The Modesto Messiah: The Sensational Story of Kirby J. Hensley, the Famous Mail-Order Minister

The Modesto Messiah: The Sensational Story of Kirby J. Hensley, the Famous Mail-Order Minister, by Lewis Ashmore. 1977 first printing paperback. 128 pages, very nice condition.

Though misunderstood by many, & dismissed as a charlatan by most, Kirby J. Hensley was one of the more interesting figures on the pop culture landscape of the early 70s. He was part huckster, part libertarian, and made a name for himself by selling one dollar priesthoods through the mail. Modesto Messiah reveals Hensley's more serious side, as a man capable of unique insights, a rebel, and a raconteur. Provides nice insight into the founding and history of the Universal Life Church.

The book is written by Lewis Ashmore, the founding vice president of the Universal Life Church founded by Kirby J. Hensley. Ashmore was a noted exorcist having performed hundreds of exorcisms since the 1950s. "For decades Rev. Lewis Ashmore cast out devils during tent revivals in the Central Valley. People foamed at the mouth, talked back to him in a strange voice and writhed uncontrollably on the ground." He was also an expert and lecturer on UFO phenomena. He experimented in free-field energy and pyramid vortex power.