A Letter From the Publisher

By Robert L. Miller

Television preachers are a wary group these days. Along with their supporters, they tend to blame the press for many of their problems, particularly financial ones. TIME's correspondents who reported this week's cover stories on the fortunes of Jim and Tammy Bakker and their fellow televangelists faced constant reminders that their subjects are as widely noted for their business acumen as for their spiritual charisma. "To some critics," observes Chicago- based Correspondent Barbara Dolan, "these people appear to be almost comical with their emotional appeals. But that faith-healing showmanship can hide the mind of a Wall Street banker."

Along with Los Angeles-based Correspondents Michael Riley and Jon D. Hull, Dolan spent the past month digging into the finances and organization of Jim Bakker's Praise the Lord and other major television ministries. While waiting to see Oral Roberts at his university in Tulsa, Dolan came upon the famous faith healer, his pants rolled up, knee-deep in a medium-size artificial pond, where he was anointing 200 of the faithful. Recalls Dolan: "That scene gave me an insight into the impact of these television preachers on their followers."

For Hull and Riley, getting an insight into Jim Bakker proved a bizarre experience. As the pair interviewed the controversial PTL founder at his home in Gatlinburg, Tenn., the questions inevitably became sensitive. Bakker grew livid. Recalls Hull: "His eyes smoldered. He got more fidgety. Then he leaped from his living-room chair and dashed to the kitchen in a huff. I started to follow after him, but was dissuaded by Bakker's cadre of supporters, who said a prayer for us." To many of Bakker's admirers, reporters seemed to need straightening out. "I endured long lectures by Bakker's followers, who scolded me for doing the devil's work," says Hull.

Riley tracked down Presidential Candidate Pat Robertson and other preachers. "In the wake of the PTL scandal, some of the loudest calls for openness and accountability have come from the televangelists," notes Riley. Indeed, some offered thin press releases and unrevealing brochures to show good faith. That only indicated, as this week's stories attest, that most TV ministries have a long way to go before their financial disclosures are as effective as their preaching.