But when I saw the program, I saw the "special deals" that Bakker and his team put together. What does this mean to you? Ordinarily, we work with retailers and distributors rather than making special discounts to those who would buy from us directly. This was also popular with the Bakker audience and, in only a few days, they've had to reorder stock. We have many different styles and sizes of the MEV and some of them are on the Bible "best-seller" list-including the large print version in Cherry Brown, which is a very pretty version. In only one year, the MEV placed in the top 10 Bible translations (and this is with many well-established versions such as the KJV, the NIV and the New Living Translation ahead of it). Thankfully, many like Bakker are saying how much they like the MEV and are using it-and the sales are showing this. But, I believe the most important thing I will ever do is publish God's Word in modern English in this important new translation. Jim knew me as founder of Charisma magazine which continues to be our flagship. But, that's a long way from the belief that God wants you to prosper financially. Now that he's back on track, he wants others to believe that God loves them and wants them to live a good life. In the MEV, however, the same verse reads this way: "Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, even as your soul is well." What a difference! It's what the original languages say.īakker acknowledges that the Prosperity Gospel is what got him off track at PTL all those years ago. In the King James Version it reads: "Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth." This is the verse that has given rise to what some call the "Prosperity Gospel." On the show, he surprised me by telling his audience one of the Scriptures that made him warm up to the MEV was 3 John 2. At 75, he is working as hard as he did when I interviewed him in 1984. Never has one man lost so much and rebounded as he has.
In my last Strang Report, I wrote about how I admire the way Jim Bakker has come back. Instead, I came away impressed with his heart and his vision. This was four years before the big collapse of PTL. The result was a 7,000 word article that I found interesting to reread after all these years. In 1984, I traveled to Charlotte, North Carolina to interview Bakker. I was a guest a few times on the old PTL show. I've known Jim Bakker since the late 1970s. If you missed the show, click here to see it online.
I think a good connection came through on the program. But, never was I so warmly received as with Jim Bakker. Since the release of the MEV last year, I have made many trips to introduce it. The episodes where I am interviewed began airing this week and the response to our offer of the Modern English Version of the Bible was so great I want to offer it to my readers now. Get the MEV for the Same Price Jim Bakker Offered on His Showġ1:15AM EDT Steve Strang My recent appearance on the 'Jim Bakker Show.' ( Jim Bakker Show)Īppearing on The Jim Bakker Show was a great experience.