Relationship experts and New York Times best-selling authors Les and Leslie Parrott are traveling the country with a series of events known as Fight Nights. Sponsored by World Vision and based on the Parrotts’ book The Good Fight: How Conflict Can Bring You Closer (Worthy Publishing), each Fight Night aims to provide an entertaining evening for couples who are seeking ways to turn conflict into greater connectedness and intimacy.

“We are thrilled with the buzz that is happening around this Fight Night tour,” said Tour Producer David Huffman of Mike Atkins Entertainment. “The entire team locked arms to pack the house with couples wanting to learn how to communicate better and strengthen their marriages.”

Suppliers and authors have nominated 2013 and backlist products in the 2014 Christian Retailing’s Best awards—and now it’s time to name the Christian retail industry’s best among them. Voting starts March 1 in the awards sponsored by Christian Retailing magazine.

During the month of March, anyone connected with the Christian retailing industry—including retailers, authors, editors, literary agents and distributors—is invited to vote for what they think are the best products in the Christian retail market. Voting is not open to the general public.

Kirk Cameron’s Mercy Rule has debuted as the highest-selling DVD in Christian retail in its first week. Released Feb. 14 by the actor’s CAMFAM Studios, Mercy Rule follows on the heels of Cameron’s Unstoppable, which was also the No. 1 best-selling DVD in Christian retail during its release week in late January. 

Mercy Rule is available on DVD from Family Christian Stores, the film's exclusive brick-and-mortar retailer.

David Yonggi Cho, pastor of Yoido Full Gospel Church in Seoul, South Korea, has been a personal friend of our family for more than 40 years. He has stayed in our home, and my father and I have served on his church growth board for a combined 38 years. Presently, I serve as president of Church Growth International of the Americas.

Because of the slant of some of the media reports, it is important certain details of the situation be made known. Not only was I present in Seoul during much of the trial, but there was also information disclosed during closed-door meetings which has not yet been made public. I want to share some of this as follows.

Leading gift supplier Kerusso is expanding its officially licensed “Heaven Is for Real” apparel line.

Pastor Todd Burpo’s Heaven Is for Real (Thomas Nelson) recounts the experience of his and wife Sonja’s nearly 4-year-old son Colton during emergency surgery. The story of how Colton spent time with Jesus told in the New York Times best-selling book is now a major motion picture opening in theaters just before Easter.

Nearly 26,500 toy professionals from 94 countries participated last week in the largest toy marketplace ever held in the Western Hemisphere. Owned and operated by the Toy Industry Association (TIA), the 111th American International Toy Fair (Toy Fair 2014) held in New York City boasted a record-breaking 414,060 net square feet of exhibit space and welcomed an 11% surge in international buyers, an 8% rise in exhibitors and a 5% spike in overall attendees, bringing total attendance to 26,493 for the Feb. 16-19 show.

A snowstorm just prior to the fair did little to dampen the spirits of 1,153 exhibiting manufacturers, distributors, importers and sales agents, who filled the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center with hundreds of thousands of playthings, including e-Connected toys, outdoor ride-ons, customizable arts and crafts and classic board games. Nearly 10,000 buyers from more than 5,000 retail outlets also were in attendance, including buyer delegations from 22 of the nation’s Top 25 Toy Sellers.

“New York City is reclaiming its position as the toy industry’s international center of gravity,” said Carter Keithley, president and CEO of the Toy Industry Association. “Mass retail buyers, independent toy store owners, licensors and many others reported a highly successful, highly productive and very upbeat Toy Fair. Buyers from across the country and around the globe were writing orders.”

Marian Bossard, TIA vice president of meetings and events, called the fair “a must-attend marketplace for anyone with a stake in the toy business.”

“The show provides brands with global media exposure, caters to retailers looking to revamp and diversify store shelves, and offers all attendees the chance to participate in world-class educational sessions and networking activities,” Bossard added.

The top toy trends for 2014—which include Larger than Life, Full STEAM Ahead!, RC Rampage, Frightfully Fun, Retro/Back-to-Basics and Custom Built—were scouted by 995 members of the press from top-tier media outlets.

“I found the exhibit floor busy and attendees generally optimistic,” said children’s author and expert Mary Manz Simon, whose International Christian Retail Show workshops are often standing room only. “Some of the publishers on the Toy Fair floor have edged back into the ‘book plus’ category, so there’s a less distinct line between books and toys.”

The global toy industry will converge for next year’s toy fair Feb. 14-17, again at Javits. Show information will be available at ToyFairNY.com.

Pastor Steven Furtick’s latest book, Crash the Chatterbox: Hearing God’s Voice Above All Others (Multnomah Books), has made its debut at No. 19 on the March 2 New York Times Advice, How-To & Miscellaneous best-seller list.  Rankings on the list reflect sales for the week ending Feb. 15, the book’s first week of release.

Furtick is the lead pastor of Elevation Church in Charlotte, the largest congregation in North Carolina. Crash the Chatterbox is his third book and his second New York Times best-seller after Greater (Multnomah, 2012). In his latest book, Furtick tackles the topic of negative self-talk—what he calls “the chatterbox”—and offers help to overcoming damaging internal dialogue.