Televanelist Jim Bakker, 80, has suffered a stroke, resulting in the preacher’s “sabbatical” from his TV program, The Jim Bakker Show.
“For many years now, Jim has been working non-stop, working hard to bring incredible prophets and guests to our show, discovering and developing new products to share… and bringing forth the message for the days that we are living in,” his wife, Lori, wrote in a recent Facebook post. “All of these projects, and the vigorous warfare that we have experienced in the last several weeks, have taken a huge toll on Jim’s health.”
Lori Bakker added that her husband’s break from work comes at the advice of medical professionals and his board of directors.
“Jim will be back! He is still dreaming and hearing from the Lord, and he already has a powerful word to deliver when he returns to the air,” the post continued.
Bakker was recently under fire for promoting a coronavirus cure on his show titled “Silver Solution,” which New York State Attorney General Letitia James ordered him to halt in early March. Lisa Landau, chief of the Health Care Bureau of the New York Attorney General’s Office, said in a letter to Bakker that the World Health Organization “has noted that there is no specific medicine to prevent or treat this disease. Therefore, any representation on The Jim Bakker Show that its Silver Solution products are effective at combating and/or treating the 2019 novel coronavirus violates New York law.” Four days later, the state of Missouri filed a lawsuit against Bakker and his production company for selling the treatment.
Previously, Bakker served time in federal prison after being convicted of fraud in connection to his Praise The Lord (PTL) Club show, which featured Jim and his ex-wife Tammy Faye Bakker. The couple divorced in 1992.
