Newsgroups: rec.music.christian
Subject: Mike Warnke Statement - Part 1
From: bdevilbi@uceng.UC.EDU (Brian Devilbiss)
Date: Tue, 28 Jul 1992 19:30:33 GMT
Organization: College of Engineering, University of Cincinnati

Due to the numerous requests I received for the statement I wrote about 
previously, I will post his staement in parts as time allows me. I will
post first the statement directly from his hand.

*****************************************************************************
Note: It is *very* important that you carefully read the Cornerstone article
      first. Otherwise, much of want Warnke says may not make sense.
*****************************************************************************

The letter is exactly as described ;-)...........

				Warnke Ministries

				   Statement

				July 15, 1992

	Recently, _Cornerstone Magazine_, a so-called "avante-garde 
Christian" publication from Chicago, Illinois, printed a 12-page, highly-
critical article which essentially charged that my past life and testimony
are total lies and my entire ministry is a fraud. While acknowledging that
my work has helped people and that I am "efficient at winning souls," the
author commented that "that doesn't negate the fact that he is not telling 
the truth about himself. And his life is not true."

	My normal policy is to ignore negative opinions and criticisms and
simply concentrate on my work and ministry. However, since this malicious
article has been picked up and widely reported by the secular media and the
story has been handed out with a press release by the co-authors at a major
Christian publishing convention in Dallas, Texas, numerous sincere and honest
Christians have expressed their alarm at such a shocking attack and asked for
my response. Because many of these people have believed in my work and some
have even helped support our ministry, I feel I owe them an explanation and a
chance to hear the truth.

	First of all, I stand by my testimony of being delivered and set free
by the power of Jesus Christ after being a satanic high priest exactly as
published in my book, _The Satan Seller_. It is an unusual accusation to be
charged with "Not being as bad as you claim." Sadly, I was deeply involved in
the occult, including the conducting of grisly, evil, secret rituals, and the
recruitment of new members, into satanic practices. My involvement definitely
was no limited to dabbling with a Ouija board. My nationally-recoginized 
expertise on the occult, which has been utilized by police departments and 
national television shows such as "20/20" is base on my personal, first-hand
experiences, my ministry contacts with hundreds of other people who have been
involved with satanism, as well as extensive personal study.

	Co-author David Balsiger has issued a statement which recalls that 
after the first draft of _The Satan Seller_ was completed and he felt it was
ready for the publisher, my wife Sue and I rejected the manuscript because of 
inaccuracies and problems with the details. It took nearly two additional 
months of working together to re-write the material to get events in proper
sequence and every detail as factually correct as possible. Then some inform-
ation was puposefully changed to protect the privacy of certain individuals
and to prevent readers from using the book as a guide for occultic and 
satanic purposes. But, as we stated in the front of the book, "The events are
absolutely as described."

	Second, I categorically deny that Warnke Ministries is a fraudulent 
operation in any sense of the word, despit misleading and inaccurate published
statements attributed to a few disgruntled former employees of the ministry.
In fact, most of their statements date to a time when we were struggling with
our finances and attempting to develop good business practices. Practically 
all of the ministry income is from my ministry concert and related product
sales. Warnke Mininstries is controlled and directed by an independent Board
of Directors as prescribed by state statutes and U.S. Internal Revenue Service
guidelines. Our financial records are maintained in accordance to standard 
accounting practices and are scrutinized by an independent outside firm of
sertified public accountants. All ministry operations are also reviewed by
a taz attorney to insure that they conform with all applicable rules and 
regulations. Our claims of ministering to people and helping get them off 
drugs and out of satanism are documented by numerous public testimonies and 
correspondence, as well as the confirmation of pastors and clergy men across
the nation.

	Although _Cornerstone Magazine_ claims to have conducted a full-blown,
two-year investigation of me and my ministry, the writer did not contact me 
until a few days before the publication deadline. Both personally and through
my agent-attorney, I conveyed that I was available for an interview, but was
on a tightly-schedules concert tour, and aked for an alternate date about 
three weeks later, preferably at my headquarters office or at my attorney's 
office.

	Neither condition was acceptable to _Cornerstone_. They wanted no one
but their representatives present at the interview, and they insisted on 
meeting immediately, in a venue more to their liking -- in their home town of
Chicago...at O'Hare Airport.

	We explained to the reporter that because print journalism is so 
"scandal" oriented these days, we are a bit guarded in our relationship with
writers. We asked for the chance to correct factual errors or unintentional
mistakes in the article, while providing assurance that we would no attempt 
to exercise editorial supervision over the content.

	Apparently this was no acceptable to _Cornerstone_ since the magazine
went to press with its "expose" without further attempts to interview me or
verify any portion of its story with the ministry.

	Neither did the magazine do an in-depth interview with the one person
-- my ex-wife Sue Warnke -- who could have confirmed my life story. Sue lived
and experienced about 60 percent of the account included in my book, _The 
Satan Seller_, and has her own independent knowledge of my earlier involvement
with satanism. In a newly-released notarized statement [which i'll post later],
she says she was contacted by an employee of _Cornerstone_ about a year and a
half ago. He told her they were doing research into Mike Warnke in an attempt
to disprove me and asked for her statement about _The Satan Seller_, me 
personally, and the Warnke Ministry.

	Sue states: "I told him that _The Satan Seller_ was true, but other
than that I had no comment. I told him that he should contact Mike personally."

	Since Sue apparently did not provide the answers they wanted to hear, 
the magazine looked elsewhere for its "facts." Much of the information 
subsequently used seems to have been provided  by Carolyn Alberty, who was 
instrumental in the break-up of my marriage to Sue, and who used her skill as
a cold-hearted and calculated temptress to involve me in an ill-fated second
marriage. It was a bitter marriage, a bitter separation, and a very bitter
divorce. The experiences left me emotionally shattered and destroyed any
effectiveness I might have had as a minister at that time. Only time and the
healing power of God could have restored me from this living death.

	I believe Carolyn's continuing bitterness motivated her to make
deliberately hurtful and false statements to reporters and possibly to persuade
others to join in her campaign of vicious lies. I also believe that honest,
professional journalistic efforts would have questioned the veracity of these
unfound charges and statements.

	For example, on of the article's co-authors, Jon Trott, is quoted as
saying that the "most convincing evidence" he has is a April 1966 photograph
of me with my fiancee. In the photo I have short hair, at a time when Trott
says I claimed to be at my height in satanism. The problem with this "evidence"
is that it is totally untrue. The girl in the picture was never my fiancee.
While I may have dated her for a short peroid of time, she was never a serious
girlfriend, and we certainly never were engaged. In fact, I have no 
recollection of the time frame when I might have gone out with her -- certainly
it was not during the darkest days of my statnic involvement. I could have 
cleared up this blatant error had I been given the courtesy of responding to
_Cornerstone's_ reporters before they printed their article.

	As to claims that former fellow students who knew me in high school
and college deny that I had any sort of satanic involvement, I simply ask,
"How would they know?" A veil of secrecy covers the activities of most 
satanists even now -- and this was especially true during my experiences
during the 1960's. Although my penchant for wearing black, wearing my hair
longer, and my strung out, dissipated appearance with an unhealthy pallor
was apparent to close friends and associates, casual acquaintances well might
not have noticed.

	On the other hand, David Balsiger has stated that during the course
of working with me on _The Satan Seller_, he met perhaps a half dozen 
individuals who did have personal knowledge of my stanic activities. He also
points out that the activities described in the book which created such a 
sensation at the time it was published are "kids play" compared to occult-
satanic ritual activities taking place today. Untold numbers of high schoolers,
college students, and other individuals are now routinely involved in many of
the activites I described -- but they are totally ignored by law enforcement
unless a criminal act can be proven to have taken place during the course of
the satanic activity.

	In addition to the statements provided by Mr. Balsiger and Susan Lee
Warnke from which I have quoted, I also have important statements from 
numerous other respected Christian leaders who know me, my story, and my 
ministry. In the interest of accuracy and fairness, what they have said
deserves to be heard.

	For example, Mr. Patrick Matrisciana, president of Jeremiah Films, 
Inc., tells of working on a film in 1972 which featured Hal Lindsey and 
contained interviews and rituals with prominent occultists from the Berkeley/
San Francisco area. He said that when Mike Warnke's name was mentioned, on
at least two occasions, satanists reacted with verbal abuse, accusing me of
being a traitor to the cause of Satan. 

	Matrisciana also tells of meeting the late Walter Martin, who told him
that a former satanist had identified the top three people on the satanic hit
list -- the targets of their magic spells and death curses. Those three 
individuals were Mike Warnke, Walter Martin, and Pat Matrisciana.

	Best-selling authoress Johanna Michaelsen has attended at least four
of my concert appearances, and we have worked together on various radio and
television programs. She writes: "I am grieved and horrified by this latest
attack on Mike Warnke. I am not, however, surprised by it. In the last several
years we have witnessed a systematic, concerted and well orgainized effory to
utterly destroy and discredit the reputation of ministries and individuals who
courageously maintain that there is indeed a problem with Satanism in America."

	She goes on to say, "I know of no one who has had a more positive 
impact in the lives of young people who have been caught up in satanism and
the occult than Mike Warnke. He has a profound love and zeal for Jesus Christ,
and inexhaustible desire to see young people come to know Him, and a deep-
seated loathing of hypocrisy in the Church."

	Mr. Roland Lundy, president of Word, Inc., has stated: In response to
recent allegations about the integrity of Mike Warnke's Ministry, Word, Inc.
met with Mike and conducted follow-up on the areas in question. Information 
the company received reinforces our confidence in his ministry. We are pleased
to be associated with Mike Warnke, recognizing the strength of his ministry,
and that our partnership with him has opened up new avenues of reaching people
for Christ."

	Bob Larson of Bob Larson Ministries writes: "My knowledge of Mike 
Warnke and the work of Warnke Ministries dates back approximately a dozen
years. In that time, I have found Mike to be a credible spokesperson 
regarding the occult...one of the foremost leaders in educating the public on
satanism. Bob Larson Ministires has worked with Warnke Ministries in outreach
to victims of satanism. Mike and his staff have spent numerous hours behind
the scenes cooperating with me and my staff to assure that victims received
the support they desperately needed. I am grateful for Mike's friendship and
his concern for those in bondage to the occult."

	These and several other statements attesting to the truth and integrity
of my personal life and my ministry are available in their entirety to anyone
who wishes to examine them. I am also quite sure this information would have
been provided to any responsible journalist who sought it at any time.

	Recently, I celebrated 20 years of full time ministry. Reaching this
milestone is a testimony to the mercy and grace of God. Certainly I have
made many mistakes and have failed numerous times in my personal life and
ministry. Any good that comes from my efforts truly is the product of the
power of God and not the result of my efforts or talent.

	While I am the first to acknowledge my failures and shortcomings, I
can also say with absolute conviction that I have never willfully lied to or
deceived anybody, that my life and experiences and Christian testimony are 
completely true as reported, and that my ministry is operated totally open
and honest before God.

	I have sought the spiritual counsel of men of God like Pastor Jim
Kraft and Christian therapist John Joy of Lexington, KY. In addition to them,
I have made myself accountable in my professional life to people like advisor-
attorney Mike Conover, the Board of Directors of Warnke Ministries, and to 
Roland Lundy, Lynn Keesecker, and Tom Ramsey of Word, Inc., and to Lloyd 
Hildebrandt and Clift Richards of Victory House publishers.

	For the mistakes of the past, I have repented. For the mistakes of the
future, I look to the grace of God and the lessons I have learned. I am not 
the person I was twenty-five, thirteen, or even two years ago. I intend to go
on serving God with all my heart and strength and soul. I can say with the
apostle Paul, Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been
made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took
hold of me. Brother, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. 
But one thing I do: forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is 
ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called
me heavenward in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:12-14).

					Respectfully,

					Mike Warnke

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Pray for Mike and his ministry and remember that there will be a judgement.

In Christ,

BLD

P.S. Stay Tuned.......
Newsgroups: rec.music.christian