Warner Press has announced that 12-year company veteran Kevin Spear has been named its new marketing manager.

Spear joined the company in 2002 as a graphic designer. He designed Warner’s marketing materials as well as wrote, illustrated and designed many of its children’s products.

In 2012, Kevin was promoted to director of digital marketing.

“Technology has changed the way we communicate, especially within the church,” said Eric King, president of Warner Press. “Kevin’s experience in digital marketing, and his decision to attain his MBA, makes him a great choice for this new position.”

Before coming to Warner Press, Spear was a marketing designer for Creative Converting and a book designer for Pearson Education in Indianapolis. He has also contributed to publications such as Leadership Journal, Kidzmatter, and Alpha Books. Spear earned his bachelors and MBA degrees from Anderson University.

Confident consumers stocked up on holiday gifts and other merchandise over the 2014 holiday season, helping boost overall holiday retail sales to their highest level since 2011. According to the National Retail Federation, December retail sales, which exclude automobiles, gas stations and restaurants, decreased 0.9% seasonally adjusted month-to-month, and 4.6% unadjusted year-over-year. The significant drop in gasoline prices in the month of December brought down much of the month-to-month growth.

Total holiday retail sales, which include November and December sales, increased 4% to $616.1 billion, which was in line with NRF’s projected forecast of 4.1% growth. In addition, non-store holiday sales, which is an indicator of online and e-commerce sales, grew 6.8% to $101.9 billion.

The U.S. Commerce Department, which does include gasoline, said on Wednesday that December retail sales decreased 0.9% seasonally adjusted month-to-month and 3.2% unadjusted year-over-year.

“Today’s holiday retail sales results are welcome news for our industry and for our economy. There is every reason to believe that we have moved well beyond the days of consumer pessimism and that the trajectory for retailers continues to point up,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said. “We are fortunate to represent a resilient industry with business leaders who are committed to providing the best value to their customers. A successful holiday for retail sales is extremely important, but the work to build upon and grow that success never ends.”

“Preliminary holiday results affirm our initial belief that consumers going into the holiday season had the spending power necessary to give retail the shot in the arm it needed,” NRF Chief Economist Jack Kleinhenz said. “While December’s figures are disappointing, holiday sales in 2014 are the best we've seen since 2011. We remain positive about the future and expect to see consumers continue to benefit from the extra income gained from an improved job market and the dramatic fall in gas prices. It is important to recognize that December is a very difficult month to adjust for seasonal forces because of holiday spending and this could explain in part this month’s volatility.”

Nashville-based B&H Publishing Group has announced that it will fuse its team’s strengths with the LifeWay Church Resources’ team into a new LifeWay Resources division. B&H will continue to operate and publish under the B&H Publishing Group imprint.  

As part of this initiative, former B&H President Selma Wilson will help leaders within the organization and become the executive leader of organizational development for all of LifeWay Christian Resources. Wilson will continue to serve on the executive leadership team at LifeWay.

LifeWay Church Resources leader Eric Geiger will head up newly formed LifeWay Resources. Geiger has spent the past three years delivering growth for the Church Resources division, which includes ongoing Bible studies, unique Bible studies by teachers like Rick Warren, Beth Moore, Matt Chandler, and Priscilla Shirer, as well as major events for men and women, like The Main Event and DotMom.  

“I have been blessed to be a part of LifeWay for over 20 years and excited about the strategic opportunities before us. I am honored to give focused leadership to our people, culture and building a great organization for the future,” Wilson said. “With the growth of B&H and LifeWay Church Resources, we saw an opportunity to maximize our teams’ strengths to better serve our authors and the church. My past four years as the B&H president has been an incredible blessing and I look forward to seeing what God has in store as we take this step.”

Publishing leadership at B&H will remain the same; Bibles, led by Jeremy Howard, B&H Kids, led by Dan Lynch, Trade Books, led by Jennifer Lyell, and B&H Academic, led by Jim Baird.

B&H Publishing has continued to experience year over year growth. Particularly in CBA, B&H has experienced tremendous success with No. 2 best-sellers such as The Love Dare, The Resolution for Men, I Am a Church Member, as well as other key resources to impact the church like the award-winning HCSB Study Bible, The Big Picture Interactive Storybook Bible and Beth Moore’s Whispers of Hope and Portraits of Devotion.

“I am so thankful for B&H and their heart for sharing the gospel” Geiger said. “I look forward to supporting the B&H team in their growth and also to explore what our resource teams can accomplish together as we serve the church.”

B&H anticipates further growth in 2015 from major voices in the industry like No. 1 CBA best-seller Thom Rainer, Russell Moore and Candace Cameron-Bure, the B&H Kids line with The Big Picture Interactive Bible and best-selling storyteller Sheila Walsh, as well as with the HCSB, NKJV, KJV and RVR 1960 Bible translations. In addition, B&H looks forward to publishing multiple resources for the highly anticipated Kendrick Movie 5 in Fall 2015.

Kelvin Cochran was 5 years old when he realized that he wanted to be a firefighter.

“My family was very, very poor,” Cochran said. “We were living in a shotgun house in an alley—three big brothers, two little sisters.”

One Sunday afternoon the Cochran children heard a fire truck stop across from their neighbor’s home. Miss Maddie’s house was one fire.

“That’s the day that God convicted me in my heart that I wanted to be a firefighter when I grew up,” Cochran said. “All I thought about growing up in Shreveport was not being poor and being a firefighter.”

And God granted Kelvin Cochran the desires of his heart. The little boy in the shotgun shack grew up to become the fire chief of Shreveport. He was named the Atlanta fire chief in 2008—a position he served until 2009 when was called to serve in the Obama Administration as a fire administrator. In 2010 he returned to Atlanta where he was unanimously confirmed to once again be the city’s fire chief.

But now Chief Cochran’s storied career is up in smoke—all because of a book he wrote for a men’s Bible study group at his Baptist church.

Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed announced Tuesday that Cochran had been fired. The announcement came on the same day Cochran was supposed to return to work following a 30-day suspension. 

“The LGBT members of our community have a right to be able to express their views and convictions about sexuality and deserve to be respected for their position without hate or discrimination,” Cochran told me in an exclusive interview. “But Christians also have a right to express our belief regarding our faith and be respected for our position without hate and without discrimination. In the United States, no one should be vilified, hated or discriminated against for expressing their beliefs.”

Cochran had been suspended in November because of a passage he wrote about homosexuality in a book titled, Who Told You That You Were Naked? The book’s theme is about biblical morality.

“This is about judgment,” Mayor Reed said during a Tuesday press conference. “This is not about religious freedom. This is not about free speech. Judgment is the basis of the problem.”

Last November the mayor posted a public condemnation of the fire chief on his official Facebook page.

“I profoundly disagree with and am deeply disturbed by the sentiments expressed in the paperback regarding the LGBT community,” the mayor wrote. “I will not tolerate discrimination of any kind within my administration.”

The mayor went on to inform the public that Cochran had been suspended without pay and was ordered to complete a sensitivity training class. 

“I want to be clear that the material in Chief Cochran’s book is not representative of my personal beliefs, and is inconsistent with the Administration’s work to make Atlanta a more welcoming city for all of her citizens—regardless of their sexual orientation, gender, race and religious beliefs,” Mayor Reed wrote.

So what in the world did Cochran write that was so offensive to the mayor and the LGBT community?

According to the GA Voice, a publication that covers the LGBT community, there were two items that caused concern: 

“Uncleanness—whatever is opposite of purity; including sodomy, homosexuality, lesbianism, pederasty, bestiality, all other forms of sexual perversion.”

“Naked men refuse to give in, so they pursue sexual fulfillment through multiple partners, with the opposite sex, the same sex, and sex outside of marriage and many other vile, vulgar and inappropriate ways which defile their body-temple and dishonor God.”

Cochran said he referenced homosexuality on less than a half a page in the 160-page book.

“I did not single out homosexuality,” he said. “I simply spoke to sex being created by God for pro-creation and He intended it to be between a man and a woman in holy matrimony—and that any other sex outside of that is sin.”

Cochran told me that someone within the department obtained a copy of the book and took it to openly-gay city council member Alex Wan.  

Wan released a statement supporting Cochran’s termination and said it “sends a strong message to employees about how much we value diversity and how we adhere to a non-discriminatory environment.”

The book caused a firestorm within Atlanta’s LGBT community and there were many calls for him to be fired—a decision the mayor finally agreed to.

“I guess they got what they asked for,” Cochran said.

Georgia Equality Executive Director Jeff Graham told GA Voice Cochran’s “anti-gay” views could result in a hostile work environment.

“This is not about his religious views but his about his ability to lead a diverse work force,” he said. ”It’s unfortunate that this had to happen. I feel the mayor has done the right thing to ensure all employees are treated fairly.” 

The allegations against Cochran amount to a he-said, he-said between the fire chief and the mayor.

Reed said that he had no knowledge that Cochran was writing a book. However, Cochran said the director of Atlanta’s ethics office had not only given him permission to write the book, but to also mention in his biography that he was the city’s fire chief.

Cochran said he gave a copy of the book to Mayor Reed in January, 2014, and the mayor told him he planned on reading it during an upcoming trip.

Cochran also admitted that he gave copies of the book to several members of the fire department—individuals with whom he had personal relationships.

The mayor also took issue with Cochran speaking publicly about his suspension. However, Cochran said he honored the mayor’s guidance and did not speak to the media. He did, however, share his testimony in several churches.

“I did not dishonor him in the process,” Cochran said.

Cochran wants to make clear that he does not hate anyone.

“The essence of the Christian faith is a love without condition, sir,” he said. “I have demonstrated that love in the fire service for 34 years. There’s not any person of any people group that has interacted with me for any measure of time that can say I have hate or disregard or discrimination in my heart for any people group.”

Cochran’s plight has drawn condemnation from a number of religious groups across Georgia including the influential Georgia Baptist Convention.

“This is appalling,” said Robert White, president of the Georgia Baptist Convention. “This has everything to do with his religious beliefs.”

White told me he believes the mayor succumbed to pressure from the city’s LGBT community.

“It’s a frightening day in the United States when a person cannot express their faith without fears of persecution following,” he told me. “It’s persecution when a godly fire chief loses his job over expressing his Christian faith.”

And the fire chief’s firing could spark public protests and demonstrations from the state’s Christian community.

“We’re past the point of taking a public stand,” White said. “Christians must stand up for their rights.”

Cochran told me he is considering his legal options—but one thing is certain. He has no desire to get his old job back.

“I believe God has greater things for me,” the father and grandfather said. “I love the fire services. It’s a childhood dream come true.”

And don’t go feeling sorry for Chief Cochran.

“I’m not discouraged and I’m not downtrodden,” he said. “This is a God thing and He’s going to do great things and He will vindicate me publicly.” 

Todd Starnes is host of Fox News & Commentary, heard on hundreds of radio stations. Sign up for his American Dispatch newsletter, be sure to join hisFacebook page, and follow him on Twitter. His latest book is God Less America.

This story originally ran on Charismanews.com.

Barbour Publishing announces that New York Times best-selling author Wanda E. Brunstetter’s Amish Friends Christmas Cookbook has won a Book Club Network’s 2014 Reader Choice Award.

The Amish Friends Christmas Cookbook was voted the best nonfiction book of the year for 2014 by The Book Club Network for receiving the majority vote in that category. A must-have cookbook of the season, the Amish Friends Christmas Cookbook provides readers with a collection of holiday recipes and insights into Christmas celebrations direct from Amish homes. The cookbook also features scriptures and common Amish sayings.

Amish country’s most beloved author, Wanda E. Brunstetter became fascinated with the Amish way of life when she first visited her husband’s Mennonite relatives living in Pennsylvania. Wanda and her husband, Richard, live in Washington State but take every opportunity to visit Amish settlements throughout the States, where they have many Amish friends.

For more information on Wanda, please visit wandabrunstetter.com.

The Book Club Network is a Christian-based community that provides family-safe books and movies to readers who just want to have fun.

Make Your Mark: Getting Right What Sampson Got Wrong by Brad Gray, topped the list of best-selling books in 2014 by Baker Book House, a prominent Christian retailing store out of Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Baker Book House sold 1,872 copies of Make Your Mark (Faithwords), over 500 more than Zondervan release The Story: The Bible as One Continuing Story of God and His People. Thomas Nelson’s Love Does by Bob Goff (1,262 copies), Revival Praying by Leonard Ravenhill (816) and Northfield Publishing’s The 5 Love Languages by Gary Chapman (810) rounded out Baker Book House’s top five.

For the rest of the top 10 top sellers at Baker Book House for 2014, please click here.

The Parable Group announced today that nearly 15.9 million consumer emails were sent in 2014 by independent Christian retailers through SnapRetail—an 11% increase from emails sent in 2013.

The Parable Group and SnapRetail partnership, launched in March 2012 to CBA, is a comprehensive email and social-marketing solution for the industry with over 115,000 Christian product images from over 80 Christian publishers, music companies and gift companies.

“It’s exciting to see store owners realizing the potential they have for traffic growth and increased sales using SnapRetail. It’s an easy and effective marketing solution that provides stores an affordable and workable way to engage customers through email marketing and various social media channels,” said Steve Potratz, president of The Parable Group.

Participating stores select ready-to-use email templates including newsletters, special events, new arrivals, sales and holiday emails complete with messaging. Ready-to-send vendor emails are also available. Stores customize, schedule, send and simultaneously post emails to Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Email images can also be set for customers to pin to Pinterest.

“In December, nearly 30% of all SnapRetail emails sent by Christian retailers were ready-to-send emails, much to the excitement of our vendor partners whose products were featured in them,” Potratz said.

Erik Ernstrom, Manager of Business Intelligence for The Parable Group says, “Now is the time for Christian Retailers to take advantage of SnapRetail’s easy-to-use email platform, build a strategy to connect to customers, and grow their customer list size in time for Easter.”

More than 120 independent Christian stores across all marketing groups currently use SnapRetail, including Catholic stores, church stores, Parable partner stores, Munce stores, Covenant stores and other independent Christian stores.