HCI Books authors Tonier Cain and Erin Merryn will get an upcoming opportunity to speak their messages of faith on two prominent national Christian television programs.

Cain, the author of Healing Neen: One Woman’s Path to Salvation From Trauma and Addiction, will appear on Daystar TV’s The Joni Show on Wednesday, March 4. On a date to be determined, Merryn, a child advocate, trailblazer and author of An Unimaginable Act: Overcoming & Preventing Child Abuse Through Erin’s Law, will make an appearance on the 700 Club.

Both tireless and faith-based women, Cain and Merryn work in service to help those in need because of personal experience and are turning their misfortunes into good. Their books and memoirs document their life experiences and what led them to surrender their lives to God.

In amazing testimony, Cain reveals her life of 83 arrests with 66 convictions. After surviving a childhood of unspeakable sexual abuse, unrelenting violence and betrayal by systems that were charged with helping, Cain stands before her audiences today a testimony to the resiliency of the human spirit exemplifying the innate human instinct to survive.

Thousands of requests have been made to her to serve as the keynote speaker in front of audiences that include the United Nations, government agencies, teachers, community and civic organizations, mental health agencies, substance abuse programs, corrections facilities and trauma survivors. Cain is featured in the documentary Behind Closed Doors: Trauma Survivors and the Psychiatric System, and the subject of the award-winning film Healing Neen.

You can read more about her at toniercain.com.

Merryn is the author of books including Stolen Innocence, Living for Today, and An Unimaginable Act—all memoirs. She earned her Master’s degree in social work from Aurora University in May 2009.

After suffering years of sexual abuse and rape as a child, she broke her silence and found her mission in life. Merryn began a crusade her senior year of high school in 2004 to end the silence and shame around sexual abuse by publishing her childhood diary into a book.

She has overcome many obstacles from child abuse, a learning disability and living daily with epilepsy. In 2010 she became the force behind Erin’s Law—a law that requires public schools to teach children on age-appropriate sexual abuse prevention curriculum. She is traveling to each state capital to testifying to lawmakers to convince them to pass the law. She has made it her mission to pass the law in all 50 states.

In November 2012, Glamour Magazine named her Woman of the Year and she was honored in Carnegie Hall before 3,000 people. People Magazine named her a HEROES Among Us in April 2013 and listed her as one of 15 women changing the world in June 2014.

Read more about Merryn at erinmerryn.net.

After analyzing more than a dozen offers to purchase its property in downtown Nashville, LifeWay Christian Resources has signed a letter of intent with an undisclosed firm that represents local and national developers.

The temporary legal arrangement allows LifeWay and its potential buyer to concentrate on its negotiations on terms for the 15-acre downtown facility. Last week, LifeWay says it eliminated several of the offers and focused on a handful of possible buyers.

“The talks are ongoing, so it would be premature for us to discuss any elements of the negotiations or the businesses and individuals involved,” said LifeWay spokesperson Marty King. “Several other potential buyers have been told their offers are on hold until current negotiations either move forward toward a contract or are dissolved.

“We anticipate a final decision in a few weeks, as we continue to seek the arrangement that provides the best stewardship of the resources with which LifeWay has been entrusted for more than 100 years.”

LifeWay’s nine-building campus includes its LifeWay Christian Store.

The Nashville, Tennessean reported that finalists for the property “are said to have included San Francisco-based national real estate investor Shorenstein Properties LLC, Houston-based real estate firm Hines Interests and Dallas-based development company Trammel Crow Co. The Tennessean speculated that the price could be consider between $90 million and $100 million, perhaps more.

After an extensive search utilizing an outside firm, David C Cook announces that Tim MacDonald has agreed to become the chief advancement officer, a newly created position, beginning March 2. MacDonald will report directly to Chief Executive Officer Chris Dornboos and will serve as a member of the David C Cook leadership team.

MacDonald is an accomplished senior leader with over 20 years of experience with nonprofit and for-profit organizations, including Focus on the Family, The Jenkins Companies, Woodmen Valley Chapel and, most recently, the Dexter Group. Notably, he served as chief of advancement for Gary Bauer in his run for president in 1999.

“I am thrilled to have someone with Tim’s experience and giftedness joining the leadership team at David C Cook,” Doornbos says. “His passion for our global mission, combined with his heart for relationships and his business acumen make him a perfect fit for this role.”

MacDonald’s primary responsibilities will be the creation, documentation and execution of a five-year Donor Development Plan, which will be designed to “message the mission” and increase the size of the donor base and their contributions to the ministry.

MacDonald will also be responsible for building a cross-departmental team of marketing experts from each department to lead Corporate Communication Strategies and campaigns to the ministry’s key stakeholders. Accordingly, he will also act as chief public relations officer for the entire organization.

“It is exciting to see the team that the Lord has put together under Cris’ leadership, and it is even more exciting to be a part of that team,” MacDonald said. “I’m honored at the opportunity to expand the relationships with investors/donors for this ministry, across the country and around the world. With God, nothing is impossible when He directs our path.”

Citing major financial considerations, Nori Media Group CEO Don Nori continues to stand firm behind his company's decision not to publish Brandan Robertson's manuscript, Nomad: Not-So-Religious Thoughts on Faith, Doubt and the Journey in Between.

Destiny Image, a subsidiary of Nori Media Group, recently expressed its stance to Robertson in publishing the manuscript, telling him there were concerns that evangelical bookstores would not carry the book.

A former student at Moody Bible Institute, Robertson made a reference to homosexuality in his manuscript. He recently revealed to Time magazine that he "identifies as queer."

Had Destiny Image continued on its course in publishing the book, Nori said it would not only have been a bad decision for his company, but also for Robertson.

"I can tell you this. If we had published this book, I would have failed him as a publisher," Nori said. "We would not have been able to sell more than a few hundred copies in our marketplace. We are solidly a Christian company.

"Some may scoff—and they will—at that reasoning, but I wanted to honor the author in a gentle way, giving him the respect he deserves, by releasing him. I believe that Jesus wants us to take everybody's best interests at heart and to make the best decisions for everyone. I believe we have done that. The author can now take the book to a secular publishing company and he will most likely be very successful with it."

Upon his graduation from Moody, Robertson became a national spokesperson for Evangelicals for Marriage Equality, an organization started to persuade evangelicals to support civil gay marriages.

According to the Time article, "the word gay appears in (Robertson's) manuscript only one time." In the manuscript, Robertson is quoted as saying, "One high school biology class is all that it takes to begin asking some serious questions about the book of Genesis and the origins of humanity. One conversation with a close friend who is struggling to be gay and Christian is all that it takes to begin wondering if the interpretation of Leviticus we heard in Sunday school is actually applicable in today's context."

In a phone interview with Charisma, Robertson said his "issue isn't with Destiny Image, it's with the buyers. The real problem is the Christian book industry won't pick up my manuscript because of my support for LGBT equality.

"Yes, I am disappointed that Destiny dropped my book. The phone call I got from them was very apologetic, and that it was for financial reasons—that it wouldn't be bought by Christian bookstores. My understanding was that they wanted to publish a progressive book and that there was space for me there. It's very frustrating and disheartening."   

Nori said Destiny initially agreed to publish Robertson's manuscript because the author is "very progressive." Nori said Destiny "knew he was an endorser of the LGBT, but didn't know that he was a participant" until he refused to honor Destiny's position statement on the gay and lesbian lifestyle.

"When we recently discovered questions that arose regarding his position on homosexuality in the church, I sent him our statement," Nori said. "We told him if it's something you can agree with, that would be fine. He said he did not agree with our statement.

"Based on that, I would not be successful in promoting him as an author in our marketplace. Financially, it simply would not be prudent. We would not be a good steward of the finances that the Lord has given us. We simply cannot get behind where he is at."

Destiny Image's position statement on the gay and lesbian lifestyle, released in June 2007, says:

"Destiny Image accepts the Holy Scriptures as the infallible word of God and answers all questions concerning life and godliness. We do not condone, encourage, or accept the homosexual lifestyle. Destiny Image renounces this lifestyle as ungodly and completely contrary to the Kingdom of God."

"Or do you not know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and in the Spirit of our God" (1 Cor. 6: 9-11).

"But we know that the Law is good, if one uses it lawfully, realizing the fact that law is not made for a righteous man, but for those who are lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers and immoral men and homosexuals and kidnappers and liars and perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound teaching, according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, with which I have been entrusted" (1 Tim. 1: 8-11).

Nori said the pushback from this issue has been "scathing and harsh," and that he anticipates more to come.

"I believe we made the right decision, and it's one I know that other kingdom leaders would applaud," Nori said. "We reached out to some very important kingdom people and they advised us on this. "Simply put, we dropped a book. His (the author's) value system is not in line with ours."

Nori reiterated that the decision not to publish the book was financial in nature.

"We did not reject or refuse," Nori said. "As with all books, a publisher decides what is financially viable. We released the book back to the author with our sincere prayers for his success. This occurrence happens every season."

Inpop Records, a Nashville-based entertainment company, is coming off an immensely successful 2014 and is preparing for a monumental lineup for 2015. To kick off the year, Inpop is celebrating the release of Just Kids (Inpop/Aware) on Feb. 24, the highly anticipated album from critically acclaimed singer/songwriter Mat Kearney.

Additionally, Inpop is announcing two new additions to their roster: Pop/hip-hop artist V.Rose and Southern/Pop act Consumed by Fire. Both of these new artists' music will be prominently featured in the upcoming film Four Blood Moons, as well as the soundtrack which Inpop will distribute this summer.

Four Blood Moons (Goose Creek Productions/Inpop) is a theatrical one-night event exploring a rare lunar phenomenon that over the centuries has accompanied both tragedy and triumph for the Jewish people. From Pastor John Hagee’s New York Times best-selling book of the same name, Four Blood Moons is in theaters March 23 and the DVD releases June 23.

“2014 was a great one for us,” says Inpop President Mark Lusk. “We are really proud of the success of God’s Not Dead and the artists involved. We are expanding Inpop in ways we never have before. We are broadening our reach and making our focus on not just delivering great music, but developing brands that will make an impact for years to come.”

Last year, Inpop was awarded three RIAA Gold Certification Awards. The first was for the Shane Harper single, “Hold You Up,” which also claimed the No. 1 spot at Christian radio for multiple weeks. The two other awards were for Newsboys for their “God’s Not Dead (Like A Lion)” single and the God’s Not Dead album. In addition, Inpop released “Let Them See You” from the JJ Weeks Band, which finished 2014 as one of the most-played tracks at Christian Radio.

For more information on Inpop and its roster of artists, please visit inpop.com.

David C Cook announces the recent hiring of Alice Crider as the new senior acquisitions and development editor for its book team. Crider’s main responsibilities will be acquiring women’s nonfiction Christian living and spiritual growth books.

Crider began her career in Christian publishing at David C Cook in 1999, starting in Curriculum department and then moving to books. She moved to Alive Communications in 2001 and then to WaterBrook Publishing in 2004, where she progressed through the editorial ranks acquiring and developing manuscripts, writing marketing and back cover copy, and handling author relation issues.

The last two years, Crider has worked as an Agent with WordServe Literary Group representing over 40 authors where she focused on women's Christian living, spiritual growth and women’s devotionals. 

“I am excited to be back at David C Cook and excited to be developing books that transform lives,” Crider said.

“With women’s books being one of our growing genres in the next five years, I am very encouraged and pleased that someone with Alice’s credentials and experience has chosen to join our publishing team,” said Dan Rich, David C Cook’s chief publishing officer.

Pure Flix Entertainment announces the appointment of Steve Fedyski as its new chief operating officer.

“Steve has spent his business career helping leaders and organizations grow,” Managing Partner Michael Scott said. “We are excited to have his experience and leadership as we move into this next chapter of growth that God has planned for us.”

In this new role for the company, Fedyski will be responsible for overseeing day-to-day operations while developing the company’s offerings and driving global revenue growth. As a proven industry leader of high quality, inspiring movies and television programs, Pure Flix Entertainment is a production and theatrical distribution company that offers family, inspiration and faith-based content.

“It’s exciting to advance the Pure Flix mission to impact our culture [for] Christ through film with an extraordinary team of talented professionals,” Fedyski said.

Previously, Fedyski served as president and CEO Pinnacle Forum, a Dr. Bill Bright-inspired ministry that formed in 1996. He has held senior sales/marketing executive positions for Fortune 100 consumer products and direct marketing companies like Kraft Foods, Borden and Advo Inc. A popular motivational speaker and entrepreneur, Fedyski has received multiple national sales, marketing and leadership awards including the prestigious Chairman’s Award for Kraft Foods.

As an elder of Highlands Church in his home of Scottsdale, Arizona, Fedyski is a discipleship leader and mentor. In 2014, he was commissioned as a Centurion from the Chuck Colson Center. Other ministries he’s been actively involved with include CRU/Campus Crusade for Christ International, House of Refuge and Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Steve also serves as a member of Campus Crusade’s Arizona Prison Advisory Board and Ambassador for The Phoenix Rescue Mission.

Fedyski has a business/psychology degree from Baldwin-Wallace College and earned his graduate degree in business/management at the University of Memphis. He has been married to his wife, Tracy, for 31 years, and they have two adult married children and four grandchildren.

Pure Flix Entertainment has offices in Los Angeles, California, and Scottsdale, Arizona, and is slated to produce and distribute three theatrical films in 2015 and four films in 2016. Pure Flix released the best-selling film and DVD God’s Not Dead in 2014 and is anticipating an equally impactful response to its upcoming theatrical release, Do You Believe?, in March 2015.