Jimmy Swaggart Ministries Examined

Reports indicate that there is something terrible happening to some of those who get involved with Jimmy Swaggart Ministries. Many people have commented on this website about the destructive influence Jimmy Swaggart Ministries has had on them or family members. Here are just three of those testimonies:

“My mother has left her church, turned her back on her family and friends and watches the Swaggarts 24/7. She has excommunicated me because I won’t follow the Swaggarts.”

Another person commented, “What Pastor Mark wrote completely describes a friend of mine that I was not able to un-program. Swaggartism destroyed her marriage and then she turned on me for trying to help her.”

And yet another says, “My husband was a sweet Christian man, then after getting into Jimmy Swaggart’s Message of the Cross, he has become hard to get along with. He never laughs, smiles or acts happy! Is there any way I can make him see the truth about Jimmy Swaggart before it’s too late? Has my husband been brain washed?”

What Happened at Jimmy Swaggart Ministries?

What is going on at Swaggart’s ministry to cause such division? There are three factors to consider:

Did He Repent? Most people know about Swaggart’s involvement with prostitutes in the 1980s. While many of his followers believe he repented, they seem to be unaware that after his televised tearful repentance, he continued seeing prostitutes. He was caught twice by the police after his televised repentance and has made no expression of repentance since. While Jimmy Swaggart most certainly has amazing gifts in the areas of oratory, musical ability and fund raising tactics, we must remember that God did not tell us to judge a minister by his gifts, his wealth, or his success, but to judge by their fruit. Jesus said, “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits.” (Matthew 7:15-16) In other words, do they themselves exercise self-control and live righteously and walk in humility and Christian love, or do they have pride, arrogance, chase after riches, and give in to sinful lusts?

Judgmental Attitude: Jimmy Swaggart and Donnie Swaggart both engage in bitter denunciations of other ministries and churches. They claim that all churches not affiliated with them are of the devil. This adversarial attitude toward other Christians and churches rubs off on those who follow his ministry, often causing them to become bitter and antagonistic toward family members who will not follow Swaggart. Those who become dedicated followers of Swaggart often stop attending a local church and simply watch him on television. This is actually encouraged by the Swaggarts. Their website encourages people to become a media church member and send their tithes directly to them.

Strange Doctrines: While his TV preaching generally does not contain controversial teachings, in his writings Swaggart does espouse a number of strange doctrines, such as the following:

Swaggart has a new revelation he claims contains “more light than the Church has ever known.” And more light than what the Apostle Paul had.
He teaches that no one else has this new revelation, only him, or those who follow him.
All churches are corrupt except those that follow his new revelation.
Any believer who doesn’t speak in tongues is of “little worth in the Kingdom of God.”
God the Father has a man-like body that is not omnipresent (everywhere at once).
The Holy Spirit also has a body.
God’s body lives on a planet somewhere in our universe.
Planet heaven is in the direction “north.”

The Book about Jimmy Swaggart

To find out the truth about Jimmy Swaggart Ministries, you must get the book Swaggartism, where all of this (and much more) is documented. Swaggartism tells the history of Jimmy Swaggart from boyhood to today and delineates his false teachings and exposes them to the light of scripture. In Swaggartism you will find 266 pages of documented facts revealing the extraordinary claims of Jimmy Swaggart.

If you know someone who is being seduced by the siren song of the Swaggarts, this book is the antidote.

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For more information on Jimmy Swaggart Ministries, get my book, Swaggartism: The Strange Doctrines of Jimmy Swaggart Ministries, available now on Amazon for only $5.99. For information click HERE.