When I set out to interview Mike Murdock, I knew I was venturing into complicated territory. Here was a man, a televangelist no less, who had been embroiled in scandals and steeped in the prosperity gospel—a doctrine that has raised more than a few eyebrows. Murdock has a well-documented history of convincing vulnerable individuals, including elderly women, to send him money through television broadcasts. I wasn’t interested in playing the cheerleader; I wanted to see if there was a human angle to the enigma that is Mike Murdock. Had illness and public scrutiny given him a new perspective?
So I sat down with him, probing but respectful, hopeful that I could glean some wisdom or humility from the man. The experience felt transformative. The conversation was intense, rife with revelations, and ended with Murdock praying for me. He specifically asked God to send three people into my life. Lo and behold, one of them appeared to be his attorney, who then started retweeting my content.
Then, as swiftly as it had begun, the connection was severed. I was blocked on social media by Murdock himself, without a word of explanation. The tweets he had shared? Deleted. Attempts to contact his attorney for an explanation met with radio silence.
Why this abrupt disconnection? Did I say something? Or was it perhaps some facet of my own public profile that gave him pause? What’s clear is that Murdock—or someone advising him—made a calculated decision to cut me off. Public figures like him operate in a fishbowl, acutely aware that every action, every association, can have repercussions for their carefully curated image. It’s likely that at some point, his team saw our interaction as more of a risk than a revelation.
I was wrong to think that a single interview could peel back the layers of a man as multifaceted and guarded as Mike Murdock. But I did learn something invaluable about the fleeting nature of digital relationships, particularly with individuals so keenly aware of their public standing. I walked into the interview hoping to find a humbled man transformed by adversity. Instead, I found someone who remains as inscrutable and cautious as ever, ready to snip any ties that might unravel his meticulously woven public persona.
