With the economy and consumer discretionary spending continuing to decline, used books departments are on the rise in Christian stores as retailers seek ways to generate sales and increase foot traffic.

They say selling secondhand titles makes sense as customers alter their book-buying habits during the recession.

Australian-based Hillsong United's A Cross the Earth: Tear Down the Walls (Integrity Music/Provident-Integrity Distribution) supplanted Press Play's Life Is Beautiful (Universal Music Christian Group/EMI CMG Distribution) atop the Christian/Gospel music Christian retail chart for sales the week ending May 31, while Fireproof (Provident Films/Provident-Integrity) remained in the top spot of the SoundScan Christian Videos list.

Following A Cross the Earth were: 2. How You Live by Point of Grace (Word Records/Word Distribution); 3. Press Play's Life Is Beautiful; 4. Over and Underneath by Tenth Avenue North (Reunion Records/Provident-Integrity); 5. My Paper Heart by Francesca Battistelli (Fervent Records/Word); 6. In the Hands of God by Newsboys (Inpop Records/EMI CMG); 7. Wow Hits 2009 by various artists (Wow Gospel/Provident-Integrity); 8. The Long Fall Back to Earth by Jars of Clay (Essential Records/Gray Matters/Provident-Integrity); 9. Crash by Decyfer Down (INO Records/Provident-Integrity); and 10. A New Hallelujah by Michael W. Smith (Reunion Records/Provident-Integrity).

"We are thrilled to welcome Harcourt Religion Publishers into ... (our) family," said Greg Erlandson, president and publisher of Our Sunday Visitor. "They have long stood out for their curricula and forward-looking support tools. The joining of our product lines not only reinforces both missions, but it leverages similar corporate cultures that value innovation, hybrid solutions and sharing what the church teaches and why to Catholics of all ages."

According to the publication, the "surprise success" of the book--more than 7 million copies sold since it was originally published by a start-up company launched by two friends in 2007--ranks it with other all-time self-publishing hits like 1931's The Joy of Cooking, 1970's What Color Is Your Parachute? and 1993's The One Minute Manager.

Held June 6 at The Factory, the third annual Gathering was sponsored by Dekker's management firm, Creative Trust, with additional backing from the author's two publishers‬--Thomas Nelson and Center Street/Hachette Book Group (HBG) USA.

"We are moving at an ever-increasing speed toward who knows what and at a cost of who knows what," Smalley said. "At warp speed, we miss out on chances to wholeheartedly engage our spouse, open our hearts for intimate sharing and have fun without interruptions. We just don't have enough time for each other."