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 GEOFF
DENNIS is at COO and executive vice president at Crossway. Guest Editor George
Thomsen, CBA chairman of the board, continues his "In Conversation"
interview from the July 2012 issue of Christian Retailing with him here.
How does Crossway decide what to publish? What we publish comes directly out of our mission statement,
as we seek to publish those projects that would build and equip the body of
Christ. Each potential project is reviewed by our publishing committee, and we
have a formal evaluation process, including ministry impact, distribution
potential, writing quality, value of content to the church, return on
investment and so forth. Is there a temptation to publish to the best-sellers list? This is one of the blessings of working for a not-for-profit
publishing company—the best-sellers list is not a primary goal, but rather the
goal is to publish content that would build and equip the church. Our objective
is to effectively disseminate the content that God has entrusted to us, thereby
extending the ministry reach of each of our authors. If a book does hit the
best-seller list or is recognized by the publishing industry, we are grateful,
but this is not what drives our publishing ministry. The English Standard Version (ESV) has been out for more
than 10 years now. Why did Crossway feel that another translation was needed? A number of pastors had come to my father, Lane Dennis (CEO
of Crossway), for many years asking Crossway to publish a more literal
translation, a translation they would not need to correct as they faithfully
preached God’s Word. So we sought to create such a translation, which is based
on a wonderfully rich, historic translation history, going back through the
King James Version [KJV] and all the way back to William Tyndale. Almost every
recent translation that has been published is based on a thought-for-thought,
or dynamic equivalence, translation philosophy. There seemed to be a real need
for a more literal, formal equivalence translation, and our hope was that the
ESV might become an important part of the ministry of the church today. By God’s grace, we sought to create a translation that
retained the beauty of language of the KJV, retained a high degree of accuracy
that reflected the best in contemporary scholarship and had an accessible
reading level. While God has used, and will continue to use, the diversity of
Bible translations in the church, we believe that the ESV has an important
place in the ministry of the English-speaking church around the world. How do you balance your desire for wide distribution
while supporting Christian retail? While Christian retail is a very important channel to us, we
also realize that we need to grow and adapt to the changing distribution
environment in order to effectively extend the reach of the content the author
has created and God has provided. In order to be faithful with the content God
has provided to us, we need to distribute our content through the breadth of
the distribution channels, in a moral and ethical manner, that is fair to each
of our distribution partners, particularly to our brothers and sisters in
Christ. We acknowledge that this is a challenge, but it is one for which we
trust that God is, and will, continue to provide wisdom and direction. If
publishers and retailers alike don’t change and adapt to the context in which
God has placed us, in a biblical manner, then we will not be in this ministry
for long, while acknowledging that all that we do is under God’s good and
sovereign hand. What are some of the biggest changes you have seen in our
industry? The biggest changes I have seen in the industry have come
from one primary source—advances in digital technology. In many ways, we find
ourselves at a watershed moment for the church, not unlike the watershed moment
that took place when Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press around
1450, which many consider the most important event of the modern period of
history. Just as the invention of the printing press forever changed the future
direction of the society (and the church!), so too advances in digital
technology have the ability to impact our cultural context—for better or for
worse. On the one hand, digital technology
provides us with an unprecedented opportunity to impact the world with the
gospel message of Jesus Christ. On the other hand, it provides each of us with
unprecedented access to content that is morally egregious, completely against
the principles outlined in God’s Word. Digital technology is morally
neutral—how we use it, for good or for evil, is up to us. What is the biggest thing you see that our industry needs
today? Faithfulness to our Lord Jesus Christ, perseverance in the
gospel and wisdom to make decisions that would bring honor and glory to our
Father in heaven. Everything flows from our love for Jesus Christ—He is the
biggest thing that (I need!) our industry needs today! “He is the image of the invisible
God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in
heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or
rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he
is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head
of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that
in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was
pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether
on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross” (Col. 1:15-20,
ESV).
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