Punk Preacher

Six-Part Documentary Explores the Life of Maverick Second Generation Minister

Jay Bakker, alternative Christian minister and son of Jim Bakker and Tammy Faye Messner, was online Thursday, Dec. 14, at 2 p.m. ET to discuss the Sundance Channel documentary, "One Punk Under God," about his life as he faces the emotional and spiritual struggles of running his 'Revolutionary' church in Atlanta. Ga.

Read More: 'One Punk Under God': Homily From the Preachers' Son ( Post, Dec. 13).

"One Punk Under God" premiered Dec. 13, on the Sundance Channel. Consult the Web site for additional airings and subsequent episodes.

A transcript follows.

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washingtonpost.com: Jay Bakker will be with us shortly. Please stand by.

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Mableton, Ga.: Jay,

As a socially liberal Christian, I really enjoyed the honesty you displayed in the first episode of your Sundance series. Of course, one questions the "authenticity' of most reality TV. Therefore, I have to ask: do you feel what is presented onscreen is accurate? Are you happy with the editing? Did you ever think you were being manipulated or coerced? Keep your head up.

Jay Bakker: Thank you for your question and I will try to keep my head up. Thanks for the encouragement.

Yes, accurate, in a very condensed way. Because they're only 30 minute episodes it's a very condensed reality. But I'm very happy that they shot it in a documenatary way rather than in an average reality show style.

No (manipulated) because we had a lot of conversations pre and during the shooting.

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Washington, D.C.: Is this a reality show?

Jay Bakker: I feel that it's more of a documentary that's been cut into a series style. All the folks who worked on the project were documentary filmmakers. I hope this doesn't sound like reality show denial.

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Washington, D.C.: Could you define punk for me? Not sure how punk and running a church go together.

Jay Bakker: I don't really consider myself a punk. The Sundance Channel came up with a name for the show and I think it was more of a way to kind of sum up a DIY (Do It Yourself) essence of how we run the church and how to sell the show.

I do know some Christians who consider themselves punks. I don't know if one has anything to do with the other, really. I'm not really sure how much punk rock really exists today except for Ian McKay.

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Bowie, Md.: Has anyone ever remarked that you resemble Jack Osbourne, Ozzie's son?

Jay Bakker: Oh my gosh. No, but I do get David Cross quite a bit and I think I might be a little thinner than Jack Osbourne.

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Jay Bakker: But my weight does fluctuate between visits to my mothers' house (Krispy Kreme donuts).

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Washington, D.C.: How do you feel about your wife whom you said does not really support your choosen path? If you had to decide, would you give it up for her? Is she a Christian.

I pray that your mom has a full recovery and the relationship with your dad is repaired.

Jay Bakker: My wife is very supportive of me and I think her reluctance towards the ministry is just because there are a lot of people in the church who have been critical of me and I think she just wanted to let me know that if it got too hard and I couldn't do it anymore that she would still understand and emotionally support me.

Yes, she is a Christian.

Yes, on giving it up for her if I had to decide but I don't think she would ask me to do that.

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Arlington, Va.: Jay, I have admired your passion since I first heard of your ministry several years ago. While I have let go of the need for a deity and an intercessor, I still respect your work for trying to serve an under-served group in search of purpose. I'm also a PK, also distanced from my dad, though for being an Out Gay man for over 20 years. Do you welcome and affirm Queer Christians who have come to reconcile their sexuality with their faith?

Jay Bakker: Yes, I do. As a matter of fact, episode two deals with this and yes, I am a gay-affirming pastor.

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Atlanta, Ga.: Why do you have tattoos and piercings?

Can I attend your church and feel welcome and comfortable even though I do not have any tattoos and piercings.

Jay Bakker: I've always like tattoos and pierciings and a lot of my friends are tattoo artists. It's like the old saying, if you hang out in a barber shop you're eventually gonna get a haircut.

And yes, we have a lot of people who aren't tattooed or pierced. We have a very diverse congregation. The paster of Revolution in Atlanta is a 50-year-old former Baptist minister and he is also a businessman. (I am currently in Brookly, N.Y. with the church.)

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Fairfax, Va.: Was it easy for you to continue to believe in God and the church during the fraud and infidelity with your parents? How do you use that experience to your advantage as a preacher?

Also, punks were primarily anti-establishment and I always thought that meant anti-organized religion as well. Do you dress a certain way because you like the music, lifestyle, or because you agree with the anti-establishmentarians' view? How do your followers feel about it? Are they punks as well?

Jay Bakker: I was 11 years old when everything fell apart and I was just a kid whose parents were going through the worst time in their lives. I think the hardest part was seeing how a lot of the people in the church reacted towards them. But looking back now, I realize that I don't want to get to the place where I have to depend on financial support so I have to compromise my message in order to keep my ministry going. I keep this in mind because I don't want to ever have to "feed the monster."

As far as punk, I probably relate more to people like Johnny Cash and

Waylon Jennings than to Sid Vicous or Joey Ramone. And I think I kind of answered the rest of your question earlier in this chat (see above).

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Boston, Mass.: Do you have any supportive relationships with established mainstream evangelical leaders?

Jay Bakker: Yes, I do, with people like Tony Compollo and Peggy Compollo (speaker, author) and I'm just starting to get to know Brian McClarin (A New Kind of Christian) and I have a lot of friends and counsel who are maybe not heard of but would probably consider themselves somewhat mainstream but they're just not famous names. I try keep myself around people with diverse thoughts and ideas. I try not to surround myself with yes men. I think it's important to be challenged.

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Silver Spring, Md.: Jay, I watched the show last night and enjoyed it. I definitely find your story compelling, but something I didn't see last night is your passion for preaching. Can you briefly explain what drives you to preach and why you chose Christianity as the vehicle to deliver your message?

Jay Bakker: I think what inspires me to preach is that it's the message of Christ which is the message of faith, hope and love and inclusion rather than exclusion. I feel like there's a lot of people who are out there preaching judgment and legalism and I feel that we need to get back to the basic message of Jesus.

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Atlanta, Ga.: Jay,

Where is the Revolutionary Church here in Atlanta?

Jay Bakker: You can find out information at revolutionatlanta.com.

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Oxon Hill, Md.: As a Christian I am trying to understand what exactly it is that you are preaching?

What is your mission and purpose for this church?

Jay Bakker: To show people the grace and love of Christ, to let people know that God loves them. So many people today feel like the church has become almost like a private country club based on do's and don't's and we're trying to deconstruct that myth.

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Arlington, Va.: Thank you for reminding us of what Christianity is all about. Do you think this message will force any change from those "Christians" that currently have their heads buried in the sand?

Jay Bakker: I don't think we can force a change but I think we can live by an example and pray for those Christians who don't understand us and hopefully through our example it will open their hearts and minds.

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Oxford, Miss.: Could you talk a little about how DIY and Organized Religion coexist? Seems like there might be a few conflicts there in need of reconciliation.

Jay Bakker: I think you're definitely right about the need for reconciliation and I hope that's a big part of the smaller DIY church's goals. It's definitely one of ours. I think we all need to learn to agree to disagree at some point in order to love one another.

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Alexandria, Va.: Jay, just wanted to say that I saw you perform a few years ago in North Carolina with The Creeps, and then you performed a wedding ceremony on the same stage. The very picture of inclusion. It was great.

Jay Bakker: Yeah, that was the best show me and my band ever played. (We were a Social Distortion cover band.) And the wedding was a blast.

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Jay Bakker: Thanks everybody for taking the time to come to the chat. Appreciate all your questions and interest. Take care.

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