Borrowing by Americans rose in May at the fastest pace in a year, the Associated Press (AP) reported. Borrowing in the category that includes credit cards use reached its highest point since the fall of 2010, as increased borrowing typically means that consumers are feeling more confident.

Borrowing increased by $19.6 billion in May compared with April, the Federal Reserve said recently in its monthly report on consumer credit. It was the biggest jump since a $19.9 billion rise in May 2012, and total borrowing reached a record $2.84 trillion, AP reported.

The category that includes credit card use climbed $6.6 billion, also the largest increase in a year. Credit card debt reached $847.1 billion, the highest since September 2010. Credit card debt remains about 16% below its high of $1.02 trillion in July 2008—just before the financial crash.

The increase in credit card borrowing could help boost consumer spending, which accounts for 70% of economic activity. But some consumers have been reluctant to run up high-interest debt since the recession ended.

The measure of card debt in the Federal Reserve's report has risen $15.8 billion this year. That's significantly lower compared with annual increases of $25 billion to $50 billion in credit card debt before the Great Recession, which officially started in December 2007 and ended in June 2009, AP reported.

Jud Wilhite says stores ‘opened up a whole new world of faith and biblical understanding’ in his spiritual walk

Jud Wilhite, pastor of one of the largest and fastest-growing churches in the country and a New York Times best-selling author with nearly 30,000 Twitter followers, remembers being down and out versus being up and coming.

The senior pastor of 15,000-member Central Christian Church in Las Vegas wrestled with a four-year drug addiction as a teenager growing up in Texas. 

“The turning point for me was when I surrendered to God as a 17-year-old, and when I walked into a local church for the first time on my own terms—not because my parents made me,” Wilhite, 42, told Christian Retailing. “I found this little, small group Bible study, and in that first critical six months, they were like a life-saving station for me. 

“They encouraged me, walked with me and coached me off the cliff,” he recalled. “God used those people to literally save my life. Out of that experience, I knew I wanted to do two things: help others experience the same grace that I had experienced in Jesus and do that through the local church.”

Wilhite also credits Christian bookstores for playing a big part in his discipleship and spiritual growth.

“I love Christian bookstores and have spent hundreds of hours roaming their shelves,” he said. “Christian bookstores were my primary reference point for spiritual tools and resources, especially in my early years as a Christian. They opened up a whole new world of faith and biblical understanding. 

“When I walk in a Christian bookstore today and see one of my books on the shelf, I always stop and remember what it felt like to be walking into a bookstore desperately seeking hope, guidance and encouragement,” Wilhite added. “By God’s grace, I found it there and trust that others find that hope in Christian bookstores every day.”

Since Wilhite arrived at Central Christian in 2003, the church has been known for helping the hurting find healing. In a recent survey, more than 90% surveyed at Central said that God “saved their lives” through the church.

Wilhite has authored several books, including the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association and CBA best-sellers Torn, Stripped, Uncensored Grace and Eyes Wide Open (all Multnomah Books), and That Crazy Little Thing Called Love (Standard Publishing).

His most recent book, Pursued, was released by FaithWords in February, debuting on the New York Times best-sellers list. Using the biblical story of the prophet Hosea’s marriage in the book, Wilhite reveals how God pursues people with His unwavering love. 

“I just try to write as one broken person to other broken people, encouraging them to allow God’s grace to put them back together,” he said. “Something happens to all of us when we have been broken by something in life, and put back together by God. We have more compassion, more of an awareness of our need for God and more dependence on His grace. Growing in His grace and truth, finding freedom from our past and pain, and celebrating God’s mercy each day are the core messages of my life and also my writing.”

FaithWords Editor Jana Burson said Wilhite “writes from a place of grace because he knows firsthand what it means to experience it. Much like how his church, Central Christian, is a place where people can come and be accepted as they are, his writing accomplishes the same welcoming invitation.”

Gabe Lyons, author of The Next Christians (Doubleday Religion), said Wilhite is “a compelling new voice and model for a new way to be Christian in today’s culture.” 

Capitalizing on Wilhite’s popularity, FaithWords plans two forthcoming releases—one a book and the other a Bible. 

In February, FaithWords will release Wilhite’s next major trade book. In The God of Yes, he will “invite readers to experience a divine yes to all of life as a gift of God,” said Burson, noting that many believe that the Christian life consists of a long list of no’s.

Wilhite said he believes authenticity is one reason why his books resonate with people. 

“I’m regularly surprised and humbled when anyone takes their precious time and allows me the opportunity to share with them,” he said. “From a writing standpoint, I just try to be honest, keep it real and encourage people from the Bible and personal experience. The feedback I get usually points to authenticity as a big part of what resonates, and the other is that I seek to take the Bible seriously.”

Wilhite’s new Bible from FaithWords will be published Sept. 10. The Uncensored Truth Bible features the New Living Translation and is geared toward new believers. 

“Jud feels that one of the greatest needs new believers have is a resource for understanding Christian faith and the Bible in a straightforward and applicable guide,” Burson said. “This Bible fills that need.”

Key features include: a 24-page introduction, in which Wilhite provides six articles on how to understand the Bible, overviews of the Old and New Testaments and faith as a lifelong journey; easy-to-understand introductions for each book of the Bible; nine “uncensored truth” sections on topics such as the Trinity and heaven and hell.

Wilhite is strongly connected to his readers, posting daily on Twitter, where he has nearly 29,000 followers, and Facebook where he has more than 14,000 friends.

Wilhite is also “so thankful for Christian retailers.”

“I know this is a mission for them,” he said. “They get discouraged and frustrated like everyone, and I don’t see anybody getting rich. But they push through because they believe in the message and want to help others grow. I can’t even imagine where I’d be if I didn’t have a Christian bookstore to frequent after becoming a Christian. They were a resource to a whole new understanding for me. 

“The difference those books made in my life is what inspires me to keep writing,” Wilhite added. “I don’t every want to take for granted that we can partner together to literally witness God change someone’s life. It is such a privilege, and I’m thankful for the partnership of Christian retailers in that mission.”

Mandate case remanded to same court that earlier ruled against the arts-and-crafts chain’s request for exemption

In a major victory for Hobby Lobby Stores, a federal appeals court reversed a lower-court ruling June 27 that had rejected the arts-and-crafts chain’s request for temporary protection in its abortion-pill mandate case.

The Denver-based 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling sends the case back to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma, which had earlier ruled against the chain’s request for an exemption.

The decision means Hobby Lobby and sister retailer Mardel Christian and Education may be entitled to an exemption from a requirement in President Barack Obama’s 2010 healthcare overhaul (aka Obamacare) to include free “morning-after” and “week-after” pill coverage in their employee health insurance plans. 

Five of the nine judges found that Hobby Lobby met at least some of the requirements needed to gain temporary protection from the mandate while its lawsuit proceeds in court, Reuters reported.

“Because the contraceptive-coverage requirement places substantial pressure on Hobby Lobby and Mardel to violate their sincere religious beliefs, their exercise of religion is substantially burdened,” a majority of the judges concluded.

Kyle Duncan, general counsel for The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty and counsel on the case, said the appeals court’s ruling “marks a milestone in Hobby Lobby’s fight for religious liberty.” 

“This is a tremendous victory not only for the Green family and for their business, but also for many other religious business owners who should not have to forfeit their faith to make a living,” he added. 

In December, a two-judge panel of the 10th Circuit denied Hobby Lobby’s request to temporarily stop enforcement of the abortion-pill mandate.

Oklahoma City-based Hobby Lobby has more than 500 stores in 41 states. One of the tenets of the chain’s statement of purpose is, “Honoring the Lord in all we do by operating the company in a manner consistent with biblical principles.” The Green family, which owns Hobby Lobby, also runs Mardel stores.

There are 60 lawsuits currently challenging the abortion-pill mandate.

Association takes ‘holistic approach to education and training’ with merchandising demonstrations and more

Trading and training were the order of the day at CBA’s 2013 International Christian Retail Show (ICRS) in St. Louis.

George Thomsen, who came to the event as CBA board president, but also as a church bookstore manager, said he was “very positive about the show.”

“To me, people seem upbeat,” he added. “It seems like what we’ve seen the last few years, the people that are here are here for the long haul, and they know that our economy and the industry that we work in is different than it used to be. They’ve accepted it, and we just keep on moving on, so they’re upbeat.”

CBA reported that professional attendance was down 15% this year to 1,485 buyers with more than 3,700 total. International attendance also dropped, decreasing 21% to 288 from 57 countries.

Despite lower numbers, CBA President Curtis Riskey observed that “with everyone who’s represented here, it reminds me that ICRS remains the apex of the industry, where all who have the common mission to distribute Christian resources come together to celebrate what God’s doing in their lives, ministries and businesses.”

Riskey echoed Thomsen’s positive attitude regarding the event, held June 23-26 at the America’s Center Convention Complex.

“The people that I spoke with were encouraged, and that’s really our goal,” he said. “Our goal is to educate and encourage, inspire. I think we did that with a number of things. I think the worship service, Worship Him, was fantastic. I really think the show continued on that plane and was very positive. I was excited about some of the new things that we’re doing.”

Sunday night’s Worship Him service brought together Max Lucado and recording artists Steven Curtis Chapman and Laura Story in a night of inspiration and encouragement that was also open to the public. 

“Can’t God do for you what He did for Joseph?” Lucado’s question resonated with attendees as he spoke on the topic of his latest book, You’ll Get Through This (Thomas Nelson).

Lucado encouraged those involved in the Christian products industry to lay claim to the nearness of God, cling to His character and lean on God’s people.

Chapman and Story each shared from their personal hardships and testified of God’s watchcare in their lives, further demonstrating the point of Lucado’s upcoming book.

Monday morning, the show’s opening ceremony featured a big announcement from the Christian products industry’s favorite talking vegetables, a challenge from a top author and an announcement of the Ministry in Action offering.

Riskey served as emcee, and Thomsen cut the ribbon to open the exhibit floor. The Worship Him offering for the Lutheran nonprofit Humanitri, active in St. Louis assisting the incarcerated, homeless, single mothers and impoverished, was announced in the amount of more than $6,288. Sam’s Club and several Christian publishers and suppliers donated goods with which show attendees would pack 100 bags for Humanitri clients.

Steve Arterburn, best-selling author, creator of Women of Faith and host of “New Life Live” radio show, issued a challenge for believers to see their circumstances from God’s perspective.

“Rather than judge God based on our circumstances, we need to see things from God’s perspective,” he said. “The closer you get to God, the smaller the obstacles appear.”

Arterburn also issued a ministry caution, to not treat a person’s deep wounds superficially, such as advising a person in pain to “just read your Bible more” or “have more faith.”

Additionally VeggieTales celebrated 20 years creating animated children’s programming by distributing birthday party hats and horns. The launch of a new VeggieTales TV show
in partnership with Netflix was also announced, and characters Larry and Bob were on hand to help celebrate.

Bob Negen of Whiz Bang! Training presented the six-hour Retail Academy, sponsored by Ingram/Spring Arbor. In its third year, the seminar continued to be popular as retailers worked to adapt to the new realities of retail technology and learned how to market for growth.

Additionally, workshops focused on lifestyle marketing, children’s product trends, social media, turning around a store in a tough environment, technology tools, trends for effective marketing, retailing in the digital-media age and more.

The new Lifestyle Stories exhibit put together by Danni Schneidt-Hill of Promises “His”Coffee and Cottage Shoppe in Malta, Mt., presented research to help retailers better understand new moms, boomer women and men as customers. Duck Dynasty products were highlighted at the show and were part of the Lifestyle Stories exhibit for men. 

The line provided the opportunity for retailers to be “happy, happy, happy,” said Sherry Morris, Carpentree marketing manager, who spoke on a panel addressing lifestyle marketing. 

She encouraged retailers with her rule-of-thumb rhyme when buying gift lines: “Best-sellers rule. New is cool. Cores don’t end. And trends are friends.”

With the Lifestyle idea, Riskey told Christian Retailing that CBA “took prime real estate to demonstrate what good merchandising looks like, but then also we did workshops on it, so we incorporated, ‘OK, so now how do you do this and what do you need to look for? And what kinds of customers are coming into your store?’ So we have data to support all that, so hands-on training as to how to do this and make it happen, and then what we’re going to also do through utilizing social media, we’re creating a Facebook page for this whole project as well so that other stores can now send us information back and photos and things that they’re incorporating into their store so we can help tell the story to others, share their successes and things like that, so we’ve taken that sort of holistic approach to education and training. It isn’t just what happens here at ICRS, but how do we extend it throughout the year for a lot of people?”

ICRS also continued its focus on authors connecting with retailers for co-marketing initiatives. Events included an author boot camp; a fiction product event that highlighted opportunity categories, such as young adult; Author Avenue, a special area for book signing and meet-and-greets; and meetings and awards events from Christian Retailing, American Christian Fiction Writers, Christian Authors Network and American Writers and Speakers Association, among others.

The 2014 show is slated for June 22-25 in Atlanta. Riskey expects better professional attendance there, as the location is in closer proximity to the majority of Christian retail stores.

HarperCollins Christian Publishing and B&H Publishing Group topped the tally at the 2013 Christian Retailing’s Best awards, presented Tuesday, June 25, from the ICRS Town Center stage.

Jonathan Cahn, New York Times best-selling author of The Harbinger (FrontLine/Charisma House) presented the awards, while Tammy Trent belted out a number from her upcoming Sunny Days release (September Days Records/Infinity Music Distribution).

The year’s big winners were HarperCollins Christian with Thomas Nelson taking home six awards and Zondervan three, and B&H with eight. Baker Publishing Group received four awards, and in Gifts, DaySpring won two.

Visit www.christianretailingsbest.com for a winners list.

CBA’s annual report says most independent stores suffered declines in 2012 but some saw sales jumps

Christian retailers saw sales jump 8.55% in 2012 compared to 2011, according to CBA’s annual State of the Industry report. Every quarter last year saw a sales increase versus the same period in 2011. 

However, the also found that about 60% of independent retailers suffered sales declines in 2012. But some independents, who reported sales surges, had “very strong increases”—mostly above 7%, with a strong percentage more than 15%, according to CBA’s CROSS:SCAN sales data, which is aggregated from 600-plus Christian stores. It’s the first year CROSS:SCAN has been used extensively in the survey, CBA officials said. 

“Christian stores are in a major transition,” CBA President Curtis Riskey said. “Retail success is being defined by two primary strategies: either competing on price or by creatively defining retail space in terms of engagement and relationship. 

“The stores that reported sales increases are strong and connecting better with customers both through technology and compelling in-store experiences,” he added. “They are adapting to selling e-books and deploying more digital marketing and customer interaction. It’s not just about price.” 

Other key findings from the report:

*Black Friday sales in 2012 were up 22%, overturning a two-year slump of same period declines. However, total Christmas-season sales were up only slightly (1.6%). Political grandstanding over the “fiscal cliff” federal budget talks and payroll-tax increases dampened Christmas season spending overall, according to retail economic analysts.

*There were 39 net store closings in 2012 compared to 22 in 2011 and 63 in 2010. The bump in net store closings was blamed on the lingering recession and high unemployment.

*Books and Bibles remained the top categories for Christian stores. DVD sales increased significantly from 2010 to 2012, up 24.1% in units and 17.9% in dollar sales at suggested retail price.

Usually published in March, the report was delayed by technical development of new CROSS:SCAN reporting tools and internal changes. The 2013 report is free to CBA members who took part in the survey and is available at www.cbaonline.org.

Inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award presented; two Hall of Fame members inducted

The 2013 Christy Awards honored a new group of writers and publishing professionals with three new initiatives at the 14th annual celebration that took place Monday, June 24, at ICRS.

The first Christy Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Lee Hough, longtime literary agent with Alive Communications. He started at the agency in 2001 and in 2010 was named vice president.

“I’m at peace,” said Hough, who is battling cancer. “I have gratitude. I am so looking forward to seeing the Lord.”

The first two members were inducted into the Christy Awards Hall of Fame, honoring those who have received at least four Christys. 

Karen Hancock was the first inductee with four awards (2003-2006) for her books, including Arena and The Shadow Within. Lynn Austin, who has received eight Christy Awards, was also inducted. She won awards in 2002-2004 and 2008-2012. Her first Christy was awarded for Hidden Places and her most recent for Wonderland Creek. 

Also created this year was the Book of the Year Award, given for the breakout novel Into the Free by Julie Cantrell, which also received the Christy in the First Novel category.

“When I wrote Into the Free, I didn’t have a clue I was writing Christian fiction,” Cantrell said. “The book was just who I was.”

The awards, held at the Renaissance St. Louis Grand Hotel, were emceed by agent Steve Laube of The Steve Laube Agency, with keynote speaker Chip MacGregor of MacGregor Literary Agency.

See the complete list of winners at www.christyawards.com.