Warren Cole Smith - Revision history

BrantleyRider: /* Controversies */

2025-08-16T13:01:49Z

Controversies

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	Smith found himself at the center of a controversy regarding the book ''[[Shepherds for Sale]]'', by [[Megan Basham]]. The book made [[wikipedia:The New York Times Best Seller list\|''The New York Times'' Best Seller list]] despite being criticized for inaccuracies. A number of people mentioned in the book have publicly contested its assertions. Smith, writing for ''[[wikipedia:The Dispatch\|The Dispatch]]'', suggested that the book was not journalism but propaganda.<ref>https://thedispatch.com/article/which-shepherds-are-for-sale/</ref>		Smith found himself at the center of a controversy regarding the book ''[[Shepherds for Sale]]'', by [[Megan Basham]]. The book made [[wikipedia:The New York Times Best Seller list\|''The New York Times'' Best Seller list]] despite being criticized for inaccuracies. A number of people mentioned in the book have publicly contested its assertions. Smith, writing for ''[[wikipedia:The Dispatch\|The Dispatch]]'', suggested that the book was not journalism but propaganda.<ref>https://thedispatch.com/article/which-shepherds-are-for-sale/</ref>

	Rick Pidcock of [[Baptist News Global]] cited Smith and said that Basham "resorts to lies and conspiracy theories to make her case."<ref>https://baptistnews.com/article/who-are-the-billionaires-and-celebrity-pastors-supporting-megan-basham/</ref> According to Smith, the "fundamental flaw" of Basham's book is that "corrupting money is not on the evangelical left, as she claims, but on the populist right."		[[Rick Pidcock]] of [[Baptist News Global]] cited Smith and said that Basham "resorts to lies and conspiracy theories to make her case."<ref>https://baptistnews.com/article/who-are-the-billionaires-and-celebrity-pastors-supporting-megan-basham/</ref> According to Smith, the "fundamental flaw" of Basham's book is that "corrupting money is not on the evangelical left, as she claims, but on the populist right."

	===Aslan International===		===Aslan International===
	[[MinistryWatch]]’s coverage of [[wikipedia:Aslan International Group\|Aslan International Group]] became a national story, resulting in Smith being interviewed by [[NBC News]].<ref>https://www.nbcnews.com/news/crime-courts/pastor-family-stole-8m-taxpayers-covid-scam-feds-say-havent-charged-rcna30379</ref>		[[MinistryWatch]]’s coverage of [[wikipedia:Aslan International Group\|Aslan International Group]] became a national story, resulting in Smith being interviewed by [[wikipedia:NBC News\|NBC News]].<ref>https://www.nbcnews.com/news/crime-courts/pastor-family-stole-8m-taxpayers-covid-scam-feds-say-havent-charged-rcna30379</ref>

	==Personal life==		==Personal life==

BrantleyRider at 00:28, 12 March 2025

2025-03-12T00:28:02Z

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	'''Warren Cole Smith''' (born July 11, 1958) is an American author and journalist. He is the president and [[wikipedia:editor-in-chief\|editor-in-chief]] at [[MinistryWatch]].<ref>https://ministrywatch.com/leadership-team/</ref><ref>https://juicyecumenism.com/2017/12/06/100-influential-protestants/</ref> He is the author or co-author of more than a dozen books and more than 3000 magazine and newspaper articles, many of them for [[WORLD Magazine]].~~</ref>~~		'''Warren Cole Smith''' (born July 11, 1958) is an American author and journalist. He is the president and [[wikipedia:editor-in-chief\|editor-in-chief]] at [[MinistryWatch]].<ref>https://ministrywatch.com/leadership-team/</ref><ref>https://juicyecumenism.com/2017/12/06/100-influential-protestants/</ref> He is the author or co-author of more than a dozen books and more than 3000 magazine and newspaper articles, many of them for [[WORLD Magazine]].

	==Early life and education==		==Early life and education==

BrantleyRider at 00:27, 12 March 2025

2025-03-12T00:27:48Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 00:27, 12 March 2025
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	}}		}}

	'''Warren Cole Smith''' (born July 11, 1958) is an American author and journalist. He is the president and [[wikipedia:editor-in-chief\|editor-in-chief]] at [[MinistryWatch]].<ref>https://ministrywatch.com/leadership-team/</ref><ref>https://juicyecumenism.com/2017/12/06/100-influential-protestants/</ref> He is the author or co-author of more than a dozen books and more than 3000 magazine and newspaper articles, many of them for [[WORLD Magazine]].<ref>		'''Warren Cole Smith''' (born July 11, 1958) is an American author and journalist. He is the president and [[wikipedia:editor-in-chief\|editor-in-chief]] at [[MinistryWatch]].<ref>https://ministrywatch.com/leadership-team/</ref><ref>https://juicyecumenism.com/2017/12/06/100-influential-protestants/</ref> He is the author or co-author of more than a dozen books and more than 3000 magazine and newspaper articles, many of them for [[WORLD Magazine]].</ref>

	==Early life and education==		==Early life and education==

BrantleyRider: Created page with "{{Infobox_person | name = Warren Cole Smith | image = File:Warren-Cole-Smith.jpg | birth_date = July 11, 1958 | birth_place = Memphis, Tennessee | occupation = President of MinistryWatch | education = University of Georgia | spouse = Missy Smith | children = 4 }} '''Warren Cole Smith''' (born July 11, 1958) is an American author and journalist. He is the president and wik..."

2025-03-12T00:27:03Z

Created page with "{{Infobox_person | name = Warren Cole Smith | image = File:Warren-Cole-Smith.jpg | birth_date = July 11, 1958 | birth_place = Memphis, Tennessee | occupation = President of MinistryWatch | education = University of Georgia | spouse = Missy Smith | children = 4 }} '''Warren Cole Smith''' (born July 11, 1958) is an American author and journalist. He is the president and wik..."

New page

{{Infobox_person
| name = Warren Cole Smith
| image = File:Warren-Cole-Smith.jpg
| birth_date = July 11, 1958
| birth_place = [[wikipedia:Memphis, Tennessee|Memphis, Tennessee]]
| occupation = President of [[MinistryWatch]]
| education = [[wikipedia:University of Georgia|University of Georgia]]
| spouse = Missy Smith
| children = 4
}}

'''Warren Cole Smith''' (born July 11, 1958) is an American author and journalist. He is the president and [[wikipedia:editor-in-chief|editor-in-chief]] at [[MinistryWatch]].<ref>https://ministrywatch.com/leadership-team/</ref><ref>https://juicyecumenism.com/2017/12/06/100-influential-protestants/</ref> He is the author or co-author of more than a dozen books and more than 3000 magazine and newspaper articles, many of them for [[WORLD Magazine]].<ref>

==Early life and education==
Smith was born in [[wikipedia:Memphis, Tennessee|Memphis, Tennessee]], in 1958. His family moved to the [[wikipedia:Atlanta, Georgia|Atlanta]] area in 1970. He graduated from [[wikipedia:Sprayberry High School|Sprayberry High School]] in [[wikipedia:Marietta, Georgia|Marietta, Georgia]], in 1976. He attended the [[wikipedia:University of Georgia|University of Georgia]] and graduated with a bachelor's degree in journalism in 1980.

==Career==
Upon graduation, Smith worked for the [[wikipedia:Georgia House of Representatives|Georgia House of Representatives]] as an [[wikipedia:attaché|attaché]] and the editor of the ''House Journal'', an archive of the proceedings of the 1981 session. He then moved to [[wikipedia:Alaska|Alaska]] to work for [[wikipedia:Wien Air Alaska|Wien Air Alaska]], where he managed a fishing lodge, Brooks Lodge, owned by Wien. Some of his earliest published writings are about his Alaska experiences, including a short story for [[wikipedia:Sports Afield|Sports Afield]] magazine and a non-fiction article for [[wikipedia:Alaska (magazine)|Alaska Magazine]].<ref>https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B093YJ9GKC/about</ref><ref>https://stream.org/author/warrensmith/</ref>

After three years in Alaska, he returned to the [[wikipedia:University of Georgia|University of Georgia]], where he completed a Master of Arts in English in 1985.

Smith left [[wikipedia:PwC|PwC]] in 2000 to serve as president of [[World Newspaper Publishing]], a company that owned seven Christian newspapers, mostly in the Southeastern United States, as well as the Evangelical Press News Service,<ref>https://www.worldnewspaperpublishing.com</ref> which at the time was used by more than 100 Christian newspapers around the country.<ref>https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/profile/warren-cole-smith/}}</ref>

Smith has served as the president and editor-in-chief of [[MinistryWatch]] since 2019.<ref>https://ministrywatch.com/warren-cole-smith-to-lead-ministrywatch/</ref>

==Controversies==
===Mars Hill Church===
While writing for [[WORLD Magazine]], Smith was the first to report on significant aspects of the scandal at and ultimate demise of [[Mars Hill Church]].<ref>http://www.worldmag.com/2014/03/unreal_sales_for_driscoll_s_real_marriage</ref><ref>http://www.worldmag.com/2014/08/acts_29_to_mark_driscoll_resign_and_seek_help</ref><ref>https://wng.org/sift/unreal-sales-for-driscolls-real-marriage-161742242}</ref>

===''Shepherds for Sale''===
Smith found himself at the center of a controversy regarding the book ''[[Shepherds for Sale]]'', by [[Megan Basham]]. The book made [[wikipedia:The New York Times Best Seller list|''The New York Times'' Best Seller list]] despite being criticized for inaccuracies. A number of people mentioned in the book have publicly contested its assertions. Smith, writing for ''[[wikipedia:The Dispatch|The Dispatch]]'', suggested that the book was not journalism but propaganda.<ref>https://thedispatch.com/article/which-shepherds-are-for-sale/</ref>

Rick Pidcock of [[Baptist News Global]] cited Smith and said that Basham "resorts to lies and conspiracy theories to make her case."<ref>https://baptistnews.com/article/who-are-the-billionaires-and-celebrity-pastors-supporting-megan-basham/</ref> According to Smith, the "fundamental flaw" of Basham's book is that "corrupting money is not on the evangelical left, as she claims, but on the populist right."

===Aslan International===
[[MinistryWatch]]’s coverage of [[wikipedia:Aslan International Group|Aslan International Group]] became a national story, resulting in Smith being interviewed by [[NBC News]].<ref>https://www.nbcnews.com/news/crime-courts/pastor-family-stole-8m-taxpayers-covid-scam-feds-say-havent-charged-rcna30379</ref>

==Personal life==
Smith is married with four adult children. He lives with his wife Missy in [[wikipedia:Charlotte, North Carolina|Charlotte, North Carolina]]. He served for seven years on the staff of [[wikipedia:Philmont Scout Ranch|Philmont Scout Ranch]] in [[wikipedia:Cimarron, New Mexico|Cimarron, New Mexico]]. He later served as president of the Philmont Staff Association, a 4,000-member alumni association. He is a past editor and is currently on the editorial advisory board of “High Country,” the magazine of the Philmont Staff Association.<ref>https://wsmith-61546.medium.com/what-a-ranger-is-2e0c59fe5bd2</ref>

==Selected bibliography==
===Books===
*Smith, Warren Cole (2009). A Lover's Quarrel With The Evangelical Church. Authentic Books. ISBN 978-1606570289.
*Smith, Warren Cole; Tschetter, Marty (2011). I Wanna Go Back: Stories of the Philmont Rangers. Philmont Staff Association Press. ISBN 978-0983049715.
*Smith, Warren Cole; Olasky, Marvin (2013). Prodigal Press: Confronting the Anti-Christian Bias of American News Media. P&R Publishing. ISBN 978-1596385979.
*Smith, Warren Cole ; Stonestreet, John (2015). Restoring All Things: God's Audacious Plan To Change The World Through Everyday People. Baker Books. ISBN 978-0801000300.
*Smith, Warren Cole (2017). Print The Legend: The Previously Unpublished Memoir of Alison Stanton Bradshaw. Eagle Trail Press. ISBN 978-0997426731.
*Smith, Warren Cole (2021). Faith Based Fraud: Learning from the Great Religious Scandals of our Time. WildBlue Press. ISBN 978-1952225550.

===Articles===
*Smith, Warren Cole (March 30, 2019), "The temple of Fido: How our worship of animals dehumanizes us", WORLD Magazine
*Smith, Warren Cole (September 12, 2018), "David Foster Wallace Broke My Heart", Christianity Today
*Smith, Warren Cole (August 3, 2024), "Which Shepherds Are For Sale? A new book about evangelicalism is really about Donald Trump", The Dispatch

==References==

[[Category:1958 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:21st-century American male writers]]
[[Category:American evangelicals]]
[[Category:American male non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:Editors of Christian publications]]