Jay Bakker talks about his ministry, LGBT inclusion and his parents’ impact on his life

I don’t think I’ve interviewed a more laidback person than Jay Bakker. Sitting at my desk, safe from the sweltering humidity of what had to be one of the hottest days all summer, I dialed Bakker’s cell phone number at our scheduled time to chat.

“Hi, Jay Bakker?” I inquired.

“Yes,” the voice on the other end replied.

“I’m Matt Comer, with Q-Notes in Charlotte. Is this a good time?”

“Well…I need to finish up some laundry. Can I call you back in about 15 minutes,” Bakker asked with a slight laugh.

On a recent trip to Washington, D.C., my friend pried me out of his apartment the evening I stepped off the long train ride through Carolina and Virginia to attend a “Project Runway” party put on with fabulous D.C. gay style. The great RuPaul sat as a judge as designers fought the clock — and the every whim of their drag performers’ wishes — to create the best and most imaginative drag outfits.

Just days later I found myself sitting right back in my Charlotte office speaking over the phone with RuPaul at her offices on the West Coast. Since her last exclusive interview with Q-Notes, the nationally-renowned drag performer has been busy with movie and TV appearances, including a role on the hot “Another Gay Sequel,” also starring young porn star Brent Corrigan. He’s also produced his own film, “Starrbooty,” taking roles as actor, writer, director and more. Currently, he’s working with MTV’s LOGO to create “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” debuting in January 2009.

RuPaul, who will headline this year’s SC Pride Parade and Festival on Sept. 20, took the time to speak about his latest adventures and, despite my best efforts, resist my need to know of any juicy gossip from the set of one of his latest movies.

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RALEIGH — A gay, 23-year-old man received a suspended 45-day jail sentence, 30 months of probation and a $300 fine, plus court costs, after pleading guilty Aug. 22 to charges stemming from violations of North Carolina’s public health laws relating to the spread of HIV.

Joshua Waldon Weaver, a DJ at clubs in Raleigh and Wilmington, was accused of failing to use a condom and failure to notify sexual partners of his HIV-positive status. According to filing documents, the offenses occurred from Aug. 1, 2006 to the time of the charges. The victim in the case was not named and the defendant’s boyfriend at the time of the proceeding made no statement to the press.

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(left to right) Tom Feldman (Tyvola Design), Rabbi Judy Schindler, Kelly Doherty, Rev. Debbie Warren, Frank Kalian. Missing is Dr. Stephen Shoemaker.

CHARLOTTE — The Charlotte Business Guild (CBG) presented its 2008 Don King Awards on Aug. 19, at its monthly meeting at the VanLandingham Estate.

The Don King Awards were named in honor of its first recipient in 1993, long-time Charlotte Observer employee and community advocate Don King. This year’s winners included Frank Kalian, one of the early leaders of several Charlotte lesbian and gay organizations and currently a board member of the Lesbian & Gay Community Center of Charlotte; Kelley Doherty, chairman of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Equity Committee; Rev. Debbie Warren, founder and president/CEO of the Regional AIDS Interfaith Network (RAIN); Dr. Stephen Shoemaker, senior minister at Myers Park Baptist Church; Rabbi Judy Schindler, senior clergy of Temple Beth-El; and Tyvola Design.

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Olympics not good for LGBT people
BEIJING, China — During the preparation for the 2008 Summer Olympics Beijing was given a massive overhaul. Streets were widened and buildings were demolished. All the construction happened at the expense of many residents and businesses. It is widely known that China used the Olympics in an attempt [...]

Charlotte

QC calls it quits
CHARLOTTE — TheQC, based on Carolina Rainbow News (CRN), has decided to “stop before it got going,” said Publisher Jeff Schmehl.
Citing the lack of time, energy and financial support, the listserv battled against a plethora of other web alternatives. Schmehl had a successful run between 1997-2004 with CRN, when there was a [...]

Gay Obama supporters launch site
PORTLAND, Ore. — LGBT supporters of Sen. Barack Obama for president have launched an online community portal for information and discussion about the campaign and easy to use tools for getting involved. The website, LGBTforOBAMA.com, is the brainchild of longtime gay activist and Democratic Party loyalist Terry Bean.
“After devouring many [...]

COLUMBIA — When Michael Bailey set out to place small classified-type advertising for his company’s new production and its casting calls, he hardly thought he’d soon find himself embroiled in a controversy over “community concerns.”
The production, “Naked Boys Singing,” has been well-received internationally and at home, after being performed on and off Broadway for a [...]

Recently, an email landed in my inbox asking a very simple question: “The mainstream media is there. Where is Q-Notes?”
The reader had a concern that we hadn’t covered what he thought was important news out of the Raleigh area. I could understand his frustration not seeing a big gay news story in the big gay [...]

“You have HIV” are the most difficult words I have ever had to hear. At only 26 years old in 1999, “How long do I have left?” was the first question to come out of my mouth when our doctor told me and my 19-year-old boyfriend my test had come back positive. Everything I thought [...]

Letters to the editor and comments from Q-Notes Online. Web comments are not edited for grammar or punctuation.
Take a chance
As humans we have a propensity to place constraints on ourselves by saying, “I can’t.” At one time I had the same view as Wayne Besen (“ManHunt: The law of supply and demand,” Aug. 23, 2008), [...]

You never know what strange things you’ll find when you snoop.
My girlfriend is away for several weeks, so I’m staying at her place, looking after the house and animals. While perusing her mail, I noticed a solicitation from Dr. Donald E. Wildmon of the American Family Association (AFA).
A lesbian receiving mail from the AFA is [...]

There’s something strange in the air. Do you smell it? Can you taste it? Christianity is changing, my friend. Well, maybe it’s more like a regression than anything else. The death god is making a comeback. Goodbye newly revealed understandings of the divine! Hello, Dark Ages!
Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama is scheduled to speak at [...]