Book Review: "Shepherds for Sale" by Megan Basham

This post is the third in a three-book review series. So far, we’ve covered two other books:

1. A book seeking to explain how Christians should interpret and involve themselves in culture (Review here)

2. A book magnifying the beauty and dignity of relationships in our occupations - which urges us to answer the question, "Knowing what I know, what will I do about it?” (Review here)

This review covers a book I referred to as “a book that sheds light - uncomfortably so - on many of evangelicalism’s most recognizable names and asks whether they have ‘sold out’ to a well-orchestrated influence scheme from secular sources.”¹

"Shepherds for Sale: How Evangelical Leaders Traded the Truth for a Leftist Agenda" by Megan Basham

When I read the last page of this book,² I put the book down with gratitude - not because I finished a hard-to-read book, but for the courage and grace of Megan Basham to write and communicate in a way that always, always placed the importance of the truth of the Gospel above personalities and leaders - no matter how vaulted and renown they may be.

This will go on a short list of book I claim as “must-reads” for Christians seeking to be like the men of Issachar in 1 Chronicles:

"From the Issacharites, who understood the times and knew what Israel should do: 200 chiefs with all their relatives under their command."³

We need more Christians who understand the times and know how to respond.

On the opening page, Basham quotes J. Gresham Machenz:⁴

“Light may seem at times to be an impertinent intruder, but it is always beneficial in the end. …In the sphere of religion, as in other spheres, the things about which men are agreed are apt to be the things that are lest worth holding; the really important things are the things about which men will fight.”

It’s not lost on me that of all the books that have been written in the last ten years, it seems that those written by women and not men have been the most penetrating, most searing in their laser pinpointing of problems, errors and bad theology or cultural rot.

In addition to Megan Basham, I commend Allie Beth Stuckey and Rosario Butterfield (Christian) and Abigail Shrier (secular) and J.K. Rowling for their bravery and truth-telling in a day of ideologue terrorism.

What does scripture say about “shepherds for sale?”

If one could identify in scripture a common problem among spiritual leaders to watch out for, it would be idolatry and compromise. From the Old Testament to the New Testament, God’s people are constantly warned against false prophets and those who seek to infiltrate the church and warp the doctrines of faith.

In the Old Testament, God spoke through Ezekiel about shepherds with misplaced priorities:

“…the shepherds feed themselves rather than my flock, therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD! This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Look, I am against the shepherds. I will demand my flock from them and prevent them from shepherding the flock. The shepherds will no longer feed themselves, for I will rescue my flock from their mouths so that they will not be food for them.’”⁵

In the New Testament, this theme was echoed by Jude:

“They are shepherds who only look after themselves.”⁶

Jesus warned the disciples:

“Be on your guard against false prophets who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravaging wolves.”⁷

Jesus then cautioned the disciples as He sent them out into the world:

“Look, I’m sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as serpents and as innocent as doves."⁸

The primary strategy to combat deception and outwit these shepherds is what Paul described as spiritual armor in Ephesians 6:

In Ephesians 5 alone, Christians are urged to armor up, and the first thing mentioned is truth. It is truth that combats deceptions and lies. Paul pointed out the importance of knowing truth in chapter 5 of Ephesians:

• "Let no one deceive you with empty arguments” (v6)

• “Walk as children of light” (v8)

• “Don’t participate in the fruitless works of darkness, but instead expose them.” (v11)

• “Pay careful attention, then, to how you walk — not as unwise people but as wise — making the most of the time, because the days are evil.” (v15-16)

With that scriptural foundation laid, let me talk wincingly about the book.

My faith tribe gets Basham-ed

My faith tribe is Southern Baptists. I love the people of this denomination. I came from a long heritage of Southern Baptists on both sides of my family. Yet, Basham pull no punches in calling out SBC institutions and leaders. From the mishandling of sexual abuse allegations and its bowing to the idol of #MeToo to the infiltration of CRT into seminaries and advocacy of Black Lives Matters in the heated summer of 2020 by numerous celebrity SBC preachers and leaders, she brings receipts. (The books is arduously footnoted.)

It isn’t fun to read about some of the most lauded, popular and social media quoted preachers in the SBC in Basham’s book. While one may equivocate on how “harsh” she may be, the gist of her argument is irrefutable.

Here’s the overall perspective

There is no disputing that enemies work feverishly to infiltrate their own enemy’s power structures and institutions. The clever placement of spies has been a primary strategy of nations of all political persuasions. Sometimes they’re comically obvious (the Chinese spy balloons that were allowed to drift across the U.S. in 2023⁹).

Historians point out that in the early part of the 20th century, Communists worked diligently to infiltrate, influence and corrupt platforms, institutions, and leaders in the West. The U.S. was a primary target. Even into the 21st century, the idea of foreign influence has captured headlines (even when the narrative was false¹⁰).

When you acknowledge that one of the primary strategies of an enemy is to infiltrate, influence and corrupt in national matters, you must not think that it isn’t happening in ecclesial matters. Especially reminded by Old Testament prophets, Jesus and the apostles, Christians must acknowledge that the Master of Lies and Deception (Satan) makes it his chief aim to deceive, influence and infiltrate the church, its leaders and its people.

That’s where Megan Basham’s book is the most difficult to read.

It’s been happening… under our noses. It’s been happening, even as many of us have played nice and gracious and tried to convince ourselves that some of our leaders didn’t know what they were doing.

Motives aside, what Basham documents in painstaking detail is an all-out assault from multiple sides, across denominational lines and in many of our Christian educational institutions.

I’m convinced that several of the leaders identified in Basham’s book got “swept up” into emotional moments in our culture and failed to “stand firm in the faith.”¹¹ I don’t believe they failed in cultural moments of pressure and threats of cancellation because of a malicious spirit. In fact, it may be worse. They may have failed because of a cowardly spirit.

“A dog barks when his master is attacked. I would be a coward if I saw that God's truth is attacked and yet would remain silent.” ~ John Calvin

Read this book

I urge you to read this difficult book. You should not read it out of a salacious curiosity of “who’s who” in it. You should read it it as a personal caution to not fall for what others have.

As you read it, you’ll be educated on a sustained, coordinated effort by governments (including ours) to influence church leaders to propagate a unified message given to them. You’ll learn about enormous amounts of monies being directed into evangelical organizations and institutions with unveiled purposes of influencing national evangelical thought through schools, seminaries and even flagship magazines.

Finally, if you’re on Twitter (X), I encourage you to follow Megan Basham. As a committed Christ follower, she is also a reporter for the Daily Wire. She does excellent work, day-in and day-out and is unafraid to confront falsehood and is also quick to give grace to those willing to dialogue.

1.

Book Review: "Life in the Negative World" by Aaron Renn

2. Shepherds for Sale: How Evangelical Leaders Traded the Truth for a Leftist Agenda by Megan Basham (Broadside Books: 2024)

3. 1 Chronicles 12:32

4. Machen “was the Professor of New Testament at Princeton Seminary between 1906 and 1929, and led a revolt against modernist theology at Princeton and formed Westminster Theological Seminary as a more orthodox alternative.” (Wikipedia: accessed November 13, 2024)

5. Ezekiel 34:8-10

6. Jude 1:12

7. Matthew 7:15

8. Matthew 10:18

9. US shoots down Chinese spy balloon off East Coast (CNN: February 5, 2023)

10. 51 U.S. intelligence officials signed off on ad in the Wall Street Journal, claiming Donald Trump had been bought off and corrupted by Russia. This was later completely proven to be false and motivated only by partisan political purposes.

See: It’s been two years since 51 intelligence agents interfered with an election — they still won’t apologize, by Miranda Devine (New York Post: October 19, 2022)

11. 1 Corinthians 16:13