Bakkers’ son is ‘One Punk Under God’

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Jay has tattoos because he likes them, simple as that. He never set out to be the punk anti-Bakker for a lost generation. Nor has he disavowed his parents, whose past disgrace could easily fuel skepticism about his own ministry.

“I don’t have a strategy like, ’OK, I’m gonna distance myself from them, so I can build a church and be my own man,”’ Jay says. “Me and my dad have a hard time getting along, and now, with my mom being as sick as she is, that’s hard — but I love them, and they did a lot of great things, as well as make mistakes.”

A mistake of theirs he means to avoid: building a church so big and all-consuming that its own sustenance is its primary cause.

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In episode two, Jay will make a tough decision that could threaten his church: Should he declare himself a gay-affirming minister? Over fast food outdoors on a bright Atlanta day, he discusses it with Amanda.

“So speaking out in behalf of the gay community and gay Christians is something I should do?” he asks her.

“Absolutely, without question,” she agrees, even as she warns there’ll be a backlash.

She’s right. A conservative foundation wastes no time pulling thousands in funding.

That’s OK. “Salvation is free. It’s a gift,” Jay tells me in New York months later.

“But if I start to compromise now, where am I gonna be in 20 years? I want to be able to encourage other people not to compromise about their passions, their feelings — and not to be afraid that, if you share your convictions with the rest of us, you’re in danger of being thrown out.”

At the end of “One Punk Under God,” Jay’s life remains full of challenges: his mom’s worsening condition; the new city for him and Amanda to navigate; a new congregation to forge. He even speaks hopefully of kicking cigarettes.

Then he shares with me his foolproof plan.

“You put one foot out in front of the other and you say, ‘OK, this is what I believe, this is what I’m seeing in the Word.”’ He smiles. “It’s a struggle. But what have I got to lose?”

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