Reception at The View, part of Legends nightclub, 6 p.m., Hargett and Harrington streets, Raleigh Gay Pride Parade, 1 p.m., Main and Broad streets, Durham and the devil was everywhere, and I could never be good enough for God." "For a long time I thought God hated me," Bakker said. I think you should wait, but if you are going to have sex please use a condom and please be safe.' I think a lot of people would be amazed by that."īakker grew up surrounded by Christian fundamentalists who led him to think he was undeserving of God's love. "She sat me down and said, 'I don't want you to have sex. "She was always focused on making sure people knew how much Jesus loved them and cared for them just the way they were," Bakker said in a telephone interview from his home in Brooklyn, N.Y.Įven when Bakker became sexually active at 14, his mother didn't condemn him. He was known as "Jamie" to the millions of people who watched his parents' PTL (Praise The Lord) Club on television.īakker, who offers nothing but praise for his parents, said his late mother liked to emphasize the centrality of God's love. The youngest child of Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker, he grew up in Charlotte. Multi-tattooed and pierced, the 32-year-old Bakker doesn't look the role of a preacher, but his birth right includes one of the best-known names in Christian evangelism. Jay Bakker is visiting the Triangle for the N.C. It's out of that ancient Christian tradition that the Rev. Tax collectors, lepers and prostitutes among others were his friends, and his message was relatively simple: Love one another. Jesus Christ had a reputation for hanging out with the wrong crowd. law sends some bi-national, same-sex couples into exile"