If the road to that other place is paved with good intentions, it must also have a lot of sinkholes—a hazard we know something about here in Florida.

You can lay a nice new track and paint fresh markings, but if there is nothing of substance underneath, it’s only a matter of time before you’re going down rather than ahead.

This sad reality comes to mind at a time when I am vigorously enthused about a new sense of direction for our industry.

There’s fresh leadership at CBA. A sense of renewed commitment to and appreciation of the Christian retail channel from some suppliers. A new level of openness to cooperation and collaboration.

Take Christian Store Day, debuting next month. More than a year of discussions and negotiations have gone into the event, and credit to those who have been involved in the efforts. Then there are the ongoing talks about some sort of industrywide platform to help Christian stores provide e-books for their customers.

Yes, we have much to be encouraged about. But I believe that we also need to be realistic in the days to come, or things could come crashing down. So let me offer some cautions as we work on the road in front of us.

Compromise does not have to be a dirty word. We may be confident about the vision that God has given us, but it’s easy to confuse that endpoint with the actual implementation of getting there. Just because someone suggests a different route to the one we have mapped out doesn’t mean we won’t get where we want to.

Win-win isn’t always possible. Sometimes it’s enough that neither side loses, in the short term—at least they get to stay in the game together. Buying into the idea that there’s always an immediate fix that’s great for everyone ignores the fact that change can be a process that unfolds in stages and time, not as an instant event.

Let’s not rush to question others’ motives. It’s too easy to give ourselves a pass and decide that “they” have bad or selfish intent because our plans or programs are at cross-purposes. Maybe we should focus more on the facts of the matter—and addressing them--and invest less emotional energy in deciding why they did this or that. We all know what assuming does.

Hold our certainties lightly. I’m not talking about being careless about our core values, but be honest, how often do we end up majoring on minors? Just because we need to do it this way doesn’t mean everyone else has to. Try insisting everyone else paddles on the left-hand side, like you, next time you are in a canoe and see where that gets everyone. Nowhere fast. And dizzy.

Faithful does not mean successful. At least, not in the 21st - century Christian terms we have generally come to accept (big name, big car, big house. Big deal). God does bless, but not always in the ways we might think. Seems to me that the heroes of Heb. 11 would not get a book deal or a TV spot if they were around today.

Unity isn’t easy. The Bible exhorts us to “make every effort” to maintain the bond that we share with other believers. In other words, it’s not just about having a fuzzy feeling, and it won’t just happen. And, given that God commands a blessing where unity is found, we should not be surprised that there are efforts afoot to pull us apart.

With all this in mind, I encourage you to embrace opportunities to collaborate and cooperate. Stores, sign up for Christian Store Day. It may not be everything you would like, first time out, but the indie music store initiative it is based on took time to grow into the success it is now, and you can be part of making sure it has a future.

Will the e-book initiative in the works suit everyone? Unlikely, but that does not mean it isn’t worth supporting.

Back to the road: If we are going to get ahead, we are also going to have to go deeper and lay some good foundations for the future.

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