Robertson ends half-century run as host of ‘700 Club’

Evangelical leader Pat Robertson said Friday he is stepping down as host of “The 700 Club” after more than 50 years at the helm of a program that channeled Christian conservatism into millions of American homes and turned him into a household name.

“It's been a great run,” Robertson said on the show, adding that his son

Gordon would take over as host.

Robertson, 91, made the announcement at the end of Friday's broadcast, the 60th anniversary of the Christian Broadcasting Network, which he startJohn ed in a small station in Portsmouth, Va., in 1961. “The 700 Club” grew out of a series of telethons that Robertson began hosting in 1963 to rescue the network from financial troubles. At the time, Robertson said he was unable to pay for a suite of offices the network had added to the station.

“I was praying on my knees with the staff,” Robertson said Friday. “I needed $200,000, and I was praying and praying for the money.”

It was then that Robertson said Jesus appeared to him with a “vision for the world.”

“Our job was to reach the world, not just pay the bills,” he said.

The network began holding telethons, asking for 700 viewers to pledge $10 a month to the station. The efforts inspired the show's name.

“The 700 Club” transformed evangelical broadcasting, moving it away from scripted sermons and recordings of tent revivals and turning it into a cozy talk-show format where Robertson discussed topics such as nutrition, relationships, marriage and politics, said Green, a professor emeritus of political science at the University of Akron.

Evangelical Christians have long used stories of wayward people saved through the teachings of Jesus as a way to spread the Gospel and gain followers. Robertson's show featured “very vivid presentations of these testimonials,” which engaged audiences, Green said.

“It was through the success of ‘The 700 Club' that he was able to have a real impact on politics,” Green said.

Robertson interviewed President Ronald Reagan, former Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres and other world leaders. In 1988, he ran as a Republican candidate for president and made strong second-place finishes during the primary, performances that underscored the organizing potential of evangelical Christians.

Through the show, Robertson “helped cement that alliance between conservative Christians and the Republican Party,” Green said.

The show also gave Robertson a regular platform to vilify gay people and Muslims. He often quoted Bible verses in a soft, gentle voice to justify remarks that infuriated Arab Americans and gay rights organizations.

In 2002, he described Islam as a violent religion that wanted to “dominate and then, if need be, destroy.”

In 2013, a viewer sent a letter to the show asking how Facebook users should respond when they see a picture of two men kissing. Robertson said, “I would punch ‘vomit,' not ‘like.' ”

He dismissed feminism as “a socialist, anti-family political movement that encourages women to leave their husbands, kill their children, practice witchcraft, destroy capitalism and become lesbians.”

He once told the story of an “awful-looking” woman who complained to her minister that her husband had begun drinking heavily. Robertson said the minister told her that it was likely because she had gained weight and neglected her hair.