As we celebrated her marriage to Christian, I decided that I would like to bottle the spirit of that wonderful day and splash it around the Denver Convention Center as we gather for the International Christian Retail Show (ICRS) this month.

Movingly, my co-worker’s service included a reading of a reflection Lorie had penned several years ago on being given a framed photograph from her grandparents’ wedding day.

She wrote of her appreciation of their spiritual heritage, and the hope that she would one day continue that legacy when she wed.

But while her own ceremony saluted who and what had gone before, it didn’t stay there. The service that opened to Luciano Pavarotti’s “Mamma” closed to U2’s “Beautiful Day.”

For me, the couple’s special day was a perfect model for marking such a big occasion. It honored the past. It celebrated the present. And it looked forward expectantly to the future.

May we do the same at CBA’s 60th convention.

The big anniversary could not come at a more appropriate juncture, because we are at probably the greatest single change point in the industry’s history.

There have been shifts before, of course, but not of the seismic nature or magnitude that have come together in recent times to create something of a perfect storm.

First came the growth of general market sales of Christian products, delighting suppliers but also straining their relationships with the Christian retailers who for so long had been pretty much the sole channel.

That development of the last few years has markedly changed the shape and nature of our industry, even as the high tide of secular interest seems to be receding.

But it has been followed by the emerging digital revolution, with its profound implications for the way content is delivered, and consumer attitudes.

What was even recently dismissed by many as the futuristic daydreaming of electronic gadget-lovers is now recognized as a subject for serious consideration by even the most technologically challenged.

Truth to tell, most of us are still all trying to work this one out (though two things are clear: 1. Someone, somewhere is ultimately paying for the great “free” stuff that is out there on the Internet; 2. If someone describes themself as an expert on this brave new world, they probably know less than they think.”)

Top those two significant evolutions with an economic slump that many say will further affect spending habits for the long-term, and you may agree that we have reached a major crossroads.

All of which could prompt some to arrive at ICRS—for what, by all reckoning, is going to be a quiet show compared to years past—with something of a sad-sack mentality.

But let’s not. Sure, we are facing tough times and difficult decisions. But think how far we have come. Sixty years ago there was no “Christian products industry”—just some people who loved Jesus and wanted to share His message with others.

They worked hard, and they prayed, and through the years they saw people’s lives changed for the good through what they did. They established practices, they initiated ideas. They paved the way for those of us involved in what is—let’s remember—a noble endeavor.

Most of us dislike change because it’s threatening to the security we find in the familiar.

When we’re forced to adapt, we reason that only something going wrong would upset our comfortable ways, so we look around for someone to blame. But let’s remember that change is not necessarily a rejection of the past, but an embracing of the future.

Now, of course, there have been some missteps and mistakes along the way. Our industry has even known one or two rogues. But while we need to learn from past failures so that we can be better tomorrow, let’s not just point fingers and assign fault. Even in the midst of our current challenges, there is much to be thankful for.

All that is good about our industry has been built on the vision, faith, sacrifice, generosity, determination and goodwill of many, most of them unrecognized.

So, let’s be thankful for everyone who has brought us to where we are, even as we look ahead.

The Christian products industry clearly isn’t immune to change. But we have two essentials that other business spheres don’t—a fundamental human hunger for the kind of life that is ultimately found in God, and the answer in His unchanging and eternal Word.

What will the Christian products industry look like in a decade? No one really knows. Even those “experts.”

But, again, that’s not necessarily a problem—nor anyone’s fault. They probably didn’t envisage the day of New York Times best-selling Christian books, at the first CBA event all those years ago. They just got on with things.

The future may not shape up the way we would choose, but we can be confident that it will be exciting and good—because it is His. Let’s make Denver a wedding, not a funeral, and get on with things.

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