NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)–Many pastors in the mid-’60s were calling on their congregations to burn Beatle records. Today, new generations of pastors are using the British band as a way to introduce seekers to Christ, and one of the tools they’re using is a book called, “The Beatles, the Bible and Bodega Bay.”
Written by Ken Mansfield, a former business associate of the Beatles, and published by Broadman & Holman, Bodega Bay describes how the record executive came to Christ despite a life filled with sex, drugs and rock and roll.
The most surprising feedback surrounding the book, Mansfield says, is from pastors who’ve contacted him, saying they’ve used the book as a sermon illustration.
“The book lets people know that no matter where they’ve been God will forgive them and see them as pure as the driven snow,” Mansfield said.
Two pastors acted as editors of the book to help Mansfield describe the way God worked through his life — taking him from the rooftop of Apple Records, where he was among the select few who saw the Beatles perform for the last time, to years later when he fell to his knees on a remote California beach acknowledging Christ as his Creator.
Mansfield designed the book to appeal to seekers. He said many Beatles magazines and websites have accepted the book for its insider information about the band, but they also say they’ve been moved by the book’s spiritual side.
“I’ve had a lot of readers tell me that they’re re-evaluating their walk with God or that they’re going to explore Christianity as a result of reading the book,” Mansfield said.
As another example, one reviewer on Amazon.com wrote, “While I am not a Christian, I was deeply moved and touched by this book. … The author’s spiritual journey is both insightful and inspiring.”
Through his book, Mansfield hopes to reach out and begin a Christian ministry with some of his readers.
“I see my job as a seed planter,” Mansfield said. “I will just personally try and drop things without preaching to them and maybe it will just help them start putting the pieces of the puzzle together.”
Although Mansfield grew up in rural Idaho and was exposed to a Christian message, he rejected it in pursuit of a successful career. That career path led him into the music industry where he became the first U.S. manager of Apple Records, which was the recording company launched by the Beatles.
He says George Harrison introduced him to New Age religions and eventually Mansfield became a favored chela — disciple — of an internationally known guru.
“I was looking for God, but I was going in the wrong direction,” Mansfield said. “Ironically, when the Truth was revealed to me, it was an easy shift. For instance, I was already having a devotional time every morning, and I found that many of the New Age beliefs were biblical truths modified for their own purposes.
“For instance, my guru once told me, ‘I knew you from time eternal, and I chose you to come into my life at this time,'” Mansfield said. “That really touched me, so you can imagine how I felt when I read in the Bible that my Creator foreknew me and chose me.”
Eventually, like Elijah’s brook, God dried up Ken’s career in the recording industry.
“I didn’t screw up my career,” Mansfield said. “It’s just that things just kept going away; they just kept going wrong. As I kept coming up short, I started losing my ‘toys,’ and then I started having severe financial problems. That started destroying my family, and my self-esteem, and my friendships. One by one, everything was taken away from me.
“Afterward, it was so clear what was going on — that God was kind enough to bring me down far enough so I’d realize I needed him,” Mansfield said. “But as a non-Christian — going through it — I didn’t know how to deal with it. Now I can see that God’s promise is always there, even if what you’re going through is no fun.”
Asked what he learned about being on the inside of one of the world’s most popular bands, Mansfield said: “In the world, things are fleeting. When things fell apart, my friendships went by the wayside. Despite all my years of living in Los Angeles, I came to a point where I didn’t have anyone I felt I could call. When I became a Christian, I had a friend for life. I have a friend forever, and I thank God for that everyday.”
Information about the book and contact with Mansfield can be accessed through the website, www.fabwhitebook.com.
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Walker is a writer for pastors.com. (BP) photo posted in the BP Photo Library at www.bpnews.net. Photo title: KEN MANSFIELD.
