A youth pastor in Oceanside, Calif., Jim Britts is the scriptwriter for the inspirational teen drama To Save a Life, released in theaters earlier this year and available on DVD this month from Affirm Films, Sony Pictures' faith-based movie division.

How did the movie do at theaters?

"Relatively well. We were in just over 750 theaters between the U.S. and Canada for about three months total. The feedback has been unbelievable. There are 155,000 Facebook friends, and stories are still going up every day on our Web site about how the film impacted them."

What sort of stories?

"From people that shared how the film saved them from not attempting suicide or inspired them to stop cutting. There are also many people who now feel empowered to reach out to the hurting and lonely in their worlds."

Are there any extras with the DVD?

"There are several deleted scenes, a behind-the-scenes video, a couple of music videos, a blooper reel and a running commentary."

What additional/ancillary resources are available?

"We made a youth curriculum that thousands of groups have used that goes along with the film. It's really based off the belief that you're never more like Jesus than when you are reaching out to the hurting and lonely. A second youth curriculum is set to come out in August as well.

"There is also an adult curriculum, "To Save a Family," that an entire church can go through using the film. We also created Devo2 Go, which comes from the movie. It's a devotional that you listen to on your mp3 player.

"There's a nonfiction book helping teens live lives where they can make a difference. Finally my wife and I wrote the novel, and a sequel novel will be coming out this October."

Any plans for a follow-up?

"Yeah, I think so. I can't tell you much except the new script is about empowering people to help orphans around the world find families to live with. We're really excited."

How do you balance film-making with pastoring young people?

"I'm learning. I love it when the two really cross over. Not only was the film great in reaching teens, but it was also the best opportunity our youth group has ever had in reaching teens. I've definitely learned that I'm a youth pastor first and then also a screenwriter/author. It's really cool to see how God loves to break the mold and have very unique callings on our lives. I love being able to share that with students and be a dream giver in their lives."

What do you think of the Christian resources for teens that are on the market?

"There are some great ones. I really believe that if a teen isn't in love with the church and in love with the Word of God by the time they graduate, then they are probably a goner once they are done with high school. We need to keep creating ways for students to read the Bible on their own and get connected with the whole church."

For a Christian bookstore, soundtracks are like milk and bread to a grocery store—they are staples that no Christian retailer should be without. What began as a small specialty—type product has evolved in the past three decades into a powerful ministry tool in churches and numerous other venues.

Having been in the Christian soundtrack business for more than 30 years and having talked to thousands of singers who use tracks on a regular basis, I am convinced that what these people are looking for from a retailer is breadth of title selection and availability.

This is important because, as one of the most exclusive products in Christian retail, soundtracks are typically not sold in any other retail outlet. This exclusivity allows stores to build strong niche markets.

In fact, because of deep discounts offered by suppliers, tracks have become one of the highest profit centers for Christian retail stores. Additionally, traffic from soundtrack customers often results in add-on sales of other merchandise.

Combine inventory with technology

Soundtrack buyers often wait until the last minute to purchase tracks. Unfortunately, if a retailer does not have sufficient inventory, these customers will not look to that store as a soundtrack source, and loyal repeat customers are lost.

With the addition of in-store burn machines, retail stores are able to offer a larger selection of tracks. While this technology is certainly great, retailers must never forget the importance of having physical inventory. The top soundtrack stores in the United States have learned to create a balance between physical product and technology applications.

Selection is key

Because of widely diverse music tastes in today's society, it is important to have well-rounded selections from various music genres, even though certain regions lean more toward one style or another.

Remember, the most successful retailer is one who creates selection, selection, selection.

Position for maximum impact

Place new releases front and center in your soundtrack department. Use any and all promotional materials from suppliers in order to showcase these new titles, ensuring that they capture your customers' attention.

Mark A. Stevens is CEO and president of Christian World Inc.

Though best known as a leadership expert, pastor Bill Hybels believes that the greatest fruitfulness is found in a Christian life open to the quiet "nudges" from God that can sometimes upend the best-laid plans and programs.

The founder and leader of the famed Willow Creek Community Church looks at how to become more sensitive to the gentle leading of the Holy Spirit in The Power of a Whisper (978-0-310-32074-6, $22.99), releasing this month from Zondervan.

Hybels shares stories from his own life and the lives of many members of his congregation, intertwining them with lessons from the ways God spoke to Bible characters such as Elijah, Samuel and Paul, to illustrate how it is possible to detect what he describes as "the quiet whisper of the transcendent God."

Subtitled "Hearing God. Having the Guts to Respond," the 400-page book suggests that those inner promptings that can all too easily be dismissed are often intended to offer affirmation, admonition or a call to action. Hybels also presents a five-part filter of discerning questions: Is it from God? Is it Scriptural? Is it wise? Is it in tune with your character? What do others you trust think about it?

Far from encouraging over-dependence on feelings, Hybels contends that straining to hear God's whispers should cause Christians to press deeper into His Word to seek confirmation of what they are sensing.

Drawing on personal experiences as a parent and times of struggle and challenge in his ministry, Hybels also reveals how "divine direction" has been the catalyst for Willow Creek's taking pioneering stands on issues like women in ministry, immigration and racial reconciliation. He asserts: "When people hear from heaven, they are rarely the same again."

For more information, visit www.zondervan.com. To order, call 800-727-3480.

Authors of 'One Month to Live' return with a new 30-day challenge

The New York Times best-selling authors of One Month to Live are back with another 30-day plan in Love At Last Sight: Thirty Days to Grow and Deepen Your Closest Relationships.

The new book by Senior Pastor Kerry Shook and Chris Shook, co-founders of Woodlands Church in The Woodlands, Texas, helps readers focus on their key relationships—spouse, children, close friends—with the aim of deepening each. Instead of what they call "love at first sight," the authors are encouraging a "love at last sight" mentality.

With regard to marriage, Chris Shook said: "Love at first sight is the idea that you meet that one and fall in love and that's it. As Kerry and I found out in our 26 years of marriage and in raising four children, we found that love is really what happens in the in-between times, what you do in the tough times and in the times when you aren't filled with butterflies and roses and music.

"We want the last time that we see each other, we want us to be more in love than ever before," Shook added. "Since that's our goal, it means working on that every day."

Readers are challenged "to think of three key relationships in your life—and it could be family members, friends, co-workers—and tell them they are important to you," Shook said. "Find people in your life that mean a lot to you and then really focus on those three relationships during the first 30 days, and we hope that after that month, this will become a lifestyle, a 'love at last sight' lifestyle."

The book divides the 30 days into four weeks and the four keys behind the "love at last sight" lifestyle: being all there, acting intentionally, risking awkwardness and letting go.

The first key encourages being "totally engaged in the moment," Shook said.

"Kerry and I are just normal, average people, and it's so easy to get distracted by everything that is going on around us and not being fully there for the people we love, to really give them our full attention. I think of times when our kids were little and I might be reading or looking at the computer, and they would ask a question or they needed to talk and I wasn't really all there for them. I'm just kind of giving half an answer or helping them at the same time I'm thinking about something else. Multitasking isn't the most efficient way to do relationships."

In the "Crowded" chapter related to the second key, the Shooks talk about the importance of intentionally creating space to build relationships.

"If you're not willing to make plans with intentionally scheduling your own life, there are plenty of people who would be so happy to do that for you," Shook said. "Our list gets so filled up with things that other people thought we should be doing, our responsibilities and schedules and appointments, and we really weren't doing things that were important to our relationship—because the bottom line is, our relationships are the most important things in our lives."

As with their previous book, Love At Last Sight can be used by an individual, group or whole church. Drumming up interest among churches, Shook said: "There are actually many churches who did a campaign for One Month to Live who have already expressed a lot of interest in doing this as well, so we will be launching and meeting a lot of churches this fall with churches across the country."

As one part of the book's launch, the Shooks are encouraging participation in a Facebook Fast on Aug. 25.

"We do feel like it's really important to recognize that we're becoming too dependent on social-networking sites to conduct everyday affairs of relating to each other, to the people we love," Shook said. "So we are encouraging a national Facebook Fast where for a day you don't go to social-networking sites and only use your computer for necessary things that day for work or school or whatever—not texting if possible, but calling people or seeing them face to face."

For more information, visit waterbrookmultnomah.com or www.lastsightchallenge.com. To order the book in hardcover, e-book or audiobook format, call Random House at 800-733-3000.

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With what she calls "estrogen-flavored" comedy, Anita Renfroe has made a name for herself, from her take-off of the "William Tell Overture" to appearances on ABC's Good Morning America to her best-selling DVDs and books. This month she has another DVD—Big Ol' Sweet Iced Tea—releasing from her label, Blue Bonnet Hills, and Word Distribution.

Where does the title to your new DVD come from?

"We saw on a restaurant down in South Florida that had this big door on it that had sweet iced tea, which is one of our favorite things as Southerners. ... So we came home from that trip to Florida and I found an old door at a salvage shop and I tried to recreate that door from down there. ... So we were trying to think of a title for the DVD and we were thinking, well, what's really important to our family, and of course, our core value is sweet tea. So we went and took a picture with the door that I painted 10 years ago."

So it was filmed in a historic theater?

"Yes, it was right outside of Marietta, Ga., in a really tiny town called Acworth—it's a suburb of a suburb. I love to tape, when I do my DVD projects, in the Atlanta area because quite frankly I just love to sleep in my own bed the night before."

What do your fans have to look forward to on this DVD?

"Lots of new comedy. ... Quite frankly, it's all from my life. The great thing about real life and your comedy coming from real life is that there's constantly a wealth of new material. ... So this time there's stuff about secrets of Miss America, I watched a documentary on that and it was so hilarious. ... I'm a grandmother, so there is stuff on there about that. A couple new parodies that I think people are going to enjoy—we have a couple out there already going viral."

What does Beyoncé think of the parody of her song "Single Ladies"?

"I would hope she would think it's hilarious. No one can touch her in the dance moves, but you know, I'm Baptist and basically all the dance moves have been bred out of us genetically, so yeah, I hope she would just enjoy it for the comedy."

What inspires you?

"My kids are my No. 1 source of comedy. My husband is unintentionally funny. ... What tickles me is just life in general."

For an extended audio version of this interview, visit the specialty blogs at www.christianretailing.com.