A friend recently alerted me to something I hadn’t heard of. It’s a documentary program on the Sundance Channel called, “One Punk Under God”.

I don’t get the Sundance channel but, after a couple of conversations, and a visit to the website, I’m very interested in laying my hands on the DVDs.

“One Punk” tells the story of Jay Bakker, the son of televangelists Jim & Tammy Faye Bakker. From the little I’ve seek he’s a good guy, very devout in his faith, very sincere in doing what he feels called to do by Christ, and honest in a way that many prominent people in Christianity aren’t. I’m not saying that in an accusatory way, saying that others are terribly dishonest, it’s just that Jay has reached a level of painful honesty that few get to.

He’s honest about his call, even when that turns away some people who might otherwise be his allies. He’s honest about his own flaws and the decisions he regrets in his life. He’s also honest about Christianity in a way that’s hopeful to see. His church is “Revolution Ministries” in NYC http://www.revolutionnyc.com/ their sign says:

“As Christians, we’re sorry for being self-righteous judgmental bastards.”

That’s stronger language than I’d use, but maybe that just says something about me. I didn’t have this experience of the Church growing up… at least not in my church. I did have Christian friends and acquaintances who could be really hard on me for belonging to the church I did, watching movies, listening to secular music, and a number of other things that they considered sinful. That could get unpleasant and I know that it was a hundred times worse for a lot of people.

What Jay Bakker is trying to do is to reach out to those people, and help connect them to God. He’s trying to get past the negative baggage of Christianity and help them find something that can bring meaning and healing into their lives. His approach is non-churchy (at least he doesn’t carry around many of the traditional trappings of church) which creates some controversy. His biggest controversy is his loving approach to gay Christians.

What Jay is doing takes enormous courage. He is utterly convinced that God really is loving and embracing of all people. I haven’t learned much about the details of what he believes, but the fact that he embraces this basic truth with such passion draws me to him. It reminds me of the Jesus who ate with the unacceptable people of his culture, who touched the people considered untouchable, who stood up to the narrow-minded and legalistic religious authorities of his day.

It seems to me that Jay is on the right track when it comes to following Jesus. He’s not defying authority for the sake of it that I can see. He’s genuinely motivated by faith, compassion and a clear vision of where Christ is calling him. I can respect that… a lot.

I also like the fact that he’s not turning around and attacking the people who attack him (at least not that I’ve seen). He seems to be very sincere about the principal of not judging. He is about helping people change their lives through faith, and about loving all those Christ loves.

As I said, I want to know some more. He sounds like the kind of person we need more of in Christianity!