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Why by Jim Fletcher
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Emphasis added in bold letters
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With attendance down significantly
at the Christian Booksellers’ Association trade show last week, I want
to examine some reasons for the decline in Christian retail without
focusing on the much bemoaned economy.Discussing the real reasons for
that decline, however, can’t be done in polite company.The production and sale of
Christian books assumes that the publishers, trade organizations and
sales channels pull in the same direction philosophically. That would
mean, of course, that fundamentally, a person working in the Christian
book
industry would
embrace the teachings of the Bible. The Christian Booksellers
Association operated on this philosophy for many years.In the 1990s, however, there was a
shift in philosophy. Publishers, stores and distributors began to
realize the vast potential for
making
money. As time went
on, to appeal to the broadest possible audience, works began to creep in
that were decidedly not aligned with the Bible.I remember years ago walking onto
the floor of a CBA convention and seeing Health
Communications‘
booth. They were rolling out the first of the wildly successful “Chicken
Soup” books. In the first volume, I remember reading an essay that
discussed the “Golden Buddha” inside us.I don’t have a Golden Buddha
inside me, and neither do orthodox Christians.So I wrote to a CBA
representative, saying basically, “Hey, you’ll never guess who I saw at
CBA. You are probably not aware of this.”They were aware of it. The
representative sent me a letter, then his lawyer sent me a letter. Both
explained they had to allow Health Communications to display.In the intervening years, I have
become aware that these venues will allow almost anyone in, so long as
they have hot books that sell. As big-box retailers continue to squeeze,
python-like, smaller independent and Christian chain stores, those
smaller outlets in many cases will stock the same product everyone else
stocks. They compromise to survive financially.That’s why you see “The Shack“ in
virtually every Christian store, even though many ministries and
individuals have objections to author Paul Young’s worldview. I won’t
detail those issues today but under this open-tent policy, elements
that reject historical Christianity have not only infiltrated
communities like CBA, but have in fact become mainstream.It is becoming increasingly
apparent that no one in CBA “vets” authors. Everyone is allowed in. This
has broad ramifications for the industry, chiefly death to the industry
as it was originally intended. It will continue to exist, but in a more
secular form, as more and more New York publishers gobble up
once-orthodox publishers and turn them into, well, HarperOne.I care little that many will think
I’m crazy or meanspirited. The fact is, when the purity of the message
is compromised, death is the end result.Many publishers who used to hold
to orthodoxy now embrace other philosophies. Baker Publishing Group, for
example, formerly the publisher for Christian giants like Henry Morris,
has now inked a formal contract with many authors of the theologically
questionable Emergent community.Authors like
Brian McLaren,
Jim
Wallis and
Tony Campolo have voiced their displeasure over several
issues, ranging from Israeli communities in the biblical heartland and
how Christians interpret that reality in light of Bible prophecy to the
intransigence of Bible-believing Christians who aren’t getting with
their New Age program.These authors, however, are
embraced by the CBA.In the recent issue of “Retailer,”
the CBA trade magazine, Chairman Bill Anderson penned a column exhorting
industry players to hold fast to the truth of the faith.This is lip-service.
I suspect many of my CBA friends,
in a smoky, darkened room, would whisper their agreement with some of my
conclusions. But no one in authority says it out loud.When you allow unorthodox authors
and publishing philosophies into the Christian book industry, you are
asking for cosmic trouble.The evangelical left has made
inroads into conservative circles, as well, including the clever use of
the label “evangelical” in describing themselves. In fact, they have
very little in common with traditional evangelicals, but they understand
the usefulness of identification in gaining an audience with
Bible-believing Christians.Books by McLaren, Wallis and
others have opened up attack lines on Israel and her Christian
supporters - Bible prophecy enthusiasts and Christian Zionists. They
also have disdain for that other “fundamentalist” community, young-earth
creationists.Momentum is building for voices
like Rob Bell’s, whose “Velvet Elvis” appeals to younger audiences, even
as it distances its author from traditional views of the Bible. A common
theme among the new breed of author is a hardening attitude toward
predictive prophecy and its alleged offenders, such as Hal Lindsey. And
again, creationists are particularly odious.Quite ironically, one of the most
successful publishers in CBA New Leaf Publishing Group embraces
orthodoxy, and richly. Is it any wonder they are profitable, operating
in the black and experiencing actual growth?When he purchased Master Books (a
highly successful imprint of New Leaf Publishing Group) in early 1996,
NLPG President Tim Dudley knew that the imprint was teetering on the
edge of bankruptcy. His leadership not only brought the creation
publisher back from the abyss, but caused it to thrive. This proves that
conservative apologetics still resonate in a big way with the American
public, even if mainstream publishing and a leftwing agenda oppose that
same public.Laura Welch, editor-in-chief of
Master Books, explains why Master Books is thriving, despite its
defiance of the Christian publishing
industry’s
insistence on accepting the politically correct:“As our culture becomes
increasingly hostile to Christian principles and values, we have seen a
tremendous increase in interest for
resources focused
to apologetics,” she says. “The ability to defend our faith is a vital
tool for ensuring that individually and collectively as a body of
believers we can articulate the relevance and power of Christ’s message
of hope and grace in a culture that, at best, simply scorns this view
and, at worst, actively seeks to silence it.”Welch also recognizes the key to
surviving:“By providing relevant apologetics
materials that resonate with our customer base, Master Books is
continuing to find consistent sales success even in this difficult
economic period,”
she claims. “We remain the dominant leader in our well-defined niche,
and continue to take steps to insure we make sound financial decisions
while maintaining the quality for which we are known.”At the same time creationist books
are booming, those same forces mentioned earlier are in the opposition.
When authors like McLaren, Christopher Hitchens (“god is not Great”),
Mark Noll (“The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind”) and John Shelby Spong
(“Rescuing the Bible From Fundamentalism”) pen nasty critiques of
young-earth creationist views, they often find themselves promoted by
major news magazines, newspapers, television and radio programs, and,
sadly, Christian media such as Christianity Today.As I’ve said before, sales
channels like WND are booming precisely because there is a still-huge
conservative Christian audience out there disgusted with the compromise
in other circles. As the light is switched off in some rooms, it is
burning brighter and brighter in others.
© 2009 Posted with permission
Jim Fletcher has worked in the book
publishing industry for 15 years. He was my encouraging editor when New Leaf Press published my book,
A Twist of
Faith.