Independent Christian retailer David Gullion, who ran and owned bookstores for more than 45 years, died from a heart condition Sept. 15 at Baptist Hospital in Winston-Salem, N.C. He was 71.

His son, Dwight Gullion—president and co-owner of Gullion's Christian Supply Center, which has three locations in the Winston-Salem area—told Christian Retailing that his father managed and then owned Hazard Christian Supply in Hazard, Ky., from 1967 to 1981. He said it was the first Christian bookstore in the Appalachian region.

After he changed its name to Dwight's Bible Shop in the mid-70s, Gullion started two additional Christian bookstores in Whitesburg, Ky., and Neon, Ky., during that time. He also ran a bookstore for the Evangelical Free Church in Hazard from 1966 to 1968. In 1983, Gullion sold the business and moved his family to Martinsville, Va., where he served as a basketball coach, teacher and principal at a Christian school.

Moving his family to Winston-Salem in 1989, Gullion and Dwight co-founded Gullion's Christian Supply Center in Winston-Salem in 1992. The store eventually grew to four locations by 2002, but consolidated to three stores in Winston-Salem, Statesville and Mt. Airy, N.C. Gullion managed the Statesville location from 1998 until his death.

"Everything he did was ministry," Dwight said. "He spent 45 years in ministry as a missionary, teacher, pastor, coach and Christian bookstore owner, influencing tens of thousands of people for God. His life's theme was 'Only one life, 'twill soon be past; Only what's done for Christ will last.' "

Gullion is survived by his wife, Loretta, three sons and several grandchildren.

Bardin & Marsee Publishing's NIV (New International Version) Waterproof Bible New Testament with Psalms and Proverbs has topped the list of the Top 25 Recommended Resources published by Military Ministry, a division of Campus Crusade for Christ International.

Soldiers and chaplains have used the Waterproof Bible since 2006. "Thank you for producing such a Bible that I'm sure will withstand the harsh Afghanistan climate," an Army chaplain wrote to Bardin & Marsee before deploying earlier this year. A soldier said the Waterproof Bible "helps me redeem those little fragments of time throughout the day by reading God's Word."

Bardin & Marsee also recently partnered with the Norwegian Bible Society to produce a military chaplain's waterproof devotional titled På Patrulje Soldatens Andaktsbok and with Bible Society New Zealand to publish a custom NLT (New Living Translation) New Testament with Psalms and Proverbs for the New Zealand Defence Force.

Based in Birmingham, Ala., and started in 2005, Bardin & Marsee Publishing offers the Waterproof Bible in nine languages and five English translations—NIV, NLT, English Standard Version, New King James Version and King James Version.

Click here for the list of the Top 25 Recommended Resources published by Military Ministry. Click here for more information on the Waterproof Bible.

Valerie Elliot Shepard, the only daughter of martyred missionary Jim Elliot and his wife, Elisabeth, has written a children's book about her unusual upbringing. Vision Forum released Pilipinto's Happiness: The Jungle Childhood of Valerie Elliot Oct. 8, the 85th anniversary of Jim Elliot's birth.

Told through the eyes of a child, the book begins two years after Shepard's 29-year-old father and his four Wheaton College classmates were killed by a primitive tribe of Quichua and Auca Indians, now called Waodani, in the Amazon jungle of Ecuador.

After Jim's death, Elisabeth and their daughter stayed to live with the Quichuas until they were invited to live with the Aucas tribe that killed Jim. They ministered to the Aucas for two years as Elisabeth and another missionary, Rachel Saint, learned to speak the language and shared the story of Jesus with them. Many Aucas converted to Christ as a result, abandoning their savage ways.

The Indians gave Shepard the nickname "Pilipinto"—meaning "butterfly"—as she walked, climbed and fluttered around the jungle where she lived from age 3 to 8.

"The gift to me, and what mother and God taught me, was the principle of being perfectly content," Shepard said about the story her now-85-year-old mother suggested she write more than 15 years ago. "God puts us in all kinds of situations as we are growing up. My situation was unusual, amazing and simple."

Married for 36 years and the mother of eight grown children, Shepard chronicles in her book how the Indians, their language and even the dangerous jungle elements created a playground for learning to trust God's hand and to respect the simplest of His gifts.

"There is an awful discontentment among young people," said Shepard, who recalls having only one book to read when she wasn't outside playing in the jungle. "I do look at the youth culture and just feel only the Lord can bring about a heart contented with simple pleasures and gifts from the Lord."

Click here for more information on Pilipinto's Happiness.

Max Lucado held two spots—Grace at No. 2 and Grace Happens Here at No. 17 (both Thomas Nelson)—on the General best-sellers list from the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA), tracking sales for the week ending Sept. 29, according to Pubtrack Christian data.

The Top 20 General best-sellers were: 1. I Declare, Joel Osteen (FaithWords); 2. Grace; 3. Jesus Calling, Sarah Young, hardcover (Thomas Nelson); 4. The Circle Maker, Mark Batterson (Zondervan); 5. The Harbinger, Jonathan Cahn (FrontLine/Charisma House Book Group); 6. Blood Brothers, Elias Chacour and David Hazard (Chosen/Baker Publishing Group); 7. Not a Fan, Kyle Idleman, hardcover (Zondervan); 8. Jesus Calling, Young, large print deluxe (Thomas Nelson); 9. The Necessity of an Enemy, Ron Carpenter Jr. (WaterBrook Press); 10. Jesus Calling, Young, deluxe (Thomas Nelson); 11. Jesus Today, Young (Thomas Nelson); 12. Unglued, Lysa TerKeurst (Zondervan); 13. The Ultimate Conversation, Charles F. Stanley (Howard Book); 14. The Bridesmaid, "Home to Hickory Hollow" No. 2, Lewis (Bethany House/Baker Publishing Group); 15. Crazy Love, Francis Chan (David C Cook); 16. Heaven Is for Real, Todd Burpo (Thomas Nelson); 17. Grace Happens Here; 18. Not a Fan, Idleman, softcover (Zondervan); 19. Boundaries, Henry Cloud, John Townsend (Zondervan); and 20. The 5 Love Languages, Gary Chapman (Northfield Publishing).

The Top 10 Fiction best-sellers were: 1. The Harbinger; 2. The Bridesmaid; 3. Coming Home, Karen Kingsbury (Zondervan); 4. The Last Plea Bargain, Randy Singer (Tyndale House Publishers); 5. Not in the Heart, Chris Fabry (Tyndale); 6. The Fiddler, "Home to Hickory Hollow" No. 1, Beverly Lewis (Bethany House/Baker Publishing Group); 7. Accused, "Pacific Coast Justice" No. 1, Janice Cantore (Tyndale); 8. The Shadow of Your Smile, "Deep Haven" No. 5, Susan May Warren (Tyndale); 9. Promise Me This, Cathy Gohlke (Tyndale); and 10. All Things New, Lynn Austin (Bethany House/Baker Publishing Group).

The top five Bibles were: 1. The Story, NIV, deluxe, hardcover, New International Version (Zondervan); 2. NIV Adventure Bible, hardcover, (Zonderkidz); 3. NKJV Study Bible, hardcover, New King James Version (Thomas Nelson); 4. ESV Pew & Worship Bible, hardcover, black, English Standard Version (Crossway); and 5. The Story: Teen Edition, NIV, softcover (Zondervan).

Christian retailers are reporting good sales and positive feedback for CBA's third annual Christian Store Week (CSW), which started Sept. 28 and runs through today, Oct. 8. Tammy Horvath, CBA member relationship specialist, said she has received numerous calls from participating retailers indicating positive gains for the first weekend of the promotion.

More than 400 Christian stores nationwide—including 134 independent retailers and the Family Christian Stores chain—partnered with World Vision to raise awareness of the need for hunger relief among American children as part of CSW, an effort to spotlight Christian bookstores and drive traffic, CBA said.

Bill Ballou, owner and manager of The Solid Rock in Kearney, Neb., told Christian Retailing that overall sales were up by a small percentage from last year's CSW.

"This is primarily due to the Saturday [Sept. 29] special sale of 'Spend More-Save More," which we did not have last year," said Ballou, noting his store sent 7,500 emails with the CSW brochure and alerted 1,000 Facebook contacts. "The Saturday sales were about a 25% increase over last year for same-day sales."

Ballou emphasized a different section of his store for each day of CSW, while offering a drawing for prizes if customers spent $50-plus and brought in canned goods. "The major response was in the goodwill created by having different sales categories for each day—a something-for-everyone idea," he said. "We will keep tweaking it for next year."

Kelly Harding, bookstore manager at Central Christian College of the Bible in Moberly, Mo., said sales "have been up just a little" from last year's CSW.

"It's better this year because instead of just offering a sale, we are hosting events," said Harding, noting the store partnered with a local church for a food drive tied to customers' canned goods donations. "Every year we seem to step up a little more and find new ways to celebrate this event. ... We took advantage of the marketing tools that CBA provided, such as the press release and printable flyers."

As with last year's CSW, Lighthouse Christian Products offered $120 worth of its catalog inventory via a package of 10 items to participating stores for $25 plus shipping and gave a free collage photo frame ($40 value) to retailers who wrote to tell about one of their favorite customers.

CSW also featured an enhanced compilation CD, which was sold exclusively through Christian stores. Lift Up, produced by EMI CMG, featured songs from Big Daddy Weave, Francesca Batistelli, Kutless and other artists who donated royalties, fees and commissions for the CD. Proceeds will benefit World Vision food programs. In the past two years, CSW has raised more than $100,000 for Christian relief programs through benefit CDs.

Ads promoted Christian Store Week on more than 1,200 radio stations, including K-LOVE Radio Network, Air-1, Christian Satellite Net and Bott Radio Network, as well as online at K-LOVE.com and sermoncentral.com. Lift Up CD was offered free to pastors if they mentioned it and CSW to their congregations.

Click here for more information on Christian Store Week. Read the full report in the December issue of Christian Retailing.

Longtime LifeWay Christian Stores President Mark Scott has decided to retire following several months of significant health issues.

Scott will be replaced by Tim Vineyard, vice president of LifeWay's technology division, according to LifeWay Christian Resources CEO Thom Rainer, effective immediately. Rainer, who has been named as acting president of the retail division until LifeWay trustees can review and affirm the change at their next scheduled meeting in February 2013.

"In his 30 years of service to LifeWay, Mark Scott has had an incalculable impact on the stores division as well as the broader LifeWay organization," Rainer said. "When he took over the division in 1992, there were 63 stores and 800 employees. Today we have 160 LifeWay Christian Stores with 2,400 employees."

Rainer said Scott has made a remarkable recovery after experiencing a stroke in June, followed by heart surgery to correct the congenital condition that caused the stroke.

"Mark needs to devote significant effort to achieving 100% recovery," he said. "However, I'm very pleased that his progress to date will allow him to serve as executive consultant to me, providing LifeWay the benefit of his vast knowledge and experience."

Serving at LifeWay has been "the greatest adventure of my life," Scott said. "I believe the future of LifeWay is brighter than ever as the organization continues to focus on providing the highest quality biblical resources to individuals and churches. Working in close partnerships with our suppliers, the CBA trade organization and other industry relationships has been one of the most gratifying aspects of my role."

Rainer said Scott's retirement leaves a "huge, strategic hole in our executive leadership team."

"After much prayer and consultation, the Lord has already provided us the individual who perfectly fits these stringent qualifications," Rainer said. "The Lord has provided Tim the experience, passion and commitment we need in a visionary executive to lead the stores division into an even brighter future."

Before coming to LifeWay in 2000 as director of the e-business group, Vineyard served 23 years as vice president of an Apple computer retailer. He was named vice president of LifeWay's technology division two years later, leading the development of business systems and websites, including LifeWay.com, corporate technology infrastructure, and voice and data systems.

Rainer said LifeWay will quickly begin a national search for a vice president of technology.

Kelly Gallagher, formerly vice president of R.R. Bowker Market Research, has joined Ingram Content Group—the parent company of Christian distributor Spring Arbor Distributors—as vice president of content acquisition.

He will lead Ingram's selling and business development activities for print-on-demand and digital distribution products, reporting to Chief Content Officer Phil Ollila.

Gallagher is well-known to Christian publishers, presenting details of publishing research at industry events such as the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association's Executive Leadership Summit.

Along with Gallagher, Pep Carrera also joined Ingram on Oct. 8 as Ingram's chief information officer. He comes to Ingram from RAPP, a leading marketing services provider. Carrera will report to Chief Operating Officer Shawn Morin, who joined ICG in 2009 and served as chief information officer until June when he was promoted.

ICG Chairman John R. Ingra became CEO when David "Skip" Prichard resigned June 8.