Left Behind authors Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins weren’t left off Entertainment Weekly’s annual “Power List.” The writing duo nabbed the No. 42 slot in a list of 51 creative powerhouses.
It doesn’t matter that “the godless heathens in America’s cities pay them no mind,” read the summary on LaHaye, 77, and Jenkins, 54. Their Left Behind series has sold more than 58 million copies, including the children’s version.
Their books “continue to spawn an almighty alterna-movement in Christian media, including movies, videos, and radio,” the summary said. “The apocalyptic series is winding down, but expect the 12th book to go out with a bang next March.”
“Funny, I don’t feel any more powerful today than yesterday,” said Jenkins in a news story at the official Left Behind series site. “But my dream remains to inform and entertain through fiction in the form of novels and movies that compete in the marketplace of ideas.”
Entertainment Weekly has published its Power List for 14 years. This year, the magazine split the list, choosing entertainment’s 51 most powerful “creatives” and 51 most powerful “suits.” Producer Jerry Bruckheimer (“Pirates of the Caribbean”) topped the creative list, and Leslie Moonves (CEO of CBS) topped the suit list.
Mel Gibson, at the center of controversy for his upcoming Jesus film “The Passion,” came in No. 13 on the creative list.
“Nothing says power like self-financing a potentially offensive, stomach-churningly violent $25 million epic about the death of Jesus Christ in which most of the dialogue is spoken in ancient Aramaic,” his write-up said. “Of course, there’s no better way to lose said power, too.”