Church Begins Secret Inquiry on Jim Bakker

An Assemblies of God inquiry board met under a mandate of secrecy Tuesday to decide whether to accept the resignation of television evangelist Jim Bakker or rule him unfit to be a minister.

“We have an established process and we intend to see the process through,” Charles Cookman, district superintendent of the church, told a news conference before the meeting.

Bakker and his right-hand man, the Rev. Richard Dortch, submitted their resignations to the Assemblies of God church March 19, the day Bakker admitted an extramarital sexual encounter seven years ago and resigned from his PTL empire.

Cookman said the decisions on Bakker and Dortch will not be made public immediately.

90 Days to Act

“We have 90 days to act on the information we have,” he said. “Once we have concluded our deliberations here in North Carolina, we send our decision to what we call the executive presbytery in Springfield, Mo. They then act on our recommendation.”

Bakker and Dortch, who remained at PTL to become its president, were both invited to the inquiry by the church’s 16-member board, but neither attended.

Cookman said the inquiry panel has three options in the case: It can accept Bakker’s and Dortch’s resignations, reject the resignations and oust the two men from the ministry, or recommend that either or both undergo “restoration,” a process that would take at least two years. But restoration is not considered a likely alternative for either Bakker or Dortch because neither has indicated any desire to remain as Assemblies of God ministers.