From: pearsodc@nextwork.rose-hulman.edu (D)
Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian
Subject: General Mike Warnke update
Date: 14 Sep 92 01:50:17 GMT
Organization: Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology

Followup-To: rec.music.christian

HANEL JERRY TODD writes
> Woah!! I was gone for the summer. there are no more files in our 
> listings dealing with this subject. Can someone please fill me in on 
> what the heck is going on arond here!! What about Mike? Did he "Revert" 
> back to satanism? I'm confused. please send me messages via e-mail. I 
> don't get around to NEWS to offten.
> Thanks MUCH..\
> 
> Jerry Hanel 
> hjerry@a.cs.okstate.edu
> 
I'll try to respond to Jerry by E-mail, but enough of these type posts  
have come up that I think it's time to bring everybody who just got back  
from summer vacation and as such have been "out of touch" up to speed.

By way of update:  In June, Cornerstone Magazine published a story they  
had been holding onto for two years in order to put in enough prayer,  
fact-finding, interviews, and research to make sure that everything they  
published was the truth.  In this article, Jon Trott and Mike Hertenstein  
of Cornerstone confronted Mike Warnke publicly with several inconstencies  
with his testimony (as included in his book _The_Satan_Seller_ and in the  
audio cassette _Alive!_) and how those he was close to at the time of his  
alleged involvement in the Satanic church refuted key points of his  
testimony.  They also questioned his financial motives and the conditions  
surrounding his three divorces, especially the latest from his partner in  
his "ministry," Rose Hall Warnke.  You can get a copy of the Warnke  
article by writing Cornerstone at 939 W. Wilson Ave., Chicago, IL  60640.   
The article will run you $3.00, but it's worth it.  (I believe there is  
still an FTP copy available from wuarchive.wustl.edu, but you'll have to  
hunt directories to find it.)

Mike's response to the article came (from my understanding) almost  
immediately in a "information packet" put out by Word, Inc.  It included a  
statement by Mike in which he flatly denied the Cornerstone allegations  
about his testimony - "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_."  Statements were  
included by Sue Studer (Mike's first wife) and (shockingly to me) the  
president of Word, Inc., who gave his biggest endorsement - "In response  
to recent allegations of the integrity of Mike Warnke's ministry, Word,  
Inc. met with Mike and conducted follow-up on the areas in question.   
Information the company recieved reinforces our confidence in his  
ministry."  Within two months, Word would pull all sales of Warnke  
product.

And about one month ago, the Internal Revenue Service delivered the most  
decisive blow to Warnke Ministries by coming up with hard numbers to show  
that the entire arrangement wasn't on the up and up (thanks to  
mueller@owlnet.rice.edu (Ernest Conrad Mueller) for the hard info):

---
Mike's supporters send in $2 million a year.
"Former employees say that Warnke supporters who think their money helps  
people escape drugs and satanism are being misled.  The organization,  
which claims to help thousands of people, gave $900 to charities last year  
while paying the Warnkefamily $920,248."
(No, that $900 is not a typo.)
Rose gets nearly $300,000 in salary - but she claims the ministry cannot  
afford to staff its national toll-free crisis line for more than eight  
hours a day.
Figures : Last year, Mike got paid $303,840.  Rose got $291,840.  Hall  
[Rose's brother] got $214,000. That's 38% of their ministries' income  
right there.
That's in addition to book, tape, and video royalties as well as speaking  
fees. Hall's daughter gets $71,140 and Rose's daughter gets $31,883.
In the most recent Warnke Ministries newsletter, Warnke wrote that  
collections are down. "We continue to need you to help us to help all  
those desperately hurting... literally thousands of children abused daily,  
tortured, or abandoned.  Abused wives and husbands, families torn apart by  
drugs, alcohol, satanism, divorce, emotional illness, prison, murder,  
rape." [The actual number of people helped by Warnke Ministries was closer  
to 50 per WEEK.]
They have been getting $30-40,000 a year raises.  Given to themselves, of  
course. Mike and Rose still work together, despite Mike being on his  
fourth wife, Sue, at the moment.
---

I, personally, haven't heard anything new from anybody since I pulled that  
post from r.m.c on 28 August 92.  I'll gladly take any new information  
anyone has.  Better yet, post it to r.m.c so we all can read it!

I do have a folder full of Warnke information.  I have recieved requests  
for information out of that folder, and I will issue a blanket apology to  
all those people who requested information because I simply have not had  
the time to complile all the information in a folder and send it out.  I  
hope to do that tomorrow night.  If you would like to see what I have,  
please e-mail me and be patient.  If you don't need the information  
anymore, please e-mail me and save me a little time...right now, I need  
all of it I can get...8-)

Well, this has taken too long to write already, so I'll take my leave...

Keep the faith, y'all...

clueless chuck
PearsoDC@NeXTWork.Rose-Hulman.Edu