We've been so concerned about the falling trees, in recent times, that I fear that we have lost sight of the forest.

But it's time to recognize that any discussion about the future of Christian retailing needs to include more than just those of us directly involved in it.

It's time to step back and look at the bigger picture. It's time to remember the bigger story of which we are part. It's time to broaden the conversation.

And we now have an opportunity to do just that, exploring what kind of role Christian stores might have to play in what God is doing and wants to do on a wider scale in the United States—including through their doors.

If we don't, my fear is that we are going to spend all our time mending our leaky umbrella and then turn round and go outside to find it's stopped raining.

The kind of thinking out loud I have in mind was well-captured recently in a blog by a pastor in my U.K. homeland. Simon Jones wrote that it was high time for some "fresh mission thinking and creative partnership between churches and the high (main) street."

After all, he observed, "our neighbors are regularly on the high street and rarely in our (church) buildings. The high street offers something they want. Analysts argue that shopping is a leisure activity and a source of 'spiritual' fulfillment in the absence of traditional organized religion.

"Missional thinkers have been rightly identifying consumerism as a rival god over recent years, which makes the high street the place where we should be—as Paul was in amongst the idols of Athens—living and modeling a different form of spirituality to our neighbors.

"And where better to do this than in a retail space that offers coffee, conversation, Internet access, books for browsing and buying, people to pray, space for groups to gather on a regular basis. The Christian bookshop could become a vital missional space with a bit of imagination on the part of church leaders and Christian retailers."

Admittedly, the church and cultural context is a little different over there, but the broad strokes apply. Jones closed his comments by wondering: "So are we up for this or will we all be lamenting the passing of the Christian presence on the high street the next time we gather at a conference to talk about how to do mission?"

Having expressed similar thinking in this column—that the strategic potential of Christian stores should be on the agenda of some of our national church leadership conferences about missions and outreach—I was interested to learn about two organizations meeting recently to—as the organizers put it—"dialog, discuss and prayerfully design a strategy of how to 'love America to Christ' through evangelism in the next decade."

These two groups were the National City Impact Roundtable (NCIR), a network for "cityreachers" whose focus is to reach whole communities for Christ, and the Mission America Coalition (MAC), which brings together hundreds of denominational and ministry leaders to develop collaborative prayer and evangelism efforts.

Contacting the organizers of the NCIR's "Convergence" meeting and the MAC's "Accelerate 2010" gathering, held in March, I wondered whether Christian retail stores figured on the agenda or in the program in any way?

The short answer turned out to be, no. But as I chatted with Eric Welch, one of the MAC leaders, it became, why not?

As we talked about the dual place Christian stores can hold in a community—as a midway point between church and home for people who may be more comfortable and familiar with stepping into a place of business than a house of worship, and neutral ground on which different churches could come together—he acknowledged their strategic potential.

Welch followed up by suggesting there might be value in adding a network specifically related to Christian retailing to the others he serves as national facilitator for MAC's roster of almost 30 existing networks.

In the past few years these have grown to include groups focused on everything from arts and entertainment to emergency preparedness, "marketplace" business ministries and prison ministries. They exist to "provide ongoing opportunities for connection, cooperation and collaboration," serving as "forums for sharing ideas, discussing topical issues (and) strengthening collective response to common challenges."

Welch suggested that a similar network for Christian retailing might aim to "mobilize Christians to share the Gospel story clearly with those around them through Christian products and services" and "promote collaborative relationships between Christian retailers and cityreaching networks." Sounds good to me.

I'm hoping that CBA may consider exploring how it could be part of this possibility, but I think that it is one that goes beyond just the trade association. We need rank-and-file participation, not just representatives.

So, what do you think? While we have many important issues to deal with in the here and now, shouldn't we also be taking some time to look to the future? Would you like to be part of some possibility thinking? If you feel a stirring to explore some of this, make contact with Eric Welch (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) and me (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).