Latest project was ‘perfect way’ to finish artist’s longtime recording career

Singer-songwriter Bebo Norman has decided to retire from his Christian music career at year’s end after 20 years.

“For those closest to me, this really has been a decision that was years in the making, but after a lot of prayer and continued conversation, my wife, Roshare, and I made the final call back in December,” Norman announced in April.

“I decided that I really wanted to honor my label and publishing commitments through 2013 and tour this new record (Lights of Distant Cities) for at least a year from release just to make sure I finish well.”

In October, Lights of Distant Cities was released by BEC Recordings and distributed by Capitol Christian Distribution. 

“Everything that I had left in my heart for music, I feel like I squeezed out and emptied into writing and recording this latest project, which I love so dearly,” Norman said. “And to have had the chance to write and record such a personal record with my close friend and longtime live collaborator, multi-instrumentalist Gabe Scott, was the perfect way to finish out my recording career.” 

“He is enjoying being a stay-at-home dad to two little boys,” Merge PR Publicist Lori Mahon said. “He just isn’t sure what God has in store next, but he’s excited to see.”

Norman, 39, will be co-headlining a tour with Andrew Peterson and Sara Groves throughout the summer and fall. 

In 2010, Norman received a Dove Award for Inspirational Recorded Song of the Year for “The Only Hope” from his self-titled album.

Parable Lemstone Christian Store ‘never really closed the doors’ due to supporters’ help in time of need

Veteran Christian retailers Steve and Janelle Pickering are expressing gratitude for volunteers who helped keep open their Parable Lemstone Christian Store in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, after a fire affected the business next door.

Dozens of family, friends, church members and customers cleaned, brought food and blew dry air into the soaked carpet and walls of the store from smoke and water damage from a fire at a furniture store March 27. Police said arson was the cause of the blaze at the furniture store, which is located next to Parable Lemstone in a strip mall, according to co-owner Steve Pickering. 

“The store’s doors were open while huge trucks were sucking up the water,” he told Christian Retailing. “But we never really closed the doors. Customers kept coming because so many had special orders for Easter, and they just wanted to support us. Our cash register was not open the first day, but people just handed us cash and told us to keep the change.”

Pickering estimated damage to be between $80,000 and $90,000, although the store has insurance. 

Sales were “down over 40% during Easter week from last year,” said Pickering, who has owned Parable Lemstone for 25 years. “We are trying to be upbeat. We should have been closed for a couple of weeks, according to the adjuster. He is amazed at the quick time that we were able to open. We had 50 to 60 volunteers, including our children and grandchildren who were home for the Easter weekend.”

He added that fellow retailers could learn from his store’s misfortune. 

“We need to reach out when a disaster happens to others,” he said. “You really find out who your friends and good
customers are.”

The Pickerings were honored with Christian Retailing’s Independent Store of the Year Award in 2010 for “outstanding contributions in the development of Christian retail.”

National events, Latin American introduction tour launch one-of-a-kind ‘Biblia del Pescador’ in seven editions to Spanish-language market

B&H Publishing Group is planning its largest Bible release to date with Biblia del Pescador, RVR 1960—touted as a “unique discipleship, evangelism and training resource.”

Part of the B&H Español product line, Biblia del Pescador (Fishers of Men Bible) was slated to be launched at the 21st annual Spanish-language Christian trade show, Expolit, last month in Miami. 

“Our hope is that this one-of-a-kind Bible will revive a strong desire for churches and individuals to be more evangelistic,” said Tim Jordan, marketing strategist for B&H’s Holman Bibles. “Anyone who uses this Bible will be able to teach non-believers or new believers with the discipleship tools. Plus, they will be able to learn and have a better understanding of the Bible themselves.”

The Bible will be available in seven editions, including a trade paper edition. A portion of proceeds from Biblia del Pescador will be donated to Wycliffe Bible Translators for translation work in Latin America. 

In addition to the launch at Expolit featuring General Editor Luís Ángel Díaz-Pabón, Biblia del Pescador is to be presented at the National Hispanic Prayer Breakfast event, to be held June 18-20 in Washington, D.C. A 19-city Latin American introduction tour is also planned through 2014.

“I began looking for a Bible to help me evangelize and I realized I could not find it,” said Díaz-Pabón, who is president of the Global Missionary Society and pastor of La Capilla del Rey (The King’s Chapel) in Miami. “This project took more than 27 years to develop. I began with just a notebook and a pencil. For me, this is a discipleship tool for the Christian life.” 

Biblia del Pescador emphasizes overarching topics that include evangelism, apologetics, counseling, doctrine, the church and devotions. 

Licensing agreement with Barcelona-based Editorial CLIE will ‘provide the best Spanish-language resources for the church’

HarperCollins Christian Publishing has entered into a licensing agreement with the Spanish publishing house Editorial CLIE (Committee on Literature for Evangelical Churches). 

With the exception of Spain, HarperCollins Christian Publishing will hold global print and distribution rights for the entire CLIE product catalog, including frontlist and backlist as well as future titles. 

Located in Viladecavalls, Spain, a suburb of Barcelona, CLIE is well-known in the Spanish Christian world for publishing classic authors such as Charles Spurgeon, Matthew Henry, William MacDonald and Alfred Edershein. The agreement also includes licensing of the popular 1977 revised Reina-Valera Spanish Bible translation.

With one of the largest selections of Spanish reference materials for pastors and church leaders, CLIE will remain a separate imprint under HarperCollins Christian Publishing’s international team, joining Grupo Nelson and Vida. 

In the early 20th century, Samuel Vila began CLIE to share the gospel with the Spanish-speaking world. After the Spanish Civil War, when evangelical literature was totally forbidden under Spain’s dictatorship, CLIE secretly continued printing and distributing books. Vila, who died at the age of 90, continued to operate CLIE in hiding until Christian ministries were again legalized in 1967. 

“Throughout the course of my career, I have had the privilege to periodically work with the Vila family and see how their work has impacted pastors and leaders across Latin America,” said Larry Downs, vice president and publisher of Grupo Nelson. “This new relationship allows HarperCollins Christian Publishing to showcase and provide the best Spanish-language resources for the church today.”

Eliseo Vila, president of CLIE and son of Samuel Vila, added: “The three most important imprints of Christian literature in Spanish, Grupo Nelson, Vida and CLIE, working together under the umbrella of Harper Collins Christian Publishing, involve significant synergies that will result in major benefits for the entire Christian Spanish-speaking world. CLIE will focus efforts on the production of academic books, increase the number of titles available and speedy access to important works.” 

CLIE’s current catalog features more than 200 products, and the company will resurrect some of the 2,000 titles that have been archived.  

Wife of Francis Schaeffer was twice an ECPA Gold Medallion author

Edith Schaeffer, author and wife of Francis Schaeffer, died at her home in Gryon, Switzerland, on Easter Sunday, March 31. She was 98. 

Born Nov. 3, 1914 to missionaries in China, she married Francis Schaeffer in 1935. The two moved with their three daughters in 1948 to serve as missionaries in Switzerland, where they founded L’Abri (French for shelter) Fellowship International. 

A best-selling author like her husband, who died in 1984, Schaeffer’s more than two dozen books include Affliction (Revell/Baker Publishing Group), The Tapestry: The Life and Times of Francis and Edith Schaeffer (Word Books) and Christianity Is Jewish (Tyndale House Publishers). Affliction and The Tapestry won the Gold Medallion award from the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association in 1979 and 1982, respectively.

The Schaeffers’ son, Frank Schaeffer, memorialized his mother in a letter titled “Goodbye Mom, Edith Schaeffer 1914-2013 RIP” on his blog. 

“Mom treated everyone she ever met well, spent more time talking to ‘nobodies’ than to the rich and famous, who flocked to her after her books were published and became best-sellers,” he wrote. “Through my experience of being a father of three and grandfather of four, I’ve finally been able to test mom’s life wisdom and spiritual outlook and found out that she was right: love, continuity, beauty, forgiveness, art, life and loving a loving, all-forgiving God really are the only things that matter.”

Besides her son, Schaeffer is survived by three daughters, Prista Sandri, Susan Macauley and Deborah Middelmann; 15 grandchildren; 35 great-grandchildren; and two great-great-grandchildren.

A public memorial service was held April 19 in Gryon. Later in the year, there will be a public graveside service in in Rochester, Minn., where Schaeffer will be laid to rest alongside her late husband.

Prolific songwriter composed ‘I’d Rather Have Jesus,’ recorded more than 70 albums and earned a GRAMMY Lifetime Achievement Award

Longtime Billy Graham Crusade soloist George Beverly Shea died Tuesday, April 16, in Montreat, N.C., following a brief illness. He was 104. 

“I first met Bev Shea while in Chicago when he was on Moody Radio,” Graham said. “As a young man starting my ministry, I asked Bev if he would join me. He said yes and for over 60 years, we had the privilege of ministering together across the country and around the world. Bev was one of the most humble, gracious men I have ever known and one of my closest friends. I loved him as a brother. My prayer for his wife, Karlene, and his children, Ron and Elaine, is that God will strengthen them during this time.” 

Shea, who first sang for Graham in 1943 on the Chicago radio hymn program, “Songs in the Night,” recorded more than 70 albums, including How Sweet the Sound: My All-Time Favorites and the DVD Then Sings My Soul (both Gaither Music Group/Capitol Christian Distribution). In addition to earning 10 GRAMMY nominations and winning once, in 1965, he was presented with a GRAMMY Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011.

Shea was inducted into the Gospel Music Association Hall of Fame in 1978 and the Religious Broadcasting Hall of Fame in 1996. He was also inducted into the inaugural class of the Conference of Southern Baptist Evangelists’ “Hall of Faith” in 2008. The soloist was the subject of 2009’s George Beverly Shea: Tell Me the Story by Paul Davis (Ambassador International).

Born in Winchester, Ontario, Canada, where his father was a Wesleyan Methodist minister, Shea first sang in public in the choir of his father’s church. At age 23, he composed one of his best-known solos, “I’d Rather Have Jesus.”

Even though Bev was 10 years older than my father, he never acted his age,” said Franklin Graham, son of Billy Graham and president and CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. “He was absolute fun to be with. Bev was one of the most gracious and unassuming men I have known. He was always encouraging and supportive, a man of deep faith and strong commitment to Jesus Christ.” 

Focus on the Family founder and best-selling author James Dobson said he admired Shea “so much, not just because of his incredible voice, but because he loved Jesus Christ with all his heart.”

“Mr. Shea made an indelible mark on Christendom, leaving a tremendous spiritual and musical legacy,” Dobson said. “He was a man who loved and was thankful for his family.”

On one of his final recordings, Shea joined singer Guy Penrod on “Does Jesus Care?,” a duet featured on Penrod’s 2012 album, Hymns (Spring House Music Group/Capitol Christian Distribution). 

“Our world lost a wonderful hero in George Beverly Shea, a real genuine example to us men as to how to walk with grace and integrity through this life,” Penrod said. “He was truly a hero of mine and a great role model.”  

Steve Green said one of the highlights of his life was singing a duet with Shea at a Gaithers Praise Gathering event in Indianapolis.

“During my years as a guest for the Billy Graham crusades, I was greatly impressed with Bev’s humility, seen in his self-forgetfulness and other-centeredness,” 

Green said in a post on his Facebook page. “He will be missed.”

Shea is survived by his wife, Karlene, and two children from his first marriage, Ronald and Elaine. His first wife, Erma, died in 1976. A funeral service was scheduled for April 21 in Montreat.

Prolific writer’s ‘straightforward writing on grace’ will continue to resonate with generations for years to come

Brennan Manning, author, Franciscan priest, speaker and theologian best known for his book The Ragamuffin Gospel (Multnomah Books), died April 12 following several years of declining health. He was 78.

Manning’s sister and brother-in-law, Gerry and Art Rubino, announced his passing on Manning’s website and Facebook page, adding that, “While he will be greatly missed we should all take comfort in the fact that he is resting in the loving arms of his Abba.”

A prolific writer who once released nine books in a two-year stretch, Manning was known as a fierce advocate for the marginalized, poor and church-abused. His Ragamuffin Gospel, released in 1990, was billed as “good news for the bedraggled, beat-up and burnt-out,” and heralded Jesus’ gospel of grace over a works-based salvation. The book became an oft-quoted classic for many well-known authors, artists and musicians, including Michael W. Smith, Michael Card and the late Rich Mullins, whose Ragamuffin Band was named after Manning’s book.

“The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips and walk out the door and deny Him by their lifestyle,” Manning wrote. “That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.”

After graduating from Saint Francis College in Loretto, Pa., Manning was ordained a Franciscan priest in 1963 and spent years as a theology professor at the University of Steubenville in Ohio and the spiritual director of Saint Francis Seminary. He later joined a European order called the Little Brothers of Jesus of Charles de Foucald, spending time in France, Spain and Switzerland (where he was voluntarily imprisoned).

Upon returning stateside, Manning began writing more, especially following a brief relapse into his struggle with alcohol. With a renewed sense of God’s grace and love, he wrote with raw vulnerability and brokenness—a trait that became appreciated by readers worldwide and ran through such books as All Is Grace (David C Cook), The Journey of the Prodigal (The Crossroad Publishing Co.), Ruthless Trust (HarperOne), Abba’s Child (NavPress) and The Signature of Jesus (Multnomah Books).

Besides All Is Grace, Manning’s last book and memoir, Cook also published the author’s Patched Together and The Furious Longing of God. 

“Brennan had a bit of a twinkle in his eye, capturing his impish spirit” said Don Pape, vice president of trade publishing at David C Cook. “I hope that now his eyesight is restored, his shoulders fully healed, and he’ll be prancing about in his patchwork jeans, fully knowing grace,” said Don Pape, vice president of trade publishing at David C  Cook. 

Stephen W. Cobb, president of WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group, added: “We were blessed to work with Brennan since the release of Ragamuffin Gospel. I have no doubt that his straightforward writing on grace will continue to resonate with upcoming generations for years to come.”

Writing with John Blase, Dear Abba: Morning and Evening Prayer, an e-book for Alive Communications’ Bondfire Books, was recently completed. 

In the past year, Manning also completed his first novel, The Prodigal. Co-written by Greg Garrett, the novel follows “the fall, rescue and redemption of Jack Chisholm, a megachurch pastor who preached the bad-news gospel that we are worthless and unworthy of God’s love—until he himself falls from grace.” One of the characters in the book, Father Frank, is loosely based on Manning’s life.  Alive Communications is shopping The Prodigal, which is expected to be published posthumously.

Zondervan has also announced that this fall it will publish The Ragamuffin Bible.

Manning is survived by his sister; two stepdaughters; and many nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews.

Seattle-based labels Tooth & Nail Records and Solid State Records have signed a new distribution deal with Sony Music Entertainment’s Red Distribution. Red will now handle distribution of Tooth & Nail and Solid State releases, formerly distributed by EMI CMG Distribution. 

The first release through Red will be the third studio album from The Almost, Fear Inside Our Bones, set to come out June 11 from Tooth & Nail.

“We are thrilled to sign with Red and its remarkable team, including President Bob Morelli and Senior Vice President Alan Becker, both of whom I’ve known and admired for more than 20 years,” said Brandon Ebel, president of Tooth & Nail and Solid State.

Red President Bob Morelli added: “The addition of the Tooth & Nail/Solid State family further strengthens Red’s already storied hard rock music business, and provides us with an even stronger foothold for achievement moving forward.” 

Tooth & Nail and Solid State, which are both celebrating 20 years in 2013, recently relaunched as independent label groups. Additional releases slated for this year include Solid State’s Emery and Tooth & Nail albums from August Burns Red, The Letter Black and Icon For Hire. 

Video release follows program’s run in March as the highest-rated cable show of the year

Following its run in March as the highest-rated cable show of the year, The Bible miniseries, has become the fastest pre-selling, faith-based title in 60 years, according to CBA.  

Released on DVD and Blu-ray April 2 by Twentieth Century Fox (Provident Distribution), The Bible has sold 525,000 units in its first week of release, becoming the top-selling TV program on DVD in the last five years and the best-selling miniseries ever on Blu-ray, digital HD and DVD. 

Survivor creator Mark Burnett and his actress wife, Roma Downey, of Touched by an Angel fame, produced the miniseries of major Bible stories. It aired Sundays in March on the History Channel—culminating on Easter, March 31. 

“We are humbled by the overwhelming response from audiences to The Bible miniseries,” Downey and Burnett said. “First, the show was No. 1 on History, now it is No. 1 on Blu-ray and DVD, and has been No. 1 in every country in which it aired. … It is our hope that folks everywhere will continue to be touched by the message of the Bible and cherish these stories at home with their families and friends for years to come.”

Watched by 95 million cumulative viewers on the History Channel, The Bible also ranked No. 1 across digital stores, including iTunes, Amazon, VUDU, Xbox, PlayStation, CinemaNow and GooglePlay.

Industry veteran Dan Balow to take lead for the Ohio-based publisher to ‘make one of Barbour’s strengths even stronger’

Barbour Publishing has formed a dedicated in-house fiction team. Fiction is one of strongest categories for the Uhrichsville, Ohio-based company, known for its value-priced books. 

The newly established team consists of Publisher and Vice President of Business Development Dan Balow; Editorial Director Kelly McIntosh; Senior Fiction Editor Rebecca Germany; and Annie Tipton—recently promoted from managing editor to fiction acquisitions editor. In Tipton’s new role, she will be responsible for developing and implementing Barbour’s fiction strategy and acquiring new titles. 

“Fiction is very important to Barbour,” Balow said. “In fact, it accounts for over a third of our annual sales. Creating this fiction team and promoting Annie Tipton to the role of acquisitions editor will give us the vision and resources to make one of Barbour’s strengths even stronger. Rebecca Germany guided fiction to where we are today. This team will work together to make it even more successful.”

Barbour’s fiction authors include Wanda E. Brunstetter, Mary Connealy, Olivia Newport, Cathy Weinke and Yvonne Lehman. Sales of Brunstetter’s Amish-fiction titles with Barbour have topped 4 million copies.