On a recent flight into Haiti, much-needed medical supplies like antibiotics and pain medication were bumped to make room for something deemed far more urgently-needed: audio versions of a self-help book.

The book, "Answers to Life's Questions (In One Handy Volume)," was written by Jerry Nazarene, a motivational speaker with an emphatic fan base. 

After Nazarene published a plea on his web site for fans to help Haiti, Doug Ballad, one of Nazarene's followers with a regional "fan club" of sorts, managed to score space on an outgoing supply flight to Haiti for his contribution: hundreds of audio recordings of Nazarene's book.  The recordings were packaged much like the ready-to-use audio books sold in airports -- disposable, pre-powered, cassette-like things with earbuds included.

"Right now, what Haitians need is comfort," Ballad told one journalist.  "Nothing has inspired me as profoundly or given me such lasting comfort as what Jerry Nazarene has to say.  I just knew that if I could get Haitians to feel the way I do when I walk out of one of Jerry's seminars, they could overcome anything life has to throw at them."

One news blogger suggested that Mr. Ballad coordinated the shipment to get publicity for his own series of Nazarene-inspired seminars, which he calls "Working The Answers".  Upon questioning, Ballad didn't exactly deny the charge.  "What I teach are the principles of 'Answers to Life's Questions' -- which can and will transform anyone willing to learn them," Ballad said confidently.  "The more people those principles reach, the more love, peace and charity we'll have in this world.  And I'll never apologize for trying to promote those things." 

Bliss Semple is another fan of Nazarene's work who gives local seminars in Tampa, Florida promoting his book.  She contributed money to Ballad's effort to ship the audio books and was quick to defend him.  "How could Doug (Ballad) consider himself committed to living a better life if he didn't take every opportunity to help other people do the same?  How could he dare call himself a teacher of Jerry Nazarene's work if he didn't at least attempt to teach those Haitians how to better deal with their crisis?  We're lucky to have been taught a better way through this amazing book.  The kindest thing we can possibly do is to help others find that better way, too."

But what Ballad did in filling valuable space on a supply plane with books instead of bandages was, in my opinion, far from kind.

Admittedly, I haven't read Nazarene's book, but several friends have and I asked them for feedback.  They were uniformly adamant that what Nazarene's "Answers to Life's Questions (In One Handy Volume)" encourages more closely resembles selflessness than selfishness. 

One friend commented, "The book actually has some decent things to say, and that Nazarene dude is a really decent guy.  I can't imagine he approves of what these people did.  They sound really misguided and, well, frankly -- fanatical." 

Yet another friend, a self-declared Nazarene "fan", said: "I just don't think these people get it.  They can read the book in private and interpret it any way they want to,  but they shouldn't be out there trying to teach seminars on it to other people.  Then it's not Jerry's word any more; it's tainted by their whacked-outedness.  It's just wrong.  Jerry shouldn't let people have these local fan clubs anymore.  I hope he puts his foot down."

* * *

If we were to ask Haitians what they want most to alleviate their immediate suffering, I'm willing to bet they'd respond with "drugs to save our children's lives", long before they'd request "propaganda, please!"

Ballad, Semple and any other members of the Jerry Nazarene fan club responsible for this shipment of audio books are operating from a place of selfishness, plain and simple.  Ballad and his ilk aren't thinking of anything but their own interests.  *I* want other people to live this way.  *I* think the Haitians need philosophical guidance first.  *I* want to be seen as a committed Nazarene seminar leader.  *I* have an agenda of evangelism and nobody else's pain or life-and-death needs could possibly be more important. 

IT IS THE HEIGHT OF ARROGANCE.

What I want to know is, how did those books ever make it onto that plane?  Whose call was it?

Mr. Nazarene has yet to comment on the situation, but one major newspaper did some preliminary digging, and it doesn't appear the author is connected in any way with the shipment of his own audio book to the devastated island nation. 

----------
No, this wasn't a real news story.  But this is.