who had their televisions on, on Sunday mornings, were tuned into Swaggart,' Schultze said. Pray for the family of Rev. Jimmy Swaggart who passed away today at the age of 90. He had been hospitalized since June 15 when he suffered cardiac arrest. In life and in death, we can thank God for His great mercy and His offer of salvation if we repent and put our faith in His… By the time sex scandals sledgehammered Swaggart's career in the late 1980s and early 1990s, cable and satellite TV, and eventually the internet, would make it 'virtually impossible' to attract the volume of viewership he achieved in his heyday, Schultze said. Religious audiences had become balkanized and many stations had discontinued paid programming. 'There was a short window where if you were a great television entertainer and could hire an advertising marketing agency to promote you, you could get some tremendous audiences,' Schultze said. "That's gone now, and there won't be anyone on TV or on the internet who's as popular as these guys were.' Preacher's rise and fall 'a cautionary tale' Swaggart, Schultze said, was a gifted singer with an affected, heartfelt style. As a younger man, he'd pondered a secular music career; his cousins were rock-and-roll icon Jerry Lee Lewis and country star Mickey Gilley. Instead, he chose the ministry, infusing traditional hymns with emotionally delivered, country music arrangements, upending notions of what Christian music could be and bringing mainstream legitimacy to Pentecostal-style worship. Swaggart sold 17 million gospel albums, though his enduring 'Southern gospel version of contemporary music' continues to divide churches today, Schultze said. 'Pentecostalism was always kind of tribal and seen as outside mainstream evangelical faith,' Schultze said. 'He brought it more into the center, and what became a lot of its faith and worship music was partly of his influence.' Had his career not been felled by his own missteps, Swaggart likely could have continued on, Schultze said. In 1988, Swaggart was embroiled in a scandal involving a sex worker, leading to his legendary 'I have sinned' apology delivered on live television. The incident led to Swaggart's suspension and then defrocking by the Assemblies of God, though he would eventually continue preaching without a denomination. 'He realized that unless he got back to TV he would lose everything,' Balmer said. 'He needed that huge influx of money and made a calculated decision to defy suspension and go back on his own as an independent. It didn't work out all that well for him.' A second scandal in 1991 would set Swaggart back for good. Balmer, who visited him in Baton Rouge while researching a 1998 magazine piece about the disgraced preacher, said Swaggart struggled mightily after his fall from grace. 'The whole enterprise was a shadow of its former self,' Balmer said. 'He'd had a whole empire, a bible college and various missionary organizations. I don't know how many acres he had in Baton Rouge but it was a large complex. And it was a ghost town by then.' Ultimately, Balmer said, Swaggart's legacy may be a cautionary tale. 'Here's somebody who rose to the pinnacle of evangelical stardom and through a series of missteps utterly destroyed his reputation and ministry,' he said. 'There were a few hangers-on to be sure, but by the time I got there 10 years later, the crowds of thousands were down to dozens.' While Swaggart's rise had been concurrent with the rise of the Moral Majority, the political organization founded by Falwell that helped elect Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush and made the religious right a political force, politics was never his game. 'He was all about preaching and the music,' Schultze said. 'Sitting at the piano and doing an emotional hymn. None of the other TV evangelists could do that.' Contributing: Natalie Neysa Alund; Greg Hilburn, USAT Network
Yahoo
01-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Televangelist Jimmy Swaggart dies at 90, weeks after going into cardiac arrest
Famed televangelist Jimmy Swaggart died on Tuesday, July 1, his family and publicist announced. He was 90. The Pentecostal preacher and pioneer of televangelism had been in critical condition at a Louisiana hospital after going into cardiac arrest on June 15, family members said during a prayer service last month. "Today, our hearts are heavy as we share that Brother Swaggart has finished his earthly race and entered into the presence of His Savior, Jesus Christ. Today was the day he has sung about for decades," reads an announcement on his Facebook page. "He met his beloved Savior and entered the portals of glory. At the same time, we rejoice knowing that we will see him again one day." Family of the late musician, author and broadcaster previously said they had not expected him to survive. "I wish I could tell you that (he's) recovering and things are going better but there has been no change," his son Donnie Swaggart, co-pastor at Family Worship Center in Baton Rouge, said in a June 17 video released online after visiting his father in the hospital. "The bottom line is that without a miracle ... that's the only thing we can hope for." "The family would like to thank the staff, doctors and nurses at Baton Rouge General Medical Center for their incredible support and care given during this time," reads the most recent post on social media. Swaggart's 70-year-old son, Donnie, said his father was found about 8 a.m. at his home and revived before being taken to a local hospital. At the time of his death, he was co-pastor of the Family Worship Center, which he founded. "His voice echoed through nations, his music softened hearts, and his message never changed: Jesus Christ and Him crucified," the July 1 post reads. Swaggart was born on March 15, 1935, to the late Willie Leon and Minnie Belle Swaggart in Ferriday, Louisiana. He had one sister, the late Jeanette Ensminger, who family confirmed died in 1999. A prominent evangelist for decades, Swaggart grew up in Ferriday, a town in Concordia Parish which borders the Mississippi River on the central eastern border of Louisiana. According to Swaggart's family, his cousins included rock-and-roll icon Jerry Lee Lewis and country music star Mickey Gilley. Swaggart, who authored more than 100 books and commentaries, held evangelistic crusades in more than 40 countries, his family said, filling stadiums with tens of thousands of worshippers. As a musician, he sold 17 million gospel albums. Swaggart "faithfully attended small Assemblies of God churches in Ferriday and Wisner, Louisiana, where his passion for ministry first began to take root," according to family. His full-time ministry kicked off in 1955, and the preacher grew to become "one of the most recognized voices in Christian broadcasting," family reported. In 1969, he launched "The Campmeeting Hour," which aired on more than 700 U.S. stations , nd in 1973, "The Jimmy Swaggart Telecast" started, eventually growing to reach more than 100 countries each week, being translated into more than a dozen languages. During the height of his 1980s exposure, Swaggart became involved in various prostitution scandals leading to his suspension and defrocking. In 1988, Swaggart delivered his infamous "I have sinned" speech on live television. In 1995, at age 60, Swaggart founded SonLife Radio Network, expanding gospel programming across North America which currently broadcasts to more than 300 million TV homes across the globe. In addition to his son and cousins, the preacher is survived by his wife of 70 years, Frances Swaggart. He also leaves behind his daughter-in-law, Debbie Swaggart; his grandchildren, Gabriel Lee Swaggart and his wife, Jill; Jennifer Swaggart Mullis and her husband, Cliff; and Matthew Aaron Swaggart and his wife, JoAnna. In addition, he leaves behind his nine great-grandchildren: Samantha, Ryder, Abby, Lola, Harper, Navy, Harrison, Caroline Frances and Mackenzie. Contributing: Fernando Cervantes Jr. Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@ and follow her on X @nataliealund. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jimmy Swaggart dies weeks after cardiac arrest
USA Today
01-07-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Televangelist Jimmy Swaggart dies at 90, weeks after going into cardiac arrest
Famed teleevangelist Jimmy Swaggart died on Tuesday, July 1, according to an announcement on his Facebook page. He was 90. The Pentecostal preacher and pioneer of televangelism was in critical condition at a Louisiana hospital after going into cardiac arrest on June 15, family members said during a recent prayer service. Family of the late musician, author and broadcaster previously announced they had not expected him to survive. "I wish I could tell you that (he's) recovering and things are going better but there has been no change," his son Donnie Swaggart, co-pastor at Family Worship Center in Baton Rouge, said in a June 17 video released online after visiting his father in the hospital. "The bottom line is that without a miracle ... that's the only thing we can hope for." Swaggart's hospitalization Swaggart's 70-year-old son said his father was found about 8 a.m. at his home and revived before being taken to a local hospital. At the time of his death, he was co-pastor of the Family Worship Center, which he founded. Where was Jimmy Swaggart born? Swaggart was born on March 15, 1935 to the late Willie Leon and Minnie Belle Swaggart in Ferriday, Louisiana. He had one sister, the late Jeanette Ensminger, who family confirmed died in 1999. A prominent evangelist for decades, Swaggart grew up in Ferriday, a town in Concordia Parish which borders the Mississippi River on the central eastern border of Louisiana. According to Swaggart's family, his cousins included rock-and-roll icon Jerry Lee Lewis and country music star Mickey Gilley. Swaggart, who authored more than 100 books and commentaries, held evangelistic crusades in more than 40 countries, his family said, filling stadiums with tens of thousands of worshippers. As a musician, he sold 17 million gospel albums. More than 100 countries and a dozen languages Swaggart "faithfully attended small Assemblies of God churches in Ferriday and Wisner, Louisiana, where his passion for ministry first began to take root," according to family. His full-time ministry kicked off in 1955 and the preacher grew to become "one of the most recognized voices in Christian broadcasting," family reported. In 1969, he launched "The Campmeeting Hour," which aired on more than 700 U.S. stations and in 1973, "The Jimmy Swaggart Telecast" started, eventually growing to reach more than 100 countries each week, being translated into more than a dozen languages. During the height of his 1980s exposure, Swaggart became involved in various prostitution scandals leading to his suspension and defrocking. In 1988, Swaggart delivered his infamous "I have sinned" speech on live television. In 1995, at age 60, Swaggart founded SonLife Radio Network, expanding gospel programming across North America which currently broadcast to more than 300 million TV homes across the globe. In addition to his son and cousins, the preacher is survived by his wife of 70 years, Frances Swaggart. He also leaves behind his daughter-in-law, Debbie Swaggart; his grandchildren, Gabriel Lee Swaggart and his wife, Jill; Jennifer Swaggart Mullis and her husband, Cliff; and Matthew Aaron Swaggart and his wife, JoAnna. In addition, he leaves behind his nine great-grandchildren: Samantha, Ryder, Abby, Lola, Harper, Navy, Harrison, Caroline Frances and Mackenzie. Contributing: Fernando Cervantes Jr. Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@ and follow her on X @nataliealund.
