Relationship classics are getting a fresh look, while the category's new voices are 'edgier' celebrate the union of man and wife

It is clear from the headlines and the best-seller lists that marriage resources remain a much-needed category.

Separations and divorces among high-profile Christian couples are becoming more and more common. Nor is the trend restricted to leaders.

According to a 2008 study by The Barna Group, born-again Christians who are not evangelical were indistinguishable from the national average on the matter of divorce, with 33% having married and divorced at least once.

Among all born-again Christians, which includes evangelicals, the divorce figure was 32%—statistically identical to the 33% figure among non-born again adults, the research group noted.

"There no longer seems to be much of a stigma attached to divorce; it is now seen as an unavoidable rite of passage," said George Barna, who directed the study.

"There is also evidence that many young people are moving toward embracing the idea of serial marriage," he added, "in which a person gets married two or three times, seeking a different partner for each phase of their adult life."

Clearly, Christians don't have marriage figured out. But there is evidence that many are not throwing in the towel, but are desperately looking for help in relating to their mate.

For marriage and relationship titles regularly figure high in the best-seller charts from CBA and the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association.

More than 18 months after its theater opening and a year after its DVD release, Fireproof sits securely on the Christian DVDs' best-sellers list. The Love Dave, B&H Publishing Group's spinoff had three formats on CBA's April Top 50 best-sellers list. A gift-boxed, leather marriage edition released the same month.

Other well-known voices continue to generate new resources on the topic. Eighteen years after Gary's Chapman's The 5 Love Languages (Northfield Publishing) released, a DVD on the subject arrived in May.

Chapman references some of the principles of his best-seller in Things I Wish I'd Known Before We Got Married, to be released in September by Northfield Publishing, an imprint of Moody Publishers.

Meanwhile. Emerson Eggerichs' 2004 best-seller Love & Respect (Thomas Nelson)—a Christian Book Award and Christian Retailing Retailers Choice Awards winner—will be followed by a related devotional and gift book in early 2011.

Ten years after the publication of Stormie Omartian's The Power of a Praying Wife (Harvest House Publishers), it was re-released in 2007 with a new cover.

Kevin Leman has a new book, Have a New Husband by Sunday (Revell/Baker Publishing Group), recently released.

Having addressed men and women separately in Wild at Heart and Captivating, John and Stasi Eldredge put that knowledge together in the December 2009 release of the candid Love & War (Doubleday Religion).

Reviving the classics

Even as culture continues to drift away from marriage and commitment, some of the classics remain strong backlist titles.

"I think it's because they hit the mark," said Dan Rich, senior vice president and publisher of David C Cook. "They did it first, and no one else has been able to top it."

Instead of taking the old titles out of print and looking for new angles and authors, many publishers have chosen to update or repackage content with a more modern edge.

Willard Harley has sold more than 2 million copies of his classic His Needs, Her Needs. In February 2011, Revell will release a new edition of the book, 25 years since its original publication.

"Backlist marriage books like His Needs, Her Needs are based on principles that remain the same even as the times change," said Jennifer Leep, editorial director for Revell. "In Dr. Harley's case, his basic premise—that every person has emotional needs and that men and women tend to prioritize those needs differently—is still true. The context within which couples are applying those principles, however, certainly continues to shift.  And that's what drives us to go back and update a classic."

The new edition will include an updated look and content presented so it makes sense to a new generation. "Sometimes that involves changing the way a concept is explained or the example that's used to illustration a point," Leep said. "Sometimes it means reinforcing a principle that's at odds with a current cultural trend."

Harvest House has refreshed the cover for Norm Wright's Quiet Times for Couples devotional. Originally released 20 years ago, it has sold more than 500,000 copies. In January 2011 the book will be re-released with a new cover in paperback.

Chapman's The 5 Love Languages has been a successful test of revamping the tried and true for tech-oriented readers. For about $9, the book can be downloaded as an iPhone app from mFluent.

"When introducing new products or revitalizing older ones, it is crucial that marketing plans resonate with a younger audience, and in this day and age, those efforts absolutely must include a large digital presence," said Andy Peterson, senior creative director at Propeller Consulting. "Online resources, multimedia products and mobile applications such as the 5 Love Languages iPhone app are all critical components of well-received marketing aimed at younger demographics."

Since its December 2009 launch, more than 148,000 visitors have used the personal assessment at www.fivelovelanguages.com, which allows users to determine their love language in just 30 seconds.

The success can be attributed to two things, said Peterson, "our creation of an online widget that allows quick and simple viral sharing of the online test; and second, an updated, more youthful Web site for the brand."

Emerging voices

As some marriage experts begin to age and slow down in their writing, new voices have been slow to come on the scene.

"Publishers are always looking for fresh material on marriage, and similar core messages to Christians, but it is a crowded arena, and it is very difficult to find original thought and points of view, but I believe we (should) still look," Cook's Rich said, adding that pastors who do pre-marital counseling are a possible source for new material.

Unexpected voices come from avid Facebookers K. Jason and Kelli Krafsky whose Facebook and Your Marriage (Turn the Tide Resource Group) is a married user's guide to the popular online social network site, addressing issues such as: to friend or not friend ex-spouses, how much time is too much on Facebook and what information is acceptable to post.

The Krafskys seemed to stumble upon the widespread need for their message. In 2009, they posted several articles on their blog, including what became their most popular, "Is Facebook a Cyber-Threat to Your Marriage?"

"People shared stories of spouses leaving marriages for newly found 'soul mates' on Facebook, and mates neglecting family time spending countless hours playing games on Facebook," said Kelli Krafsky. "We even read about a husband who unfriended his wife because she asked too many questions about his Facebook activities."

Facebook and Your Marriage, designed to look like a series of threads in an online discussion board, also deals with issues like privacy and security. There is even a whole section devoted to romancing your spouse using the site.

FamilyLife is reviewing the book for a radio show, and it has caught the attention of Steve Watters, Focus on the Family marriage editor.

"It's both a new and relevant angle as well as an emerging voice," Watters said of the thirtysomething couple's title. "It's my sense that the next wave of younger voices on marriage will come from Xers, but it's only been recently that Xers like actor/writer Kirk Cameron and co-authors of The Love Dare Alex and Stephen Kendrick have earned the trust to be seen as mentor voices."

Another increasingly well-known marriage and family expert, due to her expanding role as co-host of the "Focus on the Family" daily and weekend broadcast, is Juli Slattery, a late-30s psychologist and author of Tyndale House Publishers' 2009 release No More Headaches: Enjoying Sex & Intimacy in Marriage.

"Having a young, female co-host on this highly respected broadcast is a wonderful way to reach a younger demographic who, like their parents before them, are seeking trusted counsel when it comes to intimacy issues," said Maggie Rowe, Tyndale publicist.

Between the covers

John and Anita Renfroe pushed the envelope in 2007 with Songs in the Key of Solomon (David C. Cook). Their January release, Duets, continued to raise eyebrows following a book trailer's bedroom scene that panned from a trail of clothes to a bed with a couple reading Duets, then kissing and placing the book on the nightstand before turning off the light.

Rich said Cook had a few dealers that didn't respond positively to the book, but very few. "I think believers, and book sellers, are becoming comfortable with the idea of married sexuality," he said.

Paul Wilkinson, avid book blogger and owner of Searchlight Books in Cobourg and Brockville, Ontario, recalls getting Duets and thinking it was a "little edgy," but not so much "that I thought it worth mentioning. In this marketplace, a lot of books are 'pushing the envelope.' "

He believes the problem lies in that many shoppers are ill-informed, and the result is that people read material that's targeted at a different audience.

"If seniors start reading Donald Miller or Rob Bell, they're going to be offended at some point. You can almost guarantee it," Wilkinson said. "Most Christian comedians like Anita are, by definition, 'edgy.' "

Jon Farrar, acquisitions director at Tyndale, said covers have come a long way.

"I'm seeing a trend in CBA with covers that allow images that suggest the content of the book. When Ed Wheat's book Intended for Pleasure—with 1 million copies sold and now in its fourth edition—came out in the 1970s, it had no image on the cover. Now Kevin Leman's Sheet Music, has an image that suggests what the author is discussing more."

Even tried-and-true experts are going a bit saucier.

"I think Christians have been looking for a sex guide for married couples that is wholesome for a long time," Farrar said. Gary Smalley's new September release, Great Parents, Lousy Lovers, is very timely, Farrar added, "many families are so centered around their children that their marriage relationship as husband and wife is becoming threatened."

Event-driven

Marriage conferences help drive sales because of attendees who want more of what they have just heard and are "motivated to obtain resources to help them make the changes that will improve, strengthen, even heal their marriage," said Janis Backing, publicist for Moody Publishers.

Fireproof actor Kirk Cameron and singer Warren Barfield recently collaborated on an eight-city event, running March through October, called Love Worth Fighting For.

Last year, Promise Keepers, which in the past was a strong driver of men's books, made a move to reinforce marriage by, for the first time, inviting attendees' wives to come to its lone 2009 conference.

Also for the first time in the organization's 20-year history, a woman was the keynote speaker. Aglow International's president and CEO Jane Hansen Hoyt encouraged unity in the faith. One couple even got married during the event.

Paul David Tripp's What Did You Expect? (Crossway) sprang from a conference—also called What Did you Expect?—which is popular with singles.

At conferences and Focus on the Family simulcasts, Gary Thomas, author of Sacred Marriage (Zondervan), which has sold 300,000 copies, speaks on what it means to have a sacred marriage.

Book sales are not exclusively tied to participation in the conference circuit, but it doesn't hurt either. "It's clear that personality and an author's speaking platform can be a major factor in helping to sell books," Revell's Leep said.