The Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA) will present Jordon Lifetime Achievement Awards to Jack Countryman, founder of JCountryman Gift Books, and posthumously to best-selling author Brennan Manning. The awards will be conferred April 28 in Colorado Springs, Colo., opening night of the ECPA Leadership Summit.

Countryman’s 30-plus years in Christian publishing have allowed him the opportunity to help create and develop bestselling gift books such as God's Promises for Your Every Need, God's Promises for Men and God Listens. This year not only marks 20 million JCountryman books sold, but also the 30th anniversary of the God’s Promises brand.

The Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA) will present Diamond Awards to two Tyndale House Publishers Bibles, including the first-ever Quadruple Diamond designation. The awards will be conferred April 28 at the ECPA Awards & Anniversary Banquet at Focus on the Family’s Colorado Springs, Colo., headquarters.

Amish-fiction pioneer Beverly Lewis’ The Last Bride (Bethany House/Baker Publishing Group) debuted at No. 5 on the April 20 edition of the New York Times Trade Paperback best-seller list, reflecting sales for the week ending April 5.

Convergent Books, an imprint of Random House’s Crown Publishing Group, today addressed concerns expressed by some conservative Christians regarding the April 22 publication of Matthew Vines’ God and the Gay Christian.

Cultural analyst Matt Barber of BarbWire.com, earlier cited an unspecified source with ties to Multnomah, who said it was “reasonable to speculate that Multnomah is trying to cover up its fast-growing connection to sexual sin activism.”

MercyMe’s Welcome to the New nabs the highest debut of the week on Billboard’s charts, landing at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 and No. 1 on the Christian Albums chart. The eighth album from the GRAMMY-winning band also performed well on iTunes’ charts, peaking at No. 3 on the Overall Albums chart and No. 1 on the Christian Albums chart.

Chris Tomlin leads Christian artists in finalist nods for the 2014 Billboard Music Awards, earning a spot in each of the three dedicated Christian music categories. In addition, Mandisa, Skillet and Matthew West each secured two finalist spots.

Finalists for Top Christian Artist are Mandisa, Skillet, TobyMac, Tomlin and West.

Abingdon Press has announced the hiring of Russ Sellars as the new director of trade sales, effective immediately.

“Russ is known for his solutions-focused sales management and proven background in employing analysis and business intelligence aimed at identifying target markets and opportunities,” said Tamara Crabtree, Abingdon’s executive director of marketing and sales. “This type of strategic vision is the perfect match for our company’s initiatives. Likewise, his dedication to building solid relationships and customer loyalty will serve our books and resources well in today’s marketplace.”