One of the most controversial figures among Christian leaders in the late 20th century has passed away. Televangelist Jimmy Swaggart has died at the age of 90.
His family announced Swaggart’s death in a Facebook post, which read in part, “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. 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.”
The post also quoted 2 Timothy 4:7-8 (KJV): “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.”
Swaggart was born in 1935 in Ferriday, Louisiana. He felt God calling him at age 8, and he began preaching when he was 20. He also wrote several books.
Music was a family affair for Swaggart; his musical cousins included rock-and-roll pioneer Jerry Lee Lewis and country crooner Mickey Gilley. He recorded his first gospel album in 1958, which began a music career that sold over 17 million records and netted him multiple Dove awards.
“Swaggart’s ministry peaked in the 1980s with his television program reaching more than 3,000 stations,” World Magazine reports. “He held crusade services in packed stadiums around the United States and in more than 40 other countries, according to his website. Swaggart also founded his church, Family Worship Center, and a Bible college in 1984, according to his ministry’s website.”
Swaggart was a Pentecostal preacher with an engaging style. His congregation and Bible college were aligned with the Assemblies of God denomination.
“Swaggart’s messages stirred thousands of congregants and millions of TV viewers, making him a household name by the late 1980s,” reports the Associated Press. “Contributors built Jimmy Swaggart Ministries into a business that made an estimated $142 million in 1986.”
Things came crashing down for him in 1988. Someone caught him on camera with a prostitute, which led to the Assemblies of God defrocking him. He talked about his peccadillos in a tearful television sermon in 1988, although he didn’t specifically mention his dalliance with the prostitute.
“I have sinned against you,” Swaggart prayed before his followers. “I beg you to forgive me.”
It wasn’t the last time Swaggart would get in trouble. In 1991, California law enforcement stopped Swaggart with another prostitute.
“The evangelist was charged with driving on the wrong side of the road and driving an unregistered Jaguar,” the AP reports. “His companion, Rosemary Garcia, said Swaggart became nervous when he saw the police car and weaved when he tried to stuff pornographic magazines under a car seat.”
Swaggart continued preaching, albeit with a much smaller audience and a lower profile. He launched the Sonlife Broadcasting Network in 2010 and recorded a gospel album with Lewis in 2022.
Jimmy Swaggart was yet another example of fallen humanity — sometimes with misguided attitudes, heinous sins, and unique theology — serving a perfect in the best way he could. Prayers for his family and loved ones.
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