LifeWay Christian Stores sees pastor as ‘unique communicator’ who is ‘perfect for our vision and mission’

Kyle Idleman remembers frequent visits to the bookstore at Ozark Christian College in Joplin, Mo., where his dad was president. While he admits to mostly purchasing candy and gum, Idleman will never forget walking those aisles filled with books and Bibles.

Now Idleman’s own books are on the shelves of Christian retail stores around the country, and he’s come to understand the important link between the stores, customers and his message.

“It’s opened my eyes to the many Christian bookstore owners and managers who see their work as a ministry,” Idleman said. “The bookstore isn’t just a job for them, but a calling to get the right resources into the hands of people who need them.”

Idleman is teaching pastor at Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, Ky., and author of the March release AHA: The God Moment That Changes Everything (David C Cook). Idleman is also author of the Zondervan best-sellers Not a Fan and Gods at War.

“AHA came from about 15 years of listening to people’s stories of spiritual transformation,” he said. “The book is a journey through the story of the Prodigal Son, with stories I’ve been privileged to hear and those from my own life.”

AHA gets its name from the three steps needed in any true spiritual awakening, Idleman said. First is the “awakening” moment, when someone sees something they hadn’t seen before; second comes “honesty,” when that person speaks truth to themselves; third is “action,” when a person begins to take steps toward change and transformation.

But Idleman’s work goes far beyond a book. He partners with City on a Hill Productions to produce curriculum products that include DVDs, journals, small group study guides and pastor’s kits. City on a Hill Studio markets and distributes those products via its website and through Christian retail stores.

City on a Hill released the DVD series for Idleman’s Not a Fan about seven months before the book came out. His Gods at War study materials came out four months before the book did. Sales were good for Not a Fan: nearly 25,000 study guides, 170,000 journals and 19,000 DVDs sold via Christian stores from 2011 to 2013. 

This time, however, City on a Hill and book publisher David C Cook are releasing the book and study materials at the same time.

“Now that we’ve learned a little more, we’re launching the products at the same time,” said Tim Byron, general manager of City on a Hill Studio. “We’re hoping to get momentum behind the series, leveraging the marketing from the publisher and our marketing, cross-promoting the products and getting them in Christian bookstores.”

Mike Salisbury, marketing director for trade books at David C Cook, is delighted with early response from bookstores and readers.

“We see the way people are reacting,” Salisbury said. “We see the consumer getting excited, so we are very happy with early promotions.”

The publisher is planning a book launch March 5 at Southeast Christian, an event that will be broadcast live through the Hub Network, and is working with CBA to give retailers an opportunity to also broadcast the event live. David C Cook is offering bookstores a sampler booklet of Idleman’s work, is making him available to stores via Skype during scheduled events, and is offering signed bookplates for the books. Additionally, Idleman may offer a short devotional via Skype for store employees.

“These are the people he knows are supporting him,” Salisbury said. “Kyle’s heart is in the CBA. We’re trying to be good stewards of his time, trying to group opportunities together, but we’re looking for opportunities to put him in front of people.”

City on a Hill is just as eager for these opportunities. They want to reach retail customers who might see the book first, then make the jump into the curriculum for either their churches or their families.

“We want to tell retailers that our product is unique, but they really have to see it,” Byron said. “This is a whole suite of products that works together, though they can also stand alone. One thing we know is that when people buy one City on a Hill product, they come back. We’ve built a reputation on quality products that make an impact.”

City on a Hill’s AHA products will include the DVD —20 minutes of drama and about 10 minutes of teaching for each segment—to be used in small group or individual settings. There also will be a leader’s guide, journal for individual participants and a pastor’s kit for those who would like to preach through the series.

“This creates a church-wide experience around the product,” Byron said. “We help create an integrated campaign for churches.” 

Idleman, too, sees the benefit of Christian retailers understanding that these products have possibility for both small group and family use. 

“I would love for Christian bookstores to know that we had both kinds of users in mind when we created the AHA products,” he said. “There is such a strong story element to this material, which engages many different kinds of users.”

Nashville-based LifeWay Christian Resources, which owns and operates 186 LifeWay Christian Stores across the country, recognized Idleman’s appeal when his book Not a Fan took off with customers. LifeWay stores plans to stock all of the AHA products, including curriculum. 

“Kyle is a unique communicator, speaker and teacher,” said Donnie Baldwin, LifeWay’s buyer for curriculum and programs. “He really became popular with the 18-35 age group, but the older age groups like him as well. Not a Fan did extremely well, and so did Gods at War. We think AHA is going to do even better.”

LifeWay stores will stock all AHA products from City on a Hill, along with the book, calling the products “permanent fixtures in our stores—books, curriculum, DVDs, pastor’s kits, journals and study guides,” Baldwin said.

“Kyle is perfect for our vision and mission. He’s everything that we would like to see, and every bit of what we’d like to see our customers reading, studying and thinking about,” he said.

The stores will devote prime promotional space for the book and curriculum, positioning them together whenever possible. 

“Not a Fan went way beyond our projections, and we feel AHA is on that same level. We’re excited about the potential,” Baldwin said.

Byron of City on a Hill feels the same way. 

“Christian retailers are a huge piece of what we want to do because they are closest to the customer,” he said. “We’re so excited about our products. It’s all about connecting the product to the customers.”

Idleman is quick to thank Christian retailers for their work. 

“I hear stories about how a book got into the hands of a person who needed it, and often a retailer is the one who made that happen,” he said. “I so appreciate the ministry partnership that takes place between the church and bookstores.”

Company co-founder establishes new subsidy publisher Redemption Press

WinePress Publishing announced its closure in January amid numerous author complaints, hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt, the death of its editorial director and accusations of cult activity. On the heels of the announcement, WinePress co-founder and former owner Athena Dean has launched a new subsidy-publishing venture, Redemption Press, with plans to move the new company as of April 1 into the Enumclaw, Wash., office space formerly occupied by WinePress.

“It is with great sadness that we announce the winding down of operations at WinePress Publishing,” the now-defunct company’s website states, giving its authors until Jan. 31 to request shipment of books from the WinePress warehouse and directing them first to Amazon’s CreateSpace to republish, then to Sisters, Ore.-based publisher Deep River Books for assistance. Dean told Christian Retailing she hopes Redemption Press also can become a home for former WinePress authors now left in limbo.

“I can’t believe it’s come full circle,” Dean said. “My former husband, Chuck, and I started WinePress from our home. Now I’m back in Washington working from a house in the self-publishing business again.”

The Deans helped pioneer self-publishing in the Christian industry when they opened WinePress in 1991, but in the last few years, the company ran into trouble when executives began pointing fingers at each other, raising accusations of fraud, theft and misappropriation of funds, and leaving authors wondering where their money went and if they would ever see their books in print.

“A number of WinePress authors started calling Deep River stating that no one was answering the WinePress phones and asking if we knew anything,” said CEO and Publisher Bill Carmichael of Deep River Books. “One of the authors was able to email [former WinePress Senior Project Manager] Mike Owens and let him know I wanted to help. He emailed me back and said there were roughly 250 authors in progress and that WinePress was releasing all of their authors from their contracts and giving them back their files.”

Carmichael said Owens indicated he had been laid off when the company closed, but was volunteering his time to make sure authors got their files and books from the warehouse. At press time, a link on the WinePress homepage directed authors to an evaluation form that Deep River is using to figure out the status of each book project.

“We are not in any way affiliated with WinePress,” Carmichael said. “I just feel terrible for those authors. We basically want to assess what they need and try to help them at our cost, so that we can get their books into print as inexpensively as we can.” 

Athena and Chuck Dean started WinePress to give authors an alternative to traditional, royalty-based publishing contracts. In 1998, the Deans published a controversial book by Timothy Williams titled Hating for Jesus and became close friends with Williams and his family, who relocated to Enumclaw and became pastor of a church called Sound Doctrine (SD). Many SD members lived together in Enumclaw homes and worked at WinePress.

In 2006, Christian Retailing reported that Athena Dean had sold WinePress to Williams, but the deal was then called off. Dean and SD members, including the Williams family, continued to work together, but trouble was brewing. In 2010, Dean sold the company to the church for $10. 

From there, the relationship between the Williams family, SD and Dean continued to deteriorate, with SD eventually launching a pair of websites (HardTruth.SDoctrine
.org, Enumclaw.com) to denounce Dean and other detractors. Dean responded with her own site (NotAfraidToTellMyStory.Wordpress.com), accusing SD of being a cult that cost her relationships with family members, destroyed her marriage and stole her business. Dean states she divorced Chuck and cut off contact with some of her own children at the church’s insistence.

In November 2012, the WinePress story took another turn when Malcolm Fraser, WinePress development officer and SD assistant pastor, was charged with the rape of a child. Timothy Williams, SD’s former senior pastor, has stated repeatedly that the whole case was a setup, and Fraser continues to declare his innocence. Convicted last May, Fraser is appealing his 20-year sentence. Sound Doctrine also operated the Salt Shaker Christian Bookstore, which closed after the verdict.

In January 2013, Carla Williams, WinePress editorial director and Timothy’s wife, was diagnosed with brain cancer, an illness she and her husband believed was directly caused by the stress of the trial and the alleged lies against the SD church. A familiar face at the WinePress booth at industry shows such as the International Christian Retail Show, Carla died last September.

“Doctors have made it perfectly clear that none of my past health issues contributed to this sudden, rapid brain tumor, but that stress has brought it on,” Carla Williams said in a February 2013 post at her website, TheSpiritualMom.com.

Well-known literary agent Chip MacGregor got pulled into the WinePress fray when he posted a Facebook comment about Athena Dean’s website, and the SD attorney responded with a cease-and-desist letter threatening prosecution. On Jan. 28, MacGregor posted at ChipMacGregor.com: “I’ve seen some crazy stuff in my years in Christian publishing, but never anything like The Winepress Follies.”

While WinePress’ closing statement points to “lies and deceit” as the reasons for the company’s demise, debt also contributed. Mike Reynolds, Enumclaw city attorney and former landlord for WinePress, told Christian Retailing that the publisher owes him $280,000. He obtained a judgment against WinePress and took back the office space the company occupied. 

On MacGregor’s site and a number of author sites and blogs, WinePress authors are expressing their frustration and concern about signing contracts and paying Winepress for services they will not receive. The Better Business Bureau also lists several complaints by authors stating they could not get in contact with anyone from the company.

Christian Retailing made several attempts to reach Timothy Williams about the closing and received a voicemail reply that stated: “If you’re interested in talking about Athena Dean, her hate crime and her lies and go from there, I’m very interested. However, if it’s merely just to give her a platform to reiterate more lies, it wouldn’t do me any good to answer at that point because it’s not going to benefit anybody.”

When asked about the WinePress closing’s effect on the Christian retail landscape, veteran retailer Chuck Wallington, owner of Christian Supply in Spartanburg, S.C., said that there are now so many custom houses that authors will still have plenty of opportunities to self-publish.

“With the landscape of self-publishing changing so rapidly, while it’s sad to see a major player exit, there are still a lot of very viable options available to authors,” Wallington said. 

Dean hopes Redemption Press will be one of those options and has put together a publishing team that includes public relations veteran Michele Tennesen and former WinePress employees Karla Cochran and Kevin Cochran. 

“Self-publishing packages often include a bunch of services that you pay for whether you need all these things or not,” Dean said. “Basically almost everyone does it because we know Christians will pay money to get their message out. I have a hard time with that and don’t think its right. Redemption Press (Redemption-Press.com) will sell everything a la carte, and I hope we can help WinePress authors at cost. I just had one author tell me it was going to cost her $2,500 to finish her book, when I know we can do it for $391. We want to help authors get and keep their books in print.”

Brownlow Gifts has launched a new website at brownlowgift.com.

The Fort Worth, Texas-based gift company has redesigned its site with a more contemporary look and easier navigation. Express registration is provided with a Brownlow account number. Regular ordering, Quick Order or ordering from the Brownlow catalog all can be handled through the site. Additional product information—including related items, what other customers bought and best-sellers—is also available through the revamped site.

Shields of Strength and Athletes in Action, a ministry of Cru (formerly Campus Crusade for Christ), are ministering to athletes and coaches in Sochi, Russia during the 2014 Olympic games.

Shields of Strength founder Kenny Vaughan said that his company has donated more than 1 million of the 3 million shields they produced to individuals, U.S. military, churches and ministries, including Athletes in Action.

Companies and authors submitting more than five products in the 2014 Christian Retailing’s Best awards will want to enter this week for the Early Bird discount. Sponsored by Christian Retailing magazine, the awards celebrate the top new and backlist books, DVDs, gifts and more in the Christian products industry.

Enter by Feb. 14 at ChristianRetailingsBest.com for the Early Bird discount (for every five paid, get one free). Nominations will be accepted until Feb. 24 at the $60 per-product rate. Products may be entered in any one of more than 60 categories.

Grace Unplugged earned its greatest industry honor thus far Friday, Feb. 7, taking home the top Annual Faith and Family Awards.

The movie, releasing from Lionsgate Home Entertainment (Capitol Christian Distribution) on Blu-ray combo pack and DVD today, won the Epiphany Prize for the Most Inspiring Film of the Year, surpassing box-office powerhouses like as Man of Steel and 42. The victory puts Grace Unplugged in the company of such past winners as Les Miserables, The Blind Side, The Passion of The Christ, Fireproof, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Amistad and Courageous.

New York Times best-selling author Steven Furtick is hosting a star-studded live radio event Tuesday, Feb. 11, to promote the release of his new book, Crash the Chatterbox: Hearing God’s Voice Above All Others (Multnomah Books). The Crash the Chatterbox Live! event will feature a variety of special guests—including GRAMMY-winning recording artists Mandisa and Israel Houghton, Dove Award winner Kari Jobe, Passion movement leader Louie Giglio, Carolina Panthers Wide Receiver Steve Smith, mixed martial arts fighter Vitor Belfort, author Shaunti Feldhahn and Hillsong NYC pastor Carl Lentz—appearing throughout the show, each for one hour.

Furtick, founder and lead pastor of Elevation Church—the largest church in North Carolina—and author of the New York Times-best-seller Greater (Multnomah Books), will tap into the theme of chatter by talking with special guests and callers about the lies that people tell themselves and how to overcome them.