Iconic artist is still drawn to Christian retail stores
Steven Curtis Chapman sees the work of Christian retailing as an ‘incredible privilege’

STEVEN CURTIS CHAPMAN shares his thoughts on Christian retail and this year’s Christmas release, Joy. Chapman has sold more than 10 million records, including two RIAA-certified Platinum albums and eight RIAA-certified Gold albums. He has amassed 46 No. 1 singles, 57 GMA Dove Awards; five GRAMMY awards, an American Music Award and more than 200 songs recorded on 17 original albums in his 25-year career. In 2013, Chapman will follow the Christmas release with his first full studio release of all new material since 2007’s This Moment.

You’ve been a songwriter and singer of Christian music for quite a few years now. I’m interested in finding out what a typical experience looks like for you when you walk into a Christian retail store.

To be completely honest, I always feel a little overwhelmed when I walk into a Christian retail store because I’m immediately reminded how many great books there are that I don’t have yet. It’s a little bit of a problem because I usually have a stack of books sitting on my night stand that I haven’t finished yet, but as soon as I walk into a store, I start wanting to add more to the stack. I’m a sucker for a cool cover. Then there’s the music and the video/DVD section! Seriously though, I am always encouraged to see and be reminded how many great resources are available to encourage people on their journey (OK, sometimes I covertly check to make sure they have some of my music in stock, too).

In your entire music catalog, which record or records do you feel were most embraced by Christian retail and why?

That’s a tough question. I’ve been grateful to hear stories of how each of my records have been used by God to encourage and minister to people in unique ways. I guess if I had to pick out a few, I’d say More to This Life was one that I felt was particularly embraced by Christian retail probably in part because that record had “I Will Be Here” on it. That song seemed to connect with many people and has been used in many weddings, which has probably brought a lot of people in looking for that song and that album, particularly before the iTunes era. Then I’d say The Great Adventure was another one that seemed to be very strongly supported by Christian retail. Why that was is hard for the artist to answer, but I’d say [it] was partly because of the excitement the song “The Great Adventure” itself created among Christian music listeners and particularly youth groups and church groups. I think records like that one and Speechless created excitement among my friends at Christian retail because of songs like “Dive,” “Fingerprints of God” and “Speechless” that really seemed to connect with people.

If you could offer any advice to the readers of Christian Retailing—many who are Christian retail owners and employees—what would that be?

I’d probably just want to encourage them to know how important what they do every day really is to the building and growing of God’s kingdom. I know it’s a business and work, but we have this amazing opportunity with what we do to point people toward the eternal and precious truth of God’s love and grace, expressed in music and books and, ultimately, the Holy Bible, and that’s an incredible privilege! I would just want to remind Christian retailers to never forget what a gift we’ve been entrusted with and know that what they do really matters.

Anything you want to offer to our readers that may or may not have anything to do with Christian retail?

As always, I’d just encourage them what I need to be reminded of everyday—we are loved more than we can imagine by the God of the universe! I’d also want to remind them that the One who loves us has entrusted us with gifts and abilities that we can use uniquely to worship Him and bring Him glory, and that is ultimately what we were made for.

The music industry has shifted quite a bit in the last 10-15 years. How has this impacted you? Does this at all influence what you’re thinking about writing or recording?

Well, I can tell you I’m more humbled than ever to still be doing it. I’ve been doing this for 25 years! Can you believe that? I started when I was very, very young, of course, a child prodigy of sorts you might say. Actually, no, I wasn’t. But I have been extremely thankful for the opportunity to record and release these 17 albums and counting. I still feel God has things for me to say and share, and I want to be faithful to Him in doing so. From the beginning my goal has been to know Him and make Him known, and I want to try to be true to the writing and storytelling God has given me to do. I plan to keep doing that as long as you’ll have me.

You just wrote and recorded a Christmas record called JOY. Tell us about it; what influenced you and a couple of your favorite tracks (and why)?

After recording re:creation, I wasn’t quite sure what next step to take in my creative journey. I started exploring the idea of writing and arranging some new Christmas music. I have to admit I was kind of surprised by the joy that began to surface in the process, considering the journey my family has been on these past four-and-a-half years with the loss of our daughter Maria in the accident. I think that I just started remembering my childhood and then really celebrating my family. Even as hard as things have been, and as bittersweet as it relates to things like celebrations and holidays, we have begun to experience that the sweet is starting to trump the bitter for us more and more each year. Christmas is becoming a less hard thing for us each year. It’s not that it’s easier to get through because we are forgetting. It’s like we can remember now without it just being so painful, and the memories can be sweet. So when I started writing these new songs I was really excited. I’ve written a couple songs on this Christmas record that sound like they could of come off a Nat King Cole record or an Andy Williams album. They sound like the old stuff that I love. One of my favorite Christmas songs is Nat King Cole’s “The Christmas Song.” I just love that song and I love the A Charlie Brown Christmas record. Joy has seven classics I’ve redone and six new ones I’ve written, and much of the album has that cool vintage sound that just says Christmas. I can’t wait for you to hear it.

You have a new studio record out in 2013. Can you give us a sneak peek at its theme? What can listeners expect?

It’s still a little too early in the incubation to share specifics. I can say I feel like God is giving me fresh things to say and I’m emerged by the music I’m writing and the ideas that are coming.

Read more of this Q&A at www.christianretailing.com/chapman.

Defending the faith, thinking practically and looking up
Recommended reads for your business life

The Case for a Creator: A Journalist Investigates Scientific Evidence That Points Toward God by Lee Strobel (Zondervan, 978-0-310-24144-7, 2004).

This book has really helped me in strengthening my faith in God. There was a time when I questioned His existence because I was being bombarded by the “facts” of evolution and secular theories. I would recommend this book to anyone who is seeking knowledge in defending his or her faith. 

Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis (HarperCollins Publishers, 978-0-060-57263-1, 2003) 

No matter how many times I read this book, I always reach a new revelation. Lewis uses practical thinking, which is golden in our world of philosophizing and over-analyzing. Pull out a pen, put on the audiobook and get ready to think!

Heaven by Randy Alcorn (Tyndale House Publishers, 978-0-842-37942-7, 2004)

Heaven is one of those books that can change the way you live. It is rare to find theological research on the topic of heaven. Based on Scripture and a life dedicated to the study of life after death, Alcorn paints a vibrant and tangible picture of heaven. For the first time, it's like heaven is a real place to me, not just some floaty, cloudy thing!

Then Sings My Soul: 150 of the World’s Greatest Hymn Stories by Robert J. Morgan (Thomas Nelson, 978-0-785-24939-9, 2003)

This is for every writer of any kind! It's a book of hymns, their history and their composers. There is something about a hymn that brings me to a simple appreciation for the cross, and learning about the struggles of their writers just gives me a deeper love for the Jesus they sing about. 

Market for value-driven music and movies is still strong
Christian retailers must consider how best to appeal to wider community

“The digital revolution may not be as revolutionary as believed, according to a music survey that found listeners more in tune with friends’ tips and radio than blogs and social networking.”—Edna Gunderson, USA Today

Companies like The Barna Group, Nielsen and others track the things that make us tick, drive our passion and motivate us to perform one way or the other. They help us understand those we serve and those we seek to serve.

In The TRU Study 2012 of Christian Music Consumers, a division of TNS Custom Research, “Value Monitor” indicators rank the importance of Religion and Faith, the similarity of Worldview with our parents’ generation and Traditional values. All of these come out exceptionally high among Christian music consumers when compared to the country at large.

At the same time, the indicators also show we drastically undervalue the importance of clothes or products with a particular brand (equating specific brands with quality) and that we hold the value that “Success” means making a lot of money. The importance we place on happiness skyrockets on Religious and Spiritual Fulfillment and plummets compared to the general populace on “Partying” and having material things.

Commonly, our complaints align with others on daily life in regard to sleep, money and work. We chart highest on “not having enough time in the day” and “stress.” We are more likely to view our generation as “living in dangerous times” and less likely to view opportunity for the future and focus on goals against the populace as a whole.

For the under-30 crowd, the statistics show Christian music consumers foresee having kids as more likely than our peers and that they view themselves as less likely to get divorced, fired or to have multiple/many romantic relationships.

When we look for specific behavioral activity that affects the Christian industry and those we serve, NPD Group’s recent Contemporary Christian Music Executive Summary is enlightening. Of specific note, out of the estimated 15.5 million Contemporary Christian music fans, the highest degree of separation in TV viewing habits when compared with our non-believing neighbors is watching Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) and the Gospel Music Channel (GMC). Yet even the Christian community seems to follow the trends of our society and gravitates to Country (GAC) and family/kid-friendly cable networks such as Disney XD, ABC Family, Boomerang and Nick at Nite. Interestingly, Full House (ABC) is our highest-indexing show followed by What Not to Wear (TLC).

You may ask, “So, what does that mean to our industry, our channel and your customers?” What it tells me is that the entertainment category in our industry is increasingly important for stores to consider. Not only does it mean we need to continue to support core Christian artists and programs, but we need to recognize that society trends and demands—even among the church crowd—are looking for wholesome forms of entertainment in music and movies. We as an industry need to recognize this, embrace it and perhaps grow the relevance of our retail footprint in the communities we seek to serve.

The NPD study further reveals that customer’s magazine consumption indexes highest ministry favorites like Focus on the Family and Guideposts. In addition and not so surprisingly, Southern Living ranks high with our market. Our online habits trend comparative to users as a whole on the staples of Facebook, Bing, Google and eBay, while top indices for Christian consumers against the general populace is for Christian content found at Biblegateway.com, Christianbook.com and GodTube.com.

More than 50% of us communicate connect with friends, post messages and post photos through social networking sites. We play and sing with a band, write music and lyrics, and play musical instruments other than guitar more likely than others. We like to make records and videos as a hobby. We love to meet in book clubs. And, obviously, we like to go to church.

From The Barna Group we learn that radio still ranks highest for music discovery, followed by friend and relative recommendations. For product purchases, radio has double the impact of social media, while a pastor’s recommendation trumps them all.

Why is all of this so important in the Christian products industry? Because we need to understand exactly who our customers are, what makes them tick and what they value most. What will drive them into our stores to buy our products? You see, folks, our consumption of music and video in physical format is above trends in the general market, according to Nielsen’s comprehensive consumer survey, Music 360. Ergo, our customers still find physical Christian product a value.

Christian music fans skew toward females over 25. The majority of Christian music listeners live in the South in a four-plus member household with an average income of $45,000-$74,000. While the female buyer prefers Adult Contemporary/Pop, Males purchase Rock most often. Live music events are most attended by 18-34 year olds followed by the 45-and-older crowd. Teens up to age 54 are mostly likely to purchase T-shirts at a concert while 55 and up will purchase CDs/DVDs.

These are the people who are consumers of the products we create and sell. These are the hungry—looking for spiritual truth through many forms of entertainment. These are the sons and daughters of our Creator who are looking to raise their families and enjoy for themselves Christ-centered alternatives to what the world is offering. Like the study shows, they desire wholesome products from many providers and look for it in many areas.

The Christian products industry has always been and hopefully always will be a true source of solid products for adults and children alike. Our customers will have purchased 7 million units of music titles through the Christian retail channel as of press time, and we will see upwards of 6 million units of DVD/Home Entertainment.

Consider these statistics from some of our industry’s best-known brands and new releases making an impact this year:

• Courageous has led the charge with more than 500,000 units across the counter in its first four months and is well on its way to a million in sales.
• Our friends Bob & Larry and the VeggieTales release of Robin Good will scan more than 100,000 units this year.
• October Baby has made a big impact in the lives of our most defenseless, and sales continue to climb in only its first few weeks in retail.
• We have welcomed new, traffic-driving music releases from top-sellers Wow Hits 2012, TobyMac, Third Day, Kari Jobe, Mercy Me and Francesca Battistelli.

You see, we still serve members of a community that looks very much like our neighbors, yet has a worldview that draws them to the content of your store. We have traffic-drawing releases that are ripe for your customers and are exactly what they want—from a shop ethos based on values just like their own. So, don’t lose heart as technology innovations change seemingly at the blink of an eye. Know your customer and serve them! And, remember, as Mark Twain so eloquently stated upon hearing that his obituary had been published in the mainstream media: “The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated.”

Getting back to the lost art of making disciples

Publish. The word is defined as “to make public, or generally known; the activities, process or business models of a publisher.” As publishers, we are in the midst of the most significant and rapid change this industry has ever seen. Dr. Leonard Sweet calls it “moving from Gutenburg to Google.” We all know the process and business models are changing at a mind-numbing pace, but the goal remains the same: take the messenger’s message and make it public or generally known. Still, some days it’s easy to feel like this challenge is new and unprecedented. It is, but it’s not. Let me try and explain.

I love to ride my Harley through the mountains of Colorado. Recently I had the opportunity to visit the Harley Davidson museum in Milwaukee, Wis. I was curious to learn the history behind this truly American success story. While there I found these words etched in display glass next to the first motorcycle they built in 1903:

“The pace of change in the technological progress in the final decades of the 19th century was dizzying. Electricity was tamed, the gasoline engine, the radio, the telephone, and dozens of new devices were invented in quick succession. Life in Milwaukee was changing just as fast. Having made its name from processing the fruits of the land, milling grain, packing meats, and brewing beer, the city earned a new reputation for making iron and shaping it into machinery. By 1900 Milwaukee had so many shops, mills, and foundries that it took the nickname ‘Machine Shop of the World.’ Aspiring inventors Bill Harley and Arthur Davidson were working in Milwaukee machine shops, both dreaming of building a motorized bicycle. They were in the right place at the right time to realize their vision.”

Those last two lines about bowled me over. Bill Harley and Arthur Davidson found themselves in a time very similar to our own. But they held fast to their aspirations and dreams and discovered they were right where they needed to be to see those become reality. But they had to stay with it and not give in to fear.

I couldn’t get away from the parallels for Christian publishing. As Christian publishers, we find ourselves moving at this dizzying pace, oftentimes not knowing the next best step. We’re all having to learn new ways of doing things, but our aspirations and dreams are constant: to make the message known. So the challenge for all us—from CEOs to copyeditors to online marketing specialists to authors and speakers—is to believe that we’re also in the right place at the right time, and if we’re faithful, the vision will be realized.

In some ways, it’s not unlike the time when Jesus prepared to ascend back to the Father’s side. I bet the disciples thought the pace of those days was dizzying and everything was about to change. What did Jesus do? He told them not to be afraid and then He told them His dream, His aspiration: that they would go and make disciples. He left, but He promised to always be with them and that His Kingdom would be realized.

Here at David C Cook, the process of publishing has changed, and we are diligently embracing the changes and new opportunities to do our part to equip local churches on a global scale, for making and teaching disciples who obediently transform today’s generations. That’s our mission, our dream, and we believe we’re in the right place at the right time.

When I arrived at David C Cook over six years ago, I had a word in my head I could not shake. I believed it defined our organization’s reason for existence. Today, I’m more committed to that word than ever because I believe it is also the primary purpose of the church. That word is “DiscipleShaping.”

I have to tell you that word came from a long season of wrestling to clearly hear God’s voice. I had been journaling for some time and I clearly remember writing down the question: “How am I listening to God?” I was convinced that God was trying to speak to me on a single matter, one focused on how God would have me best serve the local church on a global scale. This wrestling began years before I came to David C Cook. I knew God was preparing me for a change, but it turned out it wasn’t the change I was looking for. Deep in my spirit, I heard “No, Cris, you’re not listening.”

I’ll never forget that Thursday evening at the Opryland Hotel, after many months of intentional work to reduce the clutter of other voices from books, magazines, TV and newspapers, and all the music that surrounded me in those days. I had walked back to my hotel room and in angry frustration called out to God: “What are you trying to tell me, God? How much longer must I wait?” As I was heading home the next day, I made a quick stop at the office and received a phone call, one still I refer to as a “blinding flash of the obvious.” In order to do what I knew God wanted me to do, I was going to have leave my current position and my hometown and take the helm of a 135-year-old organization known as David C Cook. And this is where I would receive instruction on the word—DiscipleShaping—as God’s agenda for David C Cook.

If asked to define that word, I’d say this: DiscipleShaping is “to equip the Church with Christ-centered resources for making and teaching today’s disciples who obediently transform today’s generations.” Essentially we are here to publish leadership and discipleship resources to the Church with a capital ‘C’ through the church with a small ‘c’ on a global scale. We are focused on God’s great dream, the Great Commission: DiscipleShaping!

Things have not been easy these six years. We’ve been through difficult days like many of our fellow publishers, and I’m sure we haven’t seen the last of them. But each day begins with a choice: fear or faith. If faith is the essence of things unseen, then this time in the history of publishing is tailor-made for faith. Rather than give in to the pressures and anxieties, we’re fixing our eyes on Christ and taking each new step one day at a time.

We’ve been privileged to partner with such godly communicators as Francis Chan, Leonard Sweet, Tullian Tchividjian, Britt Merrick, James MacDonald, Stasi Eldredge and Becky Harling. These and others are helping us help them as we all do our part to publish—to make the message known. And its not just any message, but the good news, the joy-filled truth that God so loved this world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him will never die but have everlasting life.

Is it a dizzying time? Sure. I’ve about decided it always has been. But the daily choice of faith over fear allows God the freedom to work through our efforts to bring transformation to a world desperately looking for a dream to believe in. And we have the distinct opportunity to present the message the world has always needed. It’s the right time and you’re in the right place. Don’t give up the good fight!