Former editor of ‘Christian Marketplace’ magazine to edit new publication

Christian Resources Together has announced the launch of a new trade publication to replace the former Christian Marketplace magazine in the United Kingdom. 

The inaugural issue of the bi-monthly—titled Together—will be published next month.

The decision to publish a new magazine followed talks with retailers and suppliers who expressed a desire to see a continuation of an independent print trade magazine. 

The Together team is composed of Steve and Mandy Briars, publishers, Christian Resources Together; Clem Jackson, editor; and Eddie Olliffe, consulting editor. 

“I am pleased to be part of this new magazine as it is an opportunity to support, encourage and resource the trade to build community at a time when we need each other,” said Jackson, former editor of the trade magazine Christian Marketplace, whose publication Premier Christian Media/CCP called to a halt with its September issue.

The first edition of Together will be a 24-page pilot issued in February, with the full 48-page magazine to be launched in April. The magazine will be contemporary in style while retaining a familiar feel for the readers of Christian Marketplace. 

Along with trade news and product information, Together will aim to be a valuable resource for retailers with features such as author interviews and bookshop profiles.

www.christianresourcestogether.co.uk, or email Steve Briars at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Former CBA international director played integral role increasing the reach of Christian resources worldwide

Christian publishing industry veteran Jim Powell died Nov. 19 in Queensland, Australia, surrounded by his family. Powell, 68, was diagnosed with cancer last fall in Cairns, Australia.

“We gathered to grieve, celebrate, eat and sing together about God’s love,” Powell’s daughter, Jennifer Dilger, wrote on the CaringBridge.com page dedicated to her father. “Jim was comfortable and eyes opened from time to time. … The family and I arrived at about 11:15 Monday morning, which would be Sunday early evening in the United States. The breathing was raspy and I was told by the nurse that Jim would not wake up again. It was only an hour later that we knew he would be welcomed home.”

Powell stepped down as president of Christian Trade Association International (CTAI) in 2011 in order to serve as a mission-station guest house manager with his wife, Peggy, in Papua New Guinea for Wycliffe Bible Translators. He was the former international director for CBA who was a driving force in establishing CTAI when the U.S.-based Christian retailers’ association shed its overseas chapters in 2005.

“Jim served the Lord in literature ministry for more than 40 years,” said Kim Pettit, CTAI’s executive director and CEO . “He will be greatly missed.” 

 Pettit and Powell “worked and traveled together for two-and-a-half years, and he continued to mentor and encourage me even after his retirement,” she told Christian Retailing. 

 CBA President Curtis Riskey told Christian Retailing that Powell was “a trailblazer, expanding the reach of the gospel and supporting the distribution of Christian resources throughout the world.”

“He spent his life in service and ministry to others in pursuit of the Great Commission,” he said. “Jim played an integral role at CBA increasing the reach of Christian resources into so many international cultures and markets. The work he started at CBA will continue to bear fruit for many years to come.”

Mark Hutchinson—co-owner of Blessings Christian Marketplace, a chain of four stores based in Chilliwack, British Columbia—said Powell was “a true statesman and fantastic ambassador for our industry on a global basis.

“His passing is a big loss for our industry, a man of knowledge and care for those who he interacted with,” he said. “I personally enjoyed the times when we were able to discuss and strategize how we, as an industry, could continue to be a light and relevant in the ever-changing market we live and serve in.”

Having previously served as president of the International Bible Society, Powell joined CBA as international director in 1994. With the founding of CTAI, he hosted an annual international celebration lunch and the International Marketsquare section at the exhibit floor of CBA’s summer show, providing a meeting point for those doing international business. 

In 2008, CTAI debuted Marketsquare International, an annual January show providing a one-stop North American buying opportunity for overseas visitors in the absence of CBA’s canceled winter show.

Funeral arrangements were pending at press time. Powell is survived by his wife and their three children.

FaithWords launches new fiction series from Dr. James Dobson adding to his book-publishing legacy

Marriage and family are James Dobson’s bread and butter—always have been. He believes so strongly in fighting for family values that when he left the family empire he grew from scratch, he launched another similarly oriented ministry, Family Talk. This devotion—this calling—has also moved him to write, from peer-reviewed publications to trade books to, now, works of fiction. 

Yes, Dobson believes strongly in the power of story. As it turns out, the FaithWords series he is writing with co-author Kurt Bruner—Fatherless (January, see Book News in this issue), Childless (September) and Godless (May 2014)—develops around the themes of married life versus free love, the value of family and the nature of godless politics. 

“I was approached by my longtime friend, Joey Paul, about the idea of publishing fiction with Faith Words/Hachette,” Dobson said. “It was Joey who suggested I produce a film series in the late 1970s called ‘Focus on the Family’ (separate from the ministry). That series was seen by over 80 million people worldwide. Obviously, he has pretty good instincts for what might be helpful to Christian people.”

Dobson’s nonfiction works include The Strong-Willed Child, Bringing Up Boys and its counterpart for girls, and his books have sold more than 25 million copies worldwide. However, readers haven’t seen Dobson write fiction before, but he has always believed in it, as can be seen from the support of his Focus on the Family organization for “Adventures in Odyssey,” a radio show for children that has grown into a significant brand for Christian retailers.

“This is my first novel, but not my first foray into fiction,” he told Christian Retailing. “I have always believed in the power of narratives to influence thought and shape the spiritual imagination. While with Focus on the Family, I challenged the team to create a radio drama series called ‘Adventures in Odyssey.’ My co-author, Kurt Bruner, led that team for several years and oversaw a wide range of story-driven productions such as the Radio Theatre adaptations of C.S. Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia and Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables. We couldn’t be more excited about the potential of this new trilogy to embody themes on which I have been writing, speaking and broadcasting for decades.”

His fiction series will only add to his publishing legacy.

“Dr. Dobson has been a powerful force in Christian publishing for decades and I’m sure he will make further contributions through his new fiction series with FaithWords,” said Mark Kuyper, president and CEO of the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association. “It will be exciting to see him explore a new genre to deliver his message of hope and spiritual health for families.”

Dobson has seen his books released by many a publisher, most prominently Tyndale House Publishers. 

In 2005, Tyndale also released Family Man, an authorized biography by Dale Buss, who set out to write with “a “balanced perspective and the analysis of a journalist” and find Dobson’s place in history, he said in a Tyndale video. 

“He has a particular passion for families, for children and for the unborn, for people who are innocent, and that has driven much of what he has done over the years,” Buss said. 

While the hardcover is out of print, Tyndale is updating the e-book edition for release in March.

Harvest House Publishers also played a role early in Dobson’s writing career. 

“It can be said of Harvest House, to a large degree, that we were born out of the vision my father, Bob Hawkins Sr., founder of Harvest House, had for launching the writing careers of a number of significant communicators when he was with Tyndale House in the late 1960s,” said Bob Hawkins Jr. “Of course, men such as Dr. James Dobson and Tim LaHaye went on to become highly successful authors following the release of their first books, and so I personally feel a special connection to their legacies through my father’s work.  Upon my father’s death a few years ago, Dr. Dobson told me that my dad had suggested the title, Dare to Discipline, for his first book. That meant a lot to me, and still does, as I know this particular book has been used by God to impact millions of families across the globe!”

Hawkins said Harvest House was “grateful” to have the opportunity to reintroduce two out-of-print Dobson devotionals in one volume, Dr. Dobson’s Handbook on Family Advice, and a gift book by Shirley Dobson and daughter Danae, Welcome to our Table.  

“Though there are not any current plans to publish more books by the Dobsons, I can gratefully say it has been a wonderful privilege to tie together the Dobson family early days with their present family legacy, especially in view of our own family connection to theirs,” Hawkins added.

Dobson’s best-selling books brought readers to retail for more help with their marriages, raising children and simply learning how to live the Christian life. His expertise as a psychologist may be what drove moms and dads to need his advice, but his empathy as a father himself no doubt helped as he offered examples from his own life as Shirley and he raised two children. Daughter and best-selling author Danae has written 23 books in total, while brother Ryan also has written books, including one he is currently writing to accompany the final film of the “Building a Family Legacy” series, of which he was associate producer. 

“We are a noisy family of ‘talkers’ and writers,” said Dobson, who appreciates the “vital service” of Christian retailers.   “It is a blessing to partner with them in spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ.”

“The Christian retail industry has given authors like me a platform for more than four decades,” he added. “My journey as a widely read writer started with the release of Dare to Discipline in 1970. The impact of that book exceeded my wildest expectations, thanks, in large part, to the support of Christian retailers.”

Dobson is also working on a nonfiction book that will release in conjunction with his new video series next fall.

“The original film series, ‘Focus on the Family,’ was addressed to a generation of young parents living in the 1980s,” he said. “I attempted to teach them biblical principles of marriage and parenthood. This new series, coming along 35 years later, is intended for their grandchildren, who are largely unfamiliar with the family advice that had such a significant influence on their grandparents. Stated another way, Focus was the first ‘bookend’ of my professional work. This new series, ‘Building a Family Legacy,’ is the second ‘bookend.’ It restates and extends the fundamentals of family life for a new generation of parents. I am very excited about it.”

New owners’ plan to give 100% of profits ‘a potential model for other retailers to connect customers with ministry’

Family Christian Stores’ management team has partnered with a group of Atlanta-based Christian businessmen to acquire the company from its private equity owners, with plans to give 100% of its profits to benefit Christian charities. 

Terms of the Nov. 13 transaction—involving the nation’s largest Christian retail chain with 280 stores and about 4,000 employees in 36 states—were not disclosed. Family Christian reported that while its ownership structure and financial purpose has changed, its operations will continue in a largely “seamless” way, said Cliff Bartow, CEO of the company. No immediate changes were expected in management.

Under the new ownership, the Grand Rapids, Mich., chain has pledged to contribute 100% of its profits to Christian causes, mainly ministries serving widows and orphans both in the U.S. and abroad. 

Family Christian’s James Fund charity was founded in 2003, sponsoring mission trips with staff and giving $7 million to organizations and projects caring for widows and orphans, company officials said. 

While the investors live in the Atlanta area, the chain will continue operating out of its Grand Rapids, Mich., base. The investment group includes Richard L. Jackson, founder and CEO of Jackson Healthcare, the nation’s third-largest health-care staffing company; Larry Powell, president of Powell Family Enterprises, a private equity investment company; and Michael Kendrick, founder of Blueprint for Life and Ministry Ventures, a nonprofit organization dedicated to launching new ministries. 

“Each of these men have been blessed with professional success and share a mutual calling to give back to help those in need,” Bartow said. “This alignment of business acumen and Christian calling led them to the collective decision to join with us to acquire Family Christian and move it from an organization that contributes 10% of its profits to one that contributes 100% of its profits to faith-based charities and ministries.” 

CBA President Curtis Riskey said he is “excited about how Family Christian is taking an innovative approach to business that is strongly ministry driven.”

“As an extension of The James Fund, this is a potential model for other retailers to connect customers with ministry and outreach through Christian resources and Christian stores,” he said. “As the role of the brick-and-mortar store changes, this is an innovative approach to further God’s kingdom through retail and creating a place that is about more than just selling products. … This news reinforces the optimism for even greater service and ministry impact through Christian stores.”

Bill Nielsen, chief operating officer of Berean Christian Stores, applauded the buyout. 

“I am pleased to see such a focus from them,” he said. “Family Christian was the last chain to be held by secular ownership, so it is great to see them now moving towards where other chains and independent operators have been for years, where many of them already give most if not all of their profits to charity. 

“Family Christian, will no doubt, be very committed to maximizing their profits and charitable giving,” Nielsen added. “As one who has served on their executive team in the past and has seen ownership of the company change hands multiple times, their challenge will have less to do with store count and more to do with cash flow, and how the new owners have funded the buyout and the finance expenses that could potentially reduce profitability.”

 Munce Group President Kirk Blank said he was “pleased to see the announcement of the new ownership” being “like-minded.”

“Like many of us working in this industry, I got my start as a receiving clerk at Family Christian Stores—back then it was called Zondervan Family Bookstore,” he said. “I enjoyed a variety of roles within the organization, and loved the impact Family has on the industry and communities it serves. Time will tell, but it appears that the new owners have a desirable goal of impacting ministry.”

Private equity-owned since 1994, the company was founded in 1932. Family was “interested in getting off the private equity treadmill,” Bartow told Christian Retailing, so when he met the investors through his work with orphans, the option came to the fore. “We were looking for like-minded ownership,” he said.

Profits will be coursed through Family’s nonprofit James Fund. 

“It’s really important that the associates of Family Christian that are involved in these nonprofits to have the ability to direct and have a voice in where the money goes because it’s really important that money goes where you have some interest and activity,” said Jackson, now sole member of The James Fund.

 Bartow added: “Literally we’ve touched millions of orphans’ lives over the last eight years, and we’ve given away about $7 million since its inception in 2004.” 

Donating 100% of profits means that management still will be focused on how business is going.

“Since we’re giving 100% of our profits away, we want to invest our capital in ways that maximizes our ability to give in the future, and if that means spending capital on new stores, we’ll do that,” Bartow said. “If it means spending it on other things that can grow our revenues in better ways, then we would invest it in that fashion.”

Family continues to be committed to its brick-and-mortar “lifestyle stores,” Bartow said, though e-commerce is also excelling. Customers will also find four new digital devices in its stores in time for the Christmas season. The company has partnered with Kobo to utilize its technology as a digital leader and has chosen to drop its recently introduced Edifi e-reader.

Six new stores have been opened recently or are opening this month, including one in the Philadelphia area, the chain’s first in that market. Relocations of existing stores are continually being evaluated.

“We’ve relocated over 100 stores in the last decade, so it’s something that we do routinely and we will continue to do on a needs basis,” Bartow said.

Legal counsel argues Bible publishers ‘should be free to do business’ according to the book that they publish 

In a victory for faith-based companies, a federal court has stopped enforcement of the Obama administration’s abortion pill mandate against Tyndale House Publishers, which filed a healthcare lawsuit against the U.S. government Oct. 2.

In its Nov. 16 opinion accompanying a preliminary injunction order in Tyndale House Publishers v. Sebelius, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia wrote that “the beliefs of Tyndale and its owners are indistinguishable.  … Christian principles, prayer and activities are pervasive at Tyndale, and the company’s ownership structure is designed to ensure that it never strays from its faith-oriented mission.”

“The court has no reason to doubt, moreover, that Tyndale’s religious objection to providing insurance coverage for certain contraceptives reflects the beliefs of Tyndale’s owners,” the court continued. “Nor is there any dispute that Tyndale’s primary owner, [Tyndale House] Foundation, can ‘exercise religion’ in its own right, given that it is a nonprofit religious organization; indeed, the case law is replete with examples of such organizations asserting cognizable free exercise and RFRA [Religious Freedom Restoration Act] challenges.”

Tyndale House, based in Carol Stream, Ill., is the world’s largest privately held Christian publisher of books, Bibles and digital media, directing 96.5% of its profits to religious nonprofit causes worldwide. The publisher specifically objects to covering abortion pills. The court’s order is the third nationwide against the healthcare mandate, according to the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF).

“Bible publishers should be free to do business according to the book that they publish,” said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Matt Bowman, who argued before the court Nov. 9. “The court has done the right thing in halting the mandate while our lawsuit moves forward. For the government to say that a Bible publisher is not religious is startling. It demonstrates how clearly the Obama administration is willing to disregard the Constitution’s protection of religious freedom to achieve certain political purposes.”

The administration argued that Tyndale House “isn’t religious enough” for an exemption from the mandate, a component of Obamacare that forces employers, regardless of their religious or moral convictions, to provide insurance coverage for abortion-inducing drugs, sterilization and contraception under threat of heavy penalties.

The publisher is subject to the mandate because Obama administration rules say for-profit corporations are categorically non-religious, even though Tyndale House is strictly a publisher of Bibles and other Christian materials and is primarily owned by the nonprofit Tyndale House Foundation. The foundation provides grants to help meet the physical and spiritual needs of people around the world.

In June, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld “Obamacare” as constitutional. Formally known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Obamacare includes a “preventive services” mandate issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which forces businesses to provide the “morning-after” and “week-after” pills—without co-pay—in their health insurance plans. 

In September, Hobby Lobby and its sister company, Mardel Christian & Education, filed a similar suit. But shortly after the Nov. 16 preliminary injunction order in favor of Tyndale House, a judge ruled Nov. 19 that the Oklahoma City-based companies must provide abortion pill coverage. Hobby Lobby and Mardel planned to appeal the decision.

Store owner David Green to appeal unfavorable court decision

Christian-owned-and-operated Hobby Lobby Stores and sister company, Mardel Christian & Education, didn’t receive the outcome founder and CEO David Green wanted in a federal court case. 

U.S. District Judge Joe Heaton ruled Nov. 19 that the Oklahoma City-based companies must provide the “morning after” and “week after” pills under new federal healthcare rules that begin Jan. 1. If they don’t, the companies will face fines of up to $1.3 million per day.

“We disagree with this decision and we will immediately appeal it,” said Kyle Duncan, general counsel for the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty. “Every American, including family business owners like the Greens, should be free to live and do business according to their religious beliefs. The Green family needs relief now, and we will seek it immediately from the federal appeals court in Denver.”

The court did not question the fact that the family’s beliefs forbid them from participating in abortion, but ruled that those beliefs were only “indirectly” burdened by the Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare”) mandate’s requirement that they provide free coverage for specific, abortion-inducing drugs in Hobby Lobby’s self-funded insurance plan.

Hobby Lobby was founded in 1972 and has grown from one 300-square-foot retail space into more than 500 stores in 41 states. The chain employs more than 22,500 people.

“It is by God’s grace and provision that Hobby Lobby has endured,” Green said. “Therefore we seek to honor God by operating the company in a manner consistent with biblical principles.”

Mardel was opened by David Green’s son, CEO Mart Green, in 1981 and now has 35 stores with 800 employees. 

Hobby Lobby is the largest and first non-Catholic-owned business to file a lawsuit against the Health and Human Services (HHS) mandate. 

The Green family will continue covering preventive contraceptives for its employees, but their convictions prohibit them from providing or paying for the abortion-inducing drugs, which would violate their belief that life begins at conception. The lawsuit acts to preserve the companies’ right to carry out its mission free from government coercion. 

The Becket Fund also represents a number of other Christian colleges and organizations in similar suits. At press time, there were approximately 40 lawsuits challenging the HHS mandate.

Christian retailers with ‘in-store experience’ will benefit, says CBA head

The United Methodist Publishing House (UMPH), Cokesbury’s parent company, will close all of the historic chain’s 57 stores by April 30. 

Announcing the move Nov. 5, the UMPH board of directors said it will launch “a transition initiative” for its retail division. CokesburyNext will sell books, products and services at Cokesbury.com, the Cokesbury Call Center and through more than 40 sales representatives, as well as conferences, meetings and church events. The chain will be closing its 38 brick-and-mortar locations and 19 seminary stores, with the first shuttering this month.

“Cokesbury has been serving for more than 200 years, and during that time has continuously adapted to the changing landscape affecting congregations and their leaders,” said UMPH President and Publisher Neil Alexander. “A shift toward all things digital and the convenience of placing orders at any time is the reality of Cokesbury today. It is difficult to see the closure of Cokesbury local stores, but doing so will allow us to make a greater investment in the ways of shopping with Cokesbury that customers increasingly prefer.”

UMPH officials said 185 full-time employees and 100-plus part-time staff will be laid off by the store closings. UMPH will provide both severance packages and job-search services for staff.

Cokesbury has seen a steady increase in sales through Cokesbury.com and its Cokesbury Call Center operation in the past 10 years. 

At the same time, the number of Cokesbury customers relying solely on store locations has steadily declined. In its  most recent customer survey, only 15% of Cokesbury’s customers reported shopping exclusively in stores, UMPH officials said. 

CBA President Curtis Riskey told Christian Retailing that he was “not necessarily surprised the company is moving in the direction it is.”

Cokesbury is “a very unique Christian retailer where 85% of its current customer base shops in multiple ways outside of the brick-and-mortar model,” he said. “The company is changing its business model based on how its customers use the stores and purchase products, which is primarily online. However, his model does not translate to all retailers. A need remains for physical stores because people like to shop in them. 

“We think the loss of physical Cokesbury stores will benefit existing Christian stores, as customers who are looking for the in-store experience will find other Christian locations to shop,” Riskey added. “A recent Bowker Market Research study found that the brick-and-mortar store is still the number one way that readers learn about new titles and authors.”

Munce Group President Kirk Blank agreed. 

“We had a local Cokesbury store in Clearwater, Fla., that closed,” he said. “Their strategy of using local reps to serve the churches appears to be working. I had thought if their strategy worked, more and more of the Cokesbury stores would close. I was surprised that all of the stores would be closed by April.

 “This is another opportunity to see independent retailers, especially Munce Group member stores, step up in an even greater way to serve their communities,” Blank added. “This is also an opportunity for our vendor community to see the importance of the local independent Christian store.”

Bill Nielsen, chief operating officer of Berean Christian Stores, saw the closure as “a bit of a surprise.”

“While the trends of Christian stores closing is not something that is a surprise to anyone, it is never welcome news and never good for our industry,” he said. “I have firsthand experience in knowing how much denominations appreciate having a local brick-and-mortar store to serve them in their local community. Such a denominational following is a strength that I had hoped would keep Cokesbury strong for years to come.  

“Our industry has seen store closures to the point where too many markets are now underserved or not served at all,” Nielsen added. “Therefore the additional loss of any store regardless of size is bad for us. Losing a large group of stores that offer centralized buying, merchandising and marketing for the suppliers is even worse. 

“I understand Cokesbury has plans to maintain the majority of their sales. I fear the road for them in this regard may be challenging, but it is in everyone’s interest to pray for and cheer them on in the process.”