A book that bills itself as an investigation into prominent evangelical Christian leaders selling out for 'wokeism' has drawn fierce pushback from those targeted by the book, while proponents have rallied around the text as a battle cry.
“Shepherds for Sale: How Evangelical Leaders Traded the Truth for a Leftist Agenda” by Megan Basham, who writes for The Daily Wire, is the latest inflection point in a broader debate over conservative Christians’ political positions and the way they articulate those positions.
Basham’s book evaluates certain evangelical leaders’ stances on issues such as climate change, immigration, abortion, #MeToo and LGBTQ+ rights, and claims to point out those leaders wavering on traditional views of those issues. But those who are accused of wavering have said Basham used quotes out of context, while others have criticized the author and publisher for sidestepping journalistic ethics. Some have gone so far as to demand publisher Harper Collins pull the book. Here’s what to know.
What the book says and who’s supporting it
The premise of “Shepherds for Sale” is that various political and cultural influences are causing conservative faith leaders to cave and less boldly state orthodox beliefs while aligning with groups that espouse values antithetical to a traditionalist Christian worldview.
“My ultimate purpose is to confirm for average evangelicals in the pews that the uneasy feelings many of you have been having (perhaps for some years now) that your pulpits and your institutions are being co-opted by political forces with explicitly secular progressive aims are justified,” said Basham in the book’s introduction.
Many figures who befall Basham’s criticism are currently or previously associated with the Nashville-based Southern Baptist Convention, a denomination that’s grown increasingly divided between mainstream conservative and opposition conservative factions. Leaders of the opposition conservative faction, which has sought to pull the denomination further to the right, have rallied behind Basham and her book.
“I'm convinced that many evangelicals who are being steered by leftists are completely unaware,” said Florida pastor Tom Ascol, who ran as an opposition conservative candidate for SBC president in 2022, in a social media post about the book.
Other well-known and more conservative faith leaders outside the SBC have also endorsed the book. “The book is succeeding precisely because it resonates with what a multitude of rank-and-file Christians have seen going on in their own communities and churches,” said Idaho pastor Doug Wilson on social media.
How 'Big Eva' leaders responded
Faith leaders who Basham criticized – popularly referred to as associated with “Big Eva” among the Christian right – have come out in the past week with extensive rebuttals.
Nashville theologian Gavin Ortlund recorded a 27-minute YouTube video refuting passages in “Shepherds for Sale,” while North Carolina pastor and former SBC president J.D. Greear responded in a similarly lengthy manner.
“I don’t point out these kinds of errors to be pedantic, but because journalistic integrity is essential to long-term credibility, and both Basham and HarperCollins have failed in their professional duties to perform due diligence to ensure accurate reporting,” said Greear in an online post Monday.
Other progressive and centrist voices, such as Nashville writer Tyler Huckabee and MinistryWatch president Warren Cole Smith, respectively, commented that Basham’s assertation that evangelical leaders have capitulated to broader cultural and political influences is true, but often in the opposite direction that Basham claims.
Harper Collins draws calls to pull book over ethics questions
In addition to pushback that Basham used quotes and other information out of context, the Daily Wire writer has also parried outcry that she bypassed journalism ethics by naming a survivor of alleged sexual abuse.
The original case is about Southern Baptist pastor and former SBC president Johnny Hunt, who faced sexual abuse allegations in a May 2022 report from Guidepost Solutions on SBC leaders’ response to an abuse crisis. Up until the recent release of Basham’s book, the woman who originally raised those allegations against Hunt has remained anonymous in the public eye.
“It is the most basic journalism ethics to not name abuse survivors without consent (barring extraordinary circ*mstances),” said Texas-based journalist Robert Downen, who personally interviewed the woman who accused Hunt of abuse and hadn’t named the woman in stories about the case, on social media, according to Baptist News Global.
Those who had already been criticizing Harper Collins for publishing “Shepherds for Sale” despite fact-checking concerns were emboldened to escalate their demands amid discourse about Basham naming the victim.
“Naming a sex abuse survivor without her consent is completely unethical. @HarperCollins needs to pull @megbasham’s book immediately,” wrote journalist Julie Roys, who often writes about abuse in the church.
Basham responded to the heat by saying on social media those who publicly make accusations “should be obligated to stand behind them.” The allegations against Hunt are central to an ongoing defamation lawsuit between Hunt against the SBC and Guidepost.
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Liam Adams covers religion for The Tennessean. Reach him at ladams@tennessean.com or on social media @liamsadams.
