Stephen Baldwin fan tries to 'restore' bankrupt star

He is a fan of Stephen Baldwin. Not the big-name Hollywood actor but Stephen Baldwin the evangelist, who gave up fame and fortune and suffered bankruptcy to testify about Christ.

Lyn Fletcher, a Christian businessman from Florida, is the founder of the website Restore Stephen Baldwin. Fletcher said he was “grieved” to find out that the youngest of the four Baldwin brothers was having financial trouble and had filed for bankruptcy.

He created the site because he thought many Christians would be interested in giving a token of appreciation to help the struggling actor-turned-evangelist.

“[The token giving] is something similar to a greeting card or something small like that just to say we appreciate what you are doing and the stand you are taking for Christ and here’s a token of our appreciation,” Fletcher said.

The idea for the name and concept of the site came from Job 42:10-11, which says everyone who knew Job “came and ate with him in his house. They comforted and consoled him over all the trouble the Lord had brought upon him, and each one gave him a piece of silver and a gold ring”.

The token gifts helped restore Job, the site’s founder said. He hopes such giving will also restore Baldwin, who told Fletcher he suffered a 70 percent drop in income after he came to Christ because he refused to accept roles in movies that had excessive violence or sex.

Fletcher became a fan of Baldwin back in March 2008 while watching "The Celebrity Apprentice". He said he admired Baldwin’s boldness for Christ while on the show.

“I view him as almost a missionary on their side of the red carpet, on the celebrity side of the rope,” Fletcher said. “It’s just uncommon to have someone so outspoken for Christ, so sincere.”

When asked how much the site has raised so far, the site’s founder said he does not know because the donations go directly to Baldwin.

“Even celebrities, they have feelings and they need to know they are appreciated,” Fletcher noted. “A lot of people say maybe he lives in a nicer house than they do, but we still need to have positive influence in Hollywood because in my opinion Hollywood has more influence than Washington DC on our culture.”

On the web: www.restorestephenbaldwin.org