After almost 17 years of touring the world and selling over 1 million albums in the U.S., Delirious says farewell at the end of 2009. But before that we can look forward to concerts in the U.K., U.S., Europe and Asia from the band, as well as their first-ever live CD/DVD releasing this week, My Soul Sings: Live From Bogotá Colombia (Sparrow Records/EMI CMG).

To see the band’s remaining 2009 tour schedule or to find out more information about their live CD/DVD, check out their Web site.

Christian Retail offers for the week of March 23

LifeWay Christian Stores' One Week Sale, through March 28, offers half-off savings on almost 20 items, leading with Chris Tomlin's latest Hello Love. The CD is reduced to $6.99.

Other 50% savings are available on The Passion of The Christ: Definitive Edition DVD for $13.49, a set of Resurrection Eggs for $7.47, and The VeggieTales Bible from Zonderkidz priced at $12.49.

Meanwhile, LifeWay's 24-page Easter Celebration Sale catalog prices The Word of Promise: Next Generation New Testament Audio Bible, ICB at $29.99, down from $49.99. The catalog also includes a coupon for 33% off any one regularly priced item, bought in-store.

Family Christian Stores focuses on films, presenting a $5 saving on the Fireproof: Special Collector's Edition, priced at $19.99, while the new biopic Faith Like Potatoes can be pre-purchased for $17.99, down from $24.99. Among titles available for $10 each are Bella, The Final Inquiry, The List, One Night With the King and The Ultimate Gift.

Parable stores offer resources on The Truth About Jesus, with Josh and Sean McDowell's Evidence for the Resurrection reduced from $22.99 to $19.97. Lee Strobel's The Case for the Real Jesus is down from $14.99 to $9.99. The emailing also offers 20% of all finalists and winners of the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association's 2009 Christian Book Awards.

The post-mortem has begun on the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association's (ECPA) Christian Book Expo, which drew a “hugely disappointing” 1,500 to the Dallas Convention Center, March 20-22.

While people are looking for the positive side, there's no getting away from the fact that it was “not just your run-of-the-mill disaster, but a disaster of epic proportions,” according to book Chip MacGregor, a supporter of the consumer-event concept. He sees the biggest single problem being the $29 admission charge, contending that people don't want to have to pay to go and buy books.

Thomas Nelson chief Michael Hyatt (who is also chairman of the ECPA and its CBE organizing committee) acknowledges MacGregor's points, while maintaining that, organizationally, it would have been a great event if folks had shown up.

Hyatt wonders whether some publishers will want to try again next year, in an economic climate that means that “really can’t afford to try too many things that don’t promise an immediate payback.”

Among those hoping it does happen is Mary DeMuth, one of the 200-plus authors who took part in the event. As a Dallas-area resident, she suggests in her March 23 posting that poor promotion in the area was the big culprit and offers more than a dozen suggestions for improving things next time.

Meanwhile inspirational writer Holley Gerth--who had one person show up for her signing at CBE and spotted one publisher's rep asleep at his booth--wonders whether there might be a challenge to our industry in the disappointing turnout. “It could be our moment to reach out in new ways, bare our hearts, open our lives, meet people where they are and stop expecting them to come to us,” she writes. “If we do not, I'm afraid we risk being irrelevant.”

Finally, an interesting perspective from a secular online books site , speculating that the CBE turnout could mean Christian publishing is set to be hit “even harder than other parts of the industry” by the recession. “At a time when people are focusing on keeping their houses and their jobs, is the investment in a book that will help them purify their souls one of the luxuries that can be cut back on?”

Your thoughts?

I'm back in the office after a whirlwind trip to Dallas for the Christian Book Expo. You can check out our coverage of the events in several news pieces we've posted in our news section.

Aside from the questions left by the meager attendance, there were other nuggets from the weekend that will make it a memorable one. Authors truly were the stars of the show and for those who attended, it was a great chance to hear from your favorites and find new ones as well. Here are a few observations:

Evening Worship Sessions: The evening sessions were first class, alternating inspirational words from folks such as Max Lucado and Thelma Wells, music from artists Nicole C. Mullen and Cindy Morgan and multi-media elements. Not to belabor a point (too late), but the program was really worthy of a stadium full. Those of us who were there can consider ourselves to be caught in the crosshairs of an abundance of ministry and talent.

Random quote No. 1: “I can barely stand to look at the cover” - suspense writer Bill Myers explained was his answer when asked if he ever likes to read his finished novels.

Community: There's something to be said about the community of Christian authors who reach across their genres to support and hold each other up. Liz Curtis Higgs, who happens to be one of funniest people on the planet and a pretty perfect moderator, noted romance writer Beverly Lewis and suspense author Robert Lipaurulo (a one-time CR writer) seated beside each other on the fiction panel and said you “could not have put two people more different” beside each other. It was also good to see Jeanette Oke get props on more than one occasion for “pioneering” the Christian fiction category.

Random quote No. 2: “You know, I'm honestly astounded that anyone would read my stuff, I really am.” - Max Lucado, during an interview.

Discussions: The panel discussions got pretty lively but never too heated, even the “main event” of Christopher Hitchens against the “den of lambs,” as Doug Wilson put it. I actually thought the emergent church dialogue between Kevin DeYoung, Tony Jones and Scot McKnight was a little more heated. It also really made my day to hear theologian J.I. Packer explain that he tells children “everything we desire to see in heaven will be there.” Do we have to pick which one?

Random quote No. 3: “The gospel is not just for unbelievers. The cross must be central in all our thinking” - Justin Taylor, in Friday's panel discussion, “What is the Gospel?”

The Twitter Effect: The social networking micro-blogging Twitter was in full effect during the weekend, providing one more connection point for those who attended (there was even a Tweet-up on Saturday) and those receiving the play-by-play at home. Through these tweets, we learned what people thought of any given panel discussion, workshop or even the Tweetup itself. :-)

Random quote No. 4: “The emergent church has been caught in the cross-hairs of culture war.” - McKnight, during “The Emerging Church” panel discussion.

Book News bits: A few teases about upcoming books during the weekend:

-Higgs' current project, Here Burns My Candle, has a tenative March 2010 release date. It will be set in Scotland and based on the Ruth – Boaz – Naomi story.

-Zondervan is moving ahead with a line of Amish fiction.

-Jerry Jenkins' next book will be a spy thriller called.....Spy. That's why he gets paid the big bucks.

-Myers' next thriller, God Hater, will center on a atheist college professor and a real-life personality downloading technology. He says it's his “favorite book yet.”

-Kate Gosselin (Multiple Blessings) has cookbook coming in the fall.

-Rob Bell's next release, Drops Like Stars, will coincide with a speaking tour and will be a large, full-color coffee table book. It'll be out in August.

Random quote No. 5: “I don't want my readers to go to bed at night dwelling on blood.” - Terri Blackstock, speaking on violence in Christian fiction during the Fiction Showcase.

The handwritten Bible: The Zondervan Bible Across America tour, allowing people to handwrite a Bible verse for inclusion in a new published version of the NIV, was pretty much one of the coolest opportunities of the weekend.

Random quote No. 6: “My wife is calling me.” - Henry Blackaby, ignoring his ringing cell phone in the middle of his turn on program Friday evening.

So that's it. I could also tell you about the life-threatening cab rides, the downtown walks through no-man's land and the convergence of red-coated Mary Kay reps at the host hotel, but I'll save all that for the screenplay. Thanks for reading.

Christian Retail Offers for the week of March 16

Spring is in the air and Easter is on the agenda as CLC Christian Bookcenters and Family Christian Stores look ahead to the highpoint of the Christian calendar, Easter Sunday on April 12.

CLC promotes "perfect Easter gifts for kids," with daily deals offering up to 70% off regular prices. The stores' Deal of the Week is the new Zonderkidz VeggieTales Bible, down to $15.99 from $24.99. The emailing also prices Zondervan's Adventure Bible for Early Readers, NirV at $22.99, $5 off the regular price, and includes a 20% off in-store only coupon.

Family Christian leads its Easter focus with VeggieTales' latest DVD release, Abe and the Amazing Promise, retailing for $12.97, reduced from $14.99. The same price and reduction is available for a set of Resurrection Eggs.

Mardel Christian & Educational Supply emailing leads with a special offer on all Webkinz--$10.99 or less through March 21. Also spotlighted is Karen Kingsbury's new Take One (Zondervan), for $11.99 and Max Lucado's In the Grip of Grace (Thomas Nelson) for $4.99. The "Spring Forward" selection offers CDs from $6.99 and up, starting with Vota's self-named album.

Well, this is the week- the first-ever Christian Book Expo starting Thursday in Dallas, Texas. If you're just tuning in, you should know the event, which is open to the public, will feature more than 200 Christian authors who will present workshops, participate in panel discussions, speak in evening worship sessions and do book signings in the event's exhibit hall. For more information about the show, read some of our previous stories here and here or the official event Web site – www.christianbookexpo.com.

I'll be there, attending the workshops and panel discussions, walking the floor and keeping my ear to the ground for the latest news in the Christian book world. I also hope to say hello to any of you faithful CR readers who are attending. If you're not going, keep checking our CBE coverage here to find out the latest.

You're probably no stranger to Israel Houghton. He's not only a renowned worship leader and multiple GRAMMY, Stellar and Dove Award winner, but he has also performed on mainstream awards shows such as The GRAMMYs and the MTV Music Awards. And now he is making news again, this time for being one of the first-ever Christian artists to have their own artist iPhone applications and one of only a handful of artists in the mainstream such as Akon, Fall Out Boy, David Cook and Pink to have iPhone applications.

And this new application comes just in time. Houghton's next CD, The Power of One (Integrity Music/Columbia Records/Provident-Integrity Distribution), is set to release March 24. By downloading this artist's iPhone application users will be able to have direct access to iTunes store links to buy Israel’s The Power of One, as well as purchase Israel’s entire discography.

iPhone users will also be able to listen to 30-second previews of every song spanning Israel’s catalog of six acclaimed albums, read real time updates on Israel’s touring and other news from his Web site, see and share video streams from YouTube, such as song stories, live performances, etc., and flip through pictures of Israel.

Additionally, users will have access to Israel’s blogs and social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter, and the application further allows users to access Israel’s new social justice site, where people are encouraged to be “the power of one” and share their videos about what they have done to create positive change in their communities.

Integrity Music is the first Christian music label to have an artist application for the iPhone and will be following suite with Australian praise and worship band Hillsong United in the near future.

To download the iPhone application, users can visit the iPhone App Store.

After posting bail, John Maxwell is a free man again. The leadership guru recently attempted to board a flight with a firearm in his carry-on luggage, a mistake he recounts vividly on his blog, Maxwell on Leadership in a post entitled “Stupid is as Stupid Does.”

Maxwell said he had been given the gun as a gift from an attendee at one of his speaking engagements, placed it in his carry-on and forgot about it until he arrived at airport security. Calling it “one of the stupidest things I've done,” the author recounted the experience in the blog.

“I was arrested, handcuffed, and taken to jail, where I was fingerprinted and photographed,” he said. “ Needless to say, it opened my eyes to a world I’d seen only in the movies. I was glad when I posted bail and was able to leave.”

Maxwell compared himself to the characters Mr. Magoo and Forrest Gump and relayed a leadership lesson for his blog readers:

That's how CBA Strategic Solutions Executive Curtis Riskey described the program during a visit today to the Christian Retailing offices with CBA President Bill Anderson, who added that CBA Connect was part of an emphasis on “putting the 'special' back in specialty retail.”

An opinion piece that sees "a major collapse of evangelical Christianity" within the next ten years has many people talking-and provides plenty of discussion material for those in the Christian products industry.

In a column for The Christian Science Monitor, Michael Spencer argues that "the billions of dollars we've spent on youth ministers, Christian music, publishing, and media has produced a culture of young Christians who know next to nothing about their own faith except how they feel about it."

And that's not all. "Our young people have deep beliefs about the culture war, but do not know why they should obey scripture, the essentials of theology, or the experience of spiritual discipline and community. Coming generations of Christians are going to be monumentally ignorant and unprepared for culture-wide pressures."

Looking ahead, he sees some signs of hope. Among them, that "a small band will work hard to rescue the movement from its demise through theological renewal. This is an attractive, innovative, and tireless community with outstanding media, publishing, and leadership development."

Spencer's original essays, from which the Monitor article was drawn, can be found at his Internetmonk.com Web site, which he describes as "dispatches from the post evangelical wilderness." 

What do you think about his assessment?

Being a college student during the time of the birthing of the whole Passion worship conference movement in the late 90s when Christy and Nathan Nockels got their start, I listened to them before they were famous I guess you could say, just as two singers amid many others on the Passion live worship CDs. Christy's serene voice and Nathan's acoustic guitar worship songs were always so distinct though, and WaterMark's songs were those that you could truly get quiet and enter into the presence of God.

So, when I heard that Christy was coming back as a solo artist, I was thrilled, and am eagerly awaiting her Life Light Up (Sixstepsrecords/EMI CMG) CD that releases June 2. Making a comeback on Passion conferences founder Louie Giglio's label, Sixstepsrecords, Christy is currently touring with labelmate Chris Tomlin on his Hello Love tour, debuting her new single “Life Light Up.”

To hold you over, if you're counting down the days till Life Light Up's release like myself, visit her Web site, where you can download her “Life Light Up” single for free and find out more information on Christy's select tour dates with Chris Tomlin.

Christian Retail Offers for the week of March 9

Fiction is a focus as Family Christian Stores and Parable lead with offers on new and best-selling novels.

Family is selling Jamie Carie's Wind Dancer (B&H Books) for half the regular $14.99 price through the end of the month, though online only. The Family promotion includes William P. Young's The Shack for $11.99 ($3 off) and Tommy Tenney's The Hadassah Covenant for $13.99.

Parable leads its emailing by presenting Karen Kingsbury's brand new Take One (Zondervan), the first in her new "Above the Line" series, for $12.97, down from $14.99. Other new releases on offer include Frank Viola's From Eternity to Here (David C. Cook), reduced 33% to $9.97.

Parable's online specials also include the new DVD from Family1 Entertainment, The Velveteen Rabbit, for $19.97, down from $24.99.

LifeWay Christian Stores concentrates on Passion conference resources. The CD/DVD "talk series" combos featuring Louie Giglio are reduced from $14.99 to $12.99. The LifeWay mailing also features Passion music artists, with Chris Tomlin's recent Hello Love down $2 to $11.99, and David Crowder Band's Remedy Club Tour: Live DVD/CD $3 off at $15.99.

Actress Demi Moore (Ghost, G.I. Jane, A Few Good Men) is the newest voice endorsing William P. Young's The Shack (Windblown Media/Hachette Book Group USA). On her Twitter account, Moore praised the book, relaying quotes and telling the author she was “tremendously moved." She said she'd “definitely recommend” the “powerful” and “life-changing” novel for those with issues with God or Jesus, also pointing out it's not about “religious dogma.” Moore's husband, Ashton Kutcher, also said it sounded like a “must read” based on her comments and quotes. Finally, the actress also introduced Young to her Twitter followers by his Twitter account, telling her followers to give him “a warm welcome.”

After finishing the novel, Moore also solicited follower suggestions for her next read. By marking “favorite” on response posts (one of which was a suggestion for Frank Peretti's Monster), the recommended books are now collected on her page, easily creating her own Twitter book club.

In the last several months I received several press releases about CompassionArt: Creating Freedom From Poverty (Sparrow Records/EMI CMG Distribution), a multi-artist, CD effort where proceeds and royalties from the CD go to those in need globally, but it's just in the last few days that I actually got to sit down and listen to a review copy of the CD.

For more information on the above products and how you can get involved with the vision and mission of CompassionArt, check out their Web site.