Warren Cole Smith
| Birth Date | July 11, 1958 |
|---|---|
| Birth Place | Memphis, Tennessee |
| Occupation(s) | President of MinistryWatch |
| Education | University of Georgia |
| Spouse(s) | Missy Smith |
| Children | 4 |
Warren Cole Smith (born July 11, 1958) is an American author and journalist. He is the president and editor-in-chief at MinistryWatch.[1][2] 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
Smith was born in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1958. His family moved to the Atlanta area in 1970. He graduated from Sprayberry High School in Marietta, Georgia, in 1976. He attended the University of Georgia and graduated with a bachelor's degree in journalism in 1980.
Career
Upon graduation, Smith worked for the Georgia House of Representatives as an attaché and the editor of the House Journal, an archive of the proceedings of the 1981 session. He then moved to Alaska to work for 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 Sports Afield magazine and a non-fiction article for Alaska Magazine.[3][4]
After three years in Alaska, he returned to the University of Georgia, where he completed a Master of Arts in English in 1985.
Smith left 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,[5] which at the time was used by more than 100 Christian newspapers around the country.[6]
Smith has served as the president and editor-in-chief of MinistryWatch since 2019.[7]
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.[8][9][10]
Shepherds for Sale
Smith found himself at the center of a controversy regarding the book Shepherds for Sale, by Megan Basham. The book made 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 The Dispatch, suggested that the book was not journalism but propaganda.[11]
Rick Pidcock of Baptist News Global cited Smith and said that Basham "resorts to lies and conspiracy theories to make her case."[12] 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 Aslan International Group became a national story, resulting in Smith being interviewed by NBC News.[13]
Personal life
Smith is married with four adult children. He lives with his wife Missy in Charlotte, North Carolina. He served for seven years on the staff of Philmont Scout Ranch in 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.[14]
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
- ↑ https://ministrywatch.com/leadership-team/
- ↑ https://juicyecumenism.com/2017/12/06/100-influential-protestants/
- ↑ https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B093YJ9GKC/about
- ↑ https://stream.org/author/warrensmith/
- ↑ https://www.worldnewspaperpublishing.com
- ↑ https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/profile/warren-cole-smith/}}
- ↑ https://ministrywatch.com/warren-cole-smith-to-lead-ministrywatch/
- ↑ http://www.worldmag.com/2014/03/unreal_sales_for_driscoll_s_real_marriage
- ↑ http://www.worldmag.com/2014/08/acts_29_to_mark_driscoll_resign_and_seek_help
- ↑ https://wng.org/sift/unreal-sales-for-driscolls-real-marriage-161742242}
- ↑ https://thedispatch.com/article/which-shepherds-are-for-sale/
- ↑ https://baptistnews.com/article/who-are-the-billionaires-and-celebrity-pastors-supporting-megan-basham/
- ↑ https://www.nbcnews.com/news/crime-courts/pastor-family-stole-8m-taxpayers-covid-scam-feds-say-havent-charged-rcna30379
- ↑ https://wsmith-61546.medium.com/what-a-ranger-is-2e0c59fe5bd2
