Kirk Cameron’s production company, CAMFAM Studios, and Nashville-based Provident Films recently announced a three-picture deal, launching with Kirk Cameron’s Saving Christmas, in theaters Nov. 14. Cameron and Ben Howard, senior vice president of Provident Films, announced the agreement.

Samuel Goldwyn Films will distribute the Christmas film into theaters for a limited-engagement release.

B&H Kids recently acquired 90 children’s titles from Standard Publishing. A number of titles from best-selling authors Sally Lloyd-Jones, Mary Manz Simon, Dandi Mackall, Andy Holmes and Susan Lingo as well as brands My Goodnight Bible, Baby Blessings, “Baby’s First” series, First Virtues and The Young Reader’s Bible were included in the acquisition.

“Standard Publishing’s core strengths are in providing curriculum, adult Bible study and special programming resources for the church,” said Peter Esposito, CEO and president of Standard's parent company, CFM Publishing. “We are glad to have found a home for these books where their ministry value can be continued.”

A man was taken into custody Thursday morning, Aug. 28, after causing a ruckus inside the Lakewood Church bookstore, according to CBS affiliate KHOU in Houston.

Michael David Fletcher, 30, walked into the store and started knocking books off the shelves, throwing books and overturning display stands. While doing so, he referred to Matthew 21:12, the scripture about Jesus overturning the tables of money changers in the Temple.

Send The Light Distribution has expanded and relaunched its Premier Partner Advantage Program. The program offers retailers extra discounts on more than 200 best-selling products in 16 church-supply categories.

The products in the program come from 11 vendors, including B&H Publishing Group, Abingdon Press, Swanson Christian Products, Will & Baumer, Warner Press and G.T. Luscombe.

Pure Flix film God’s Not Dead debuted at No. 1 on the Nielsen Christian Videos sales chart and at No. 2 on the Nielsen VideoScan First Alert sales chart, which tracks Blu-ray and DVD combined sales for the week ending Aug. 10. God’s Not Dead also saw a strong 20-week theatrical release.

“God’s Not Dead is a film that will live for years in the retail, digital and on-demand market,” said Michael Scott, managing partner of Pure Flix, which produced and distributed the film. “We expect the DVD sales to continue to be strong extending into Christmas, as this is a prime gift item for the holiday season.”

The PG-rated film grossed more than $60 million at the box office and released on DVD Aug. 5. It features Kevin Sorbo (Soul Surfer, Hercules), Shane Harper (High School Musical), David A.R. White (Revelation Road) and Dean Cain (Lois & Clark), with special appearances by Newsboys, and Willie and Korie Robertson of the reality TV series Duck Dynasty.

In addition to the DVD and Blu-ray editions of God’s Not Dead, ancillary merchandise such as T-shirts, hats, silicone bracelets and souvenir cups are available from New Day Christian Distributors. —Johnson

Correction: The International Christian Retail Show gifts story in the September issue gave the wrong company for God’s Not Dead products. The DVD and related products are available from New Day Christian.

CBA retailers, publishers consider how grace and truth apply today in midst of escalating issue of homosexuality

Baker Book House has hosted discussions at its community forums on such controversial topics as author Rob Bell’s views on heaven and hell, the theology of William P. Young’s novel The Shack and the doctrines of Calvinism. But it wasn’t until its exploration of homosexuality in mid-August that the Grand Rapids, Michigan, store ran out of room for guests and was compelled to add a live webcam telecast.

Manager Sue Smith said these annual discussions allow the church a safe place to freely discuss current issues.

“I’ve had a lot of feedback, good and bad,” Smith said. “A few people said it was a gutsy move. I did get a few comments from customers who thought I was jumping on the pro-gay bandwagon.”

Some objected to the homosexual identity of both speakers. Wesley Hill is a professor at Trinity School for Ministry and the author of Washed and Waiting (Zondervan, 2010). Justin Lee is executive director of the Gay Christian Network and author of Torn, published last year by Hachette Book Group imprint, Jericho Books.

However, Smith said, the purpose of the forum was not to debate biblical views of homosexuality, but to help the church and the gay community to learn to listen to each other and still act in loving ways.

“How do we do that when we can’t even sit for a civil discussion because we are more concerned with who is ‘right’ and who is ‘wrong?’ ” Smith asked.

However, many in the Christian-products industry feel perspective makes all the difference when it comes to homosexuality.

The weekend after Baker’s forum, Creation House author and ex-gay Janet Boynes led her second Called Out conference at Charisma Media’s offices in Lake Mary, Florida.

“It’s not enough to share the truth,” Boynes said. “We also need to walk alongside those who have a desire to walk out of this life. We need to offer the tools and resources they need.”

One Christian retailer who refuses to stock any of the increasing number of titles with a pro-homosexual or more accommodating stance finds it sad that Americans seem to rationalize the matter.

“This twisting of the gender roles has been sickening to watch,” said Donna Baker of Dightman’s Bible Book Center in Tacoma, Washington. “Our store is a nondenominational store, and we do stock books which have different viewpoints, but I draw the line on things that clearly are not biblical.”

Like it or not, Christian store owners are about to face more controversy.

This year has seen the release of such pro-gay books as God and the Gay Christian by Matthew Vines (Convergent), The Bible’s YES to Same-Sex Marriage by Mark Achtemier (Westminster John Knox Press); and A Letter to My Congregation by Ken Wilson (David Crumm Media).

This month, Howard Books releases Facing the Music, the memoir of Christian singer Jennifer Knapp. A past Dove Award winner, Knapp revealed her same-sex attraction in 2010 following a seven-year sabbatical from Christian music.

Howard’s publisher, Jonathan Merkh, said the Nashville house isn’t trying to take sides but chose to publish the book because homosexuality has “become an elephant in the sanctuary.”

“We hope that readers will take a moment and put themselves in the shoes of someone walking this path,” Merkh said. “We hope it will help them understand where someone may be coming from as they open up about their sexuality and their faith.”

In May 2015, Baker Publishing Group will release Hill’s next book, Spiritual Friendship, under Brazos Press. This follows the Brazos release last May of Generous Spaciousness by Wendy VanderWal-Gritter.

Brazos’ marketing manager, Bryan Dyer, said both books encourage churches to respond to gays in a loving way.

“Wendy and Wesley are voices of reconciliation,” Dyer said. “Both seek to bring healing and unity to the church. No one questions that how the church responds to its gay and lesbian members and neighbors is of vital importance.”

While some don’t question the need for ministry, they insist on maintaining support for traditional marriage.

Moody Publishers’ October release, Loving My (LGBT) Neighbor by Glenn Stanton of Focus on the Family, embraces this view. However, the author advises avoiding the extremes of uncritical acceptance of gay relationships or hateful exclusion.

“We appreciated Glenn’s ability to courageously and compassionately share his convictions in public debate and his ability to make genuine friendships with folks from a polar-opposite moral perspective,” said Duane Sherman, Moody’s acquisitions editor.

Michael Brown is author of Can You Be Gay and Christian? (FrontLine/Charisma House). In Brown’s “In the Line of Fire” blog for Charisma News, he addressed the topic after Christian singer-songwriter Vicky Beeching said she is gay.

“At any other time in church history, ideas like this would not been countenanced for a split second among committed followers of Jesus who were grounded in the Word,” Brown wrote. “But today, professing Christians are questioning some of the most basic scriptural truths about morality.”

Eric Opferbeck, owner of Life Resources, a Munce Group store in Amherst, New York, said that when a customer recently requested Making Gay Okay by Robert Reilly (Ignatius Press), he insisted on researching the author’s views first.

“We would not special-order a book just to make a sale,” Opferbeck said. “For us, that becomes a bit of a fine line because we try to be an ecumenical store, and there’s a wide range of beliefs. But when it’s in disagreement with Scripture, we can’t do that.” —Ken Walker

GMA aims to foster community, create cohesion in Christian music industry

The Gospel Music Association (GMA) continues as a unifying force for Christian music as the Nashville-based organization celebrates 50 years in 2014.

GMA was founded in 1964 to bring “cohesion” to a diverse industry, said Jackie Patillo, the association’s executive director.
She believes this need still exists today.

“This group of Southern gospel music executives formed the organization because they wanted to centralize the resources and bring some cohesion,” Patillo told Christian Retailing. “They were concerned for the fragmentation of our industry. It’s interesting that 50 years later, we still need that.”

Patillo, who became director three years ago, points to the diversity of Christian music—which encompasses R&B, pop, country, bluegrass, Southern gospel, rap and more—as an example of an industry whose common vision is spreading the gospel of Jesus. She wants to continue to bring more people under the umbrella of the organization, reaching beyond Nashville, which has typically been considered Christian music’s headquarters.

“It’s important to us, we believe, that as a community, we are stronger together, and we represent all different facets and genres,” she said. “And becoming a member of the GMA keeps everyone connected.”

This diversity is best displayed at the GMA’s most popular event, the annual Dove Awards ceremony, which will take place Oct. 7 at Lipscomb University’s Allen Arena in Nashville. Lecrae and Bart Millard (MercyMe) have been placed strategically as Dove Awards hosts to raise awareness of the category’s wide scope of artists.

“It’s the only platform that brings together all types of music,” she said. “To be able to reveal that onstage is our goal.”

The evening will include performances and appearances by artists Matthew West, One Girl Nation, Andy Mineo, Love and the Outcome, Erica Campbell, Hezekiah Walker and Bill Gaither as well as authors Rick Warren and Karen Kingsbury. Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) is this year’s telecast partner, helping the awards reach a potential 100 million homes in the U.S.

The awards are the best way of honoring what’s happening in Christian music, Patillo said, noting a Scripture verse she found when she first became director.

“The verse [Matt. 5:16, paraphrased] said, ‘Let our lights so shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven,’ ” she said. “That’s as relevant now as it was 45 years [ago in the early days of GMA]. We need to honor the current artists that are making the sacrifices that they make for our families and spreading the gospel through music.”

In an effort to reflect what’s happening in today’s Christian marketplace, a new category for Inspirational Film of the Year was added, with God’s Not Dead, Grace Unplugged, When Calls the Heart, Son of God and Heaven Is for Real as the inaugural nominees.

“God is using faith-based films to reach the world,” Patillo said. “More often than not, those films are including our music.”

At the same time, the organization celebrates what’s happening in today’s Christian entertainment world, it is also charged with honoring the heritage and future of Christian music through events such as GMA Honors, an awards night to honor GMA Hall of Fame inductees, and IMMERSE, a training conference for next-generation talent.

While GMA has been inducting artists and other leaders into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame since 1971, this past April featured the inaugural GMA Honors, this year celebrating the contributions of inductees Brown Bannister, Take 6, Rich Mullins and Gaither Vocal Band.

 “It was a great inaugural event, and it really emphasizes not only the talent and their hearts, [but also] how they’re walking out their faith in practical ways,” Patillo said.

IMMERSE provides training ground for upcoming artists and songwriters. Held in June at the LifeWay campus in Nashville, the event featured author Ed Stetzer, Christian pop artist Jonny Diaz and songwriter and worship leader Jennie Lee Riddle as speakers.

“It’s very pertinent that those of us that are seasoned begin to speak into the next generation,” Patillo said.

IMMERSE has been a success because of the organization’s partnership with LifeWay, which is one of several alliances Patillo said has helped the GMA “stabilize” its events, another being Lipscomb University’s hosting of the GMA Dove Awards.

Beyond the big happenings, GMA also hosts local networking opportunities for industry leaders such as NEXT and Band Wives for wives of men who frequently travel in the industry.

“Ministry and commerce live within our Christian-label agencies and what not, but at some point, we need to know each other not as competitors, but as people,” Patillo said. “We’re trying to encourage community.” —DeWayne Hamby