Donnie Swaggart

[MrJim]

Just looking for opinions. I listen to him about everyday coming home from work on SonLife Radio. I'm not pentecostal/charismatic. He makes me think and I learn a lot from him and his dad. While (as with anyone) I don't agree with everything there is far far more that I say "amen" to than disagree.

Just checking in with y'all to see if maybe anyone knows anything more about him.

Thanks

 

[prophecystudent]

I have seen him on TV once or twice. I used to be a big supporter of his father and that ministry. I enjoyed the sermons, but the longer I listened, and the more I read their literature, the more I discovered the errors in what he was preaching. Then came the incidents with the prostitutes, etc.

When Swaggert Sr. refused to followed the dictates of the church elders in how to deal with the scandal and started his own independent ministry, I decided that I had seen and heard enough.

From what I have seen of Donnie, he is cut from the same pattern and preaches essentially the same things.

I may be doing him a great injustice, but Sr. participates in the ministry and preaching as Donnie. To me that does not bode well.

Sr.'s pride, or arrogance, or whatever it was, when he refused to accept the mandate of the church elders made it clear to me. I can understand that he fell into something that damaged his repuration and the ministry. What I find most disturbing is the damage his conduct did to all those young, new, believers in Christ.

I worked as a counsellor in one of his crusades and am familiar with the large numbers of people he led to Christ. I can only imagine how many of those decided that if the preacher was so sinful, that he must be lying, and the whole "Jesus thing" was phony.

Fred

 

[MrJim]

Thanks for your response. I seems like the Swaggarts are not very popular here. From someone listening that is not that familiar with them the preaching really seems spirit-filled and convicting so maybe God's not done with them yet?

 

[VividViolet]

To me, TV evangelism is something to stay far away from. I would much rather just open my Bible and read it, than try to allow someone else's opinion placed upon me before I have a chance to see it for myself in Scriptures. :o

 

[riverpastor]

I met Donnie several years ago while at a Swaggart Sr. crusade down in Houston, TX.

I have only seen him preach on t.v. maybe a couple of times but that was it.

That was after the first fall when Sr. went independent, but before the second fall.

I can say this. That if the Lord is teaching you some things and causing a hunger to grow in you, then follow the Lord's direction.

You're right. It may not be that the Lord is finished with that particular ministry. He may be using it to derive a specific work in His Kingdom.

Imagine that?!?!? God is even gracious enough to work through man's kingdom at times.

I speak no ill-well of the Swaggarts, but just that the Lord may very well have a purpose in it all.

Sr. made some wrong decisions. From the fall to not following through with his denom's counsel, but... who of us haven't made some wrong decisions? Whether sinful or otherwise?

 

[riverpastor]

BTW, I love me some JMT as well!

 

[Andrew]

Just looking for opinions. I listen to him about everyday coming home from work on SonLife Radio. I'm not pentecostal/charismatic. He makes me think and I learn a lot from him and his dad. While (as with anyone) I don't agree with everything there is far far more that I say "amen" to than disagree.

Just checking in with y'all to see if maybe anyone knows anything more about him.

Thanks

God uses willing and available vessels. He doesn't wait for you to become perfect in your behaviour and doctrine before He uses you.

When you hear a person preach from the pulpit, see him as God speaking to you. He's not God I know but receive him as you would receive Jesus, and God will speak thru him to you. Don't see 'the man' part. That's the attitude to adopt, no matter who graces the pulpit, and you'll be surprised how God will still speak to you thru the preacher.

Don't be like the Pharisees and people of Jesus day, who said, "Isn't he the carpenter? The son of Joseph?" They heard Jesus, but they saw him as a mere mortal -- the carpenter, someone's son, not the Christ.

IOW, you can have Jesus Himself talking to you, but if you see only the 'man', you miss God.

So if you are benefitting from this man's ministry, just go with the flow until God leads you otherwise.

 

[MrJim]

Thanks everyone. I have prayed for forgiveness regarding pentecostal/charismatics. I used to be a cessationist and think that all p/c were just emotional flighty sorts. After listening to Swaggarts and to their round-table discussions with other pastors and their call in show where people ask questions about stuff I find myself humbled that I thought that way-very intelligent conversation-very interesting and convicting answers to people's problems and questions. And I remember reading some stuff by a guy named Buckingham (I think that's his name-he died some years ago) that was very good.

Prejudice is all it was. Won't blame those that discipled me though they played a role in it. Just shouldn't take 18 years to see past it...though I'm still not sure about the whole WoF thing . One step at a time...

 

[KingZzub]

Must say I prefer Bakker to Swaggert.

Now that might be a choice for my first attempt to set up a vote thingy...

|ZZ|

 

[Evee]

Look at the message not the messenger.
It is hard to do at times but it is the best method for me.

 

[prophecystudent]

Look at the message not the messenger.
It is hard to do at times but it is the best method for me.

I have absolutely no dispute with looking at the message, not the messenger. However, when the message is not biblical then it is time to wonder about the messenger.

I know from personal experience that some of what Swaggart preached was not biblical. In one case, when asked about how many times we should forgive someone, he answered other than what the bible says. AIR, the bible says to forgive them 70 times 7.

Also, as I recall, Swaggart stated that once you had been saved and "backslid" there was no redemption. ie. no redemption for the backslider. Not my understanding of scripture.

For those who find enlightenment and satisfaction by listening to him, or watching him, that is fine. After several years of outrageous fund raising tactics and several incidents lie the ones outlined above I decided to look elsewhere for my source of biblical teaching.

Fred

 

[riverpastor]

menno,

That was Jamie Buckingham.

Used to edit/write articles for Charisma magazine.

 

[shaslove]

I personally have never heard Donnie Swaggert, but I wanted to throw my two cents in: Hearing the message and not the messager is good and all, but there comes to a point where you want to avoid those that are not preaching correctly-I don't think you should support that, and I WOULD suggest stopping watching that, in order to not support it.