Reviewed by Tony Cummings

This is a vitally important book but as an import even so you'll have to search it out. But please try, even if you've read the bare bones of the Mike Warnke tragedy in our recent news story. For 'Selling Satan' should be read by all who have an interest in the Church's place in arts and media. The Christian subculture, and the whole confused picture as to where entertainment stops and ministry begins. Bob Darden, gospel music editor of Billboard recently wrote about this book 'Selling Satan' will be to religious journalism what Silent Spring or All The President's Men were to mainstream publishing. With the release of this one book, the age of accountability dawns in Christian communications. The research for this book took many years. What the authors have done is piece together the real life of Mike Warnke the Christian comedian, author and speaker. Until his exposee brought about the author's meticulous research, Warnke was America's biggest selling Christian comedian and a speaker/evangelist who was in demand all over America. The author's research initially published in Jesus People USA's Cornerstone magazine showed that Warnke's claim to be an ex-Satanist with a dramatic Christian testimony was a tissue of lies. Hertenstein and Trott also revealed that during his successful years on the lucrative Christian music and preaching circuits, Warnke's private life included a succession of affairs and divorces as well as financial misconduct which is currently being investigated by the IRS. The book paints a desperate picture of a spiritual schizophrenic and asks hard unflinching questions of the evangelists (a key figure in the rise of Mike Warnke was the controversial Maurice Cerello), book publishers and record companies who profited from the comedian/speaker. 'Selling Satan' is not just a piece of brilliant investigative journalism. It is also a clarion call for all those involved in Christian media to develop far greater accountability. Here's a lengthy quotation: "Christians have always claimed a unique relationship to absolute Truth, which in their world view is incarnate in the Person of Jesus Christ. The final words of Christ to His disciples was the Great Commission, the command to take the gospel to all nations. Those Christians who have felt this obligation most acutely are called evangelical - the root word means 'Good News'. Naturally, Evangelicals have sought to utilise every available means of communication for spreading the Good News. "But the success of religious media has threatened the original rational for its own existence. Its strange blend of merchandising and Christian mission has baptised money making and commercialised evangelism. Mainstream media companies, with no missionary agenda, have seen the profit to be made in the religious media and had their own conversion experiences. Missionary minded organisations have backslid, finding profit considerations eclipsing spiritual ones as they have been forced to compete in an environment where the bottom line has become the only standard. People have been made rich and famous. While some have been able to maintain their integrity, for others the religious celebrity culture has had a corrupting influence. Yet product appeal in this market depend upon a perception of righteous lifestyles among media personalities. Those who profit from religious best-sellers have an interest in shaping their properties' public image accordingly. Image making is also baptised. "The resultant glow of spirituality has been both blinding and the source of great confusion, a confusion exploited by those who would continue to profit from the gospel. The evangelical press has often functioned as a conduit for the public relations of media corporations, assuming 'We're all Christians here.' Journalists are uneasy about asking questions and editors leery of looking behind manufactured images: most publications are subsidised by advertising from religious publishing and recording companies. "On the other hand, the religious press is also fearful of audience reaction, with good reason. The Christian public, despite all those religious books, is confused about the basics of their faith. They perceive truth telling as disunity and are judgemental of those who judge. Valuing good feelings above all else, they choose an illusion of unity which is in reality an avoidance of biblical discernment. Some worry for the image of Christianity in the eyes of the world. Others are primarily concerned with results: the evangelical bottom line of souls saved. Underneath it all, though perhaps unrecognised, lies the subtle fear of encountering the pain and sorrow truth telling may bring. "On the local church level, leadership is at a disadvantage in dealing with the influence of celebrities and experts. The authority conferred by mass media appears overwhelming. Those individuals or churches aware of the disparity between the public relations image and reality in the celebrity/expert's life are accused of gossip if they try to warn others. Church discipline among celebrity leaders in a decentralised, atomised, autonomous evangelical world is extremely problematic. "The inescapable conclusion: a communications network created to distribute the truth can be, if mechanisms for accountability at every level are not developed, a pipeline for deception. The circumstances which created the deceptive "ministry" of Mike Warnke could easily produce other deceptions. In short, a system in which the appearance of sincerity or expertise is the only criterion for consumers, and sales the prime consideration for producers, will ultimately reward the best performer." Mike Warnke's is of course an American tale. He never visited Britain and had a relatively low profile in the UK (though in recent years Nelson Word did release his albums and videos). In view of Warnke's relative lack of British exposure, this fascinating, thought-provoking and prophetic book is unlikely to be published in the UK. (Market Forces rule OK.) And even if it was available, the British Christians, not currently living in a culture where they're exposed to OTT television preachers or mass media religious hype might be tempted to dismiss this problem as a peculiarly American one. But I know from my own painful experiences among Britain's evangelical media in the last decade that many of the same money-driven considerations exist in Britain's Christian media as the ones exposed and analysed in 'Selling Satan'. Britain too must heed the lessons learnt from the Mike Warnke tragedy. We too must ensure there is adequate accountability in every itinerant Bible teacher, Christian rock band, festival and magazine. Otherwise we too will be travelling down the same road of potential deception and exploitation.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

Interested in reviewing music? Find out more here.