Latest project: The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace (Northfield Publishing/Moody Publishers).

How did your success with the Love Languages books spur you on to write about appreciation? 

Chapman (pictured left): I knew and have known for a long time that the concept that people feel loved and appreciated in different ways was a valid concept, so I’ve wanted to do this book for a long time and have had a number of people who have volunteered in writing such a book, and I just never quite felt I had the right person till I met Dr. White.

Dr. White, how did you and Dr. Chapman learn to appreciate each other?

White (pictured right): It’s been a great process. … I pursued Dr. Chapman because I thought that the concepts of the five love languages would apply to workplace-based relationships, and it had helped my wife and I personally.

Joe Lieberman—the U.S. senator from Connecticut who in 2006 turned Independent—has taken another unpopular stand by keeping the Sabbath. An observant Jew who prays mainly in Orthodox synagogues, he has learned to not only obey, but also to celebrate the day of rest, a joy he shares in The Gift of Rest: Rediscovering the Beauty of the Sabbath (978-1-451-60617-1, $22, Aug. 16), from Howard Books.

“I love the Sabbath and believe it is a gift from God that I want to convince everyone who reads this book to accept,” he writes in the Author’s Note.

Seeking to share more than just his opinion, he aims to communicate “the distillation of a great and ancient tradition,” in part through the wisdom of rabbis and scholars. A gift “desperately needed” in our time, the Sabbath, in Lieberman’s tradition, forbids 39 categories of labor, “all creative activities that imitate God’s creativity in the first six days,” including cooking, handling money or lighting an electric light.

Through his years in the Senate, Lieberman has never driven a car on the Sabbath, which on the Hebrew calendar runs from Friday sundown to Saturday sundown. The book tells of one rainy Friday night when Lieberman walked home 4½ miles accompanied by the Capitol Police after staying for a Senate vote.

Gateway leader aims to present a balanced view of the Trinity’s third person

Megachurch pastor and best-selling author Robert Morris didn’t talk much about the Holy Spirit growing up in the faith. In fact, he was afraid of Him, he admits in The God I Never Knew: How Real Friendship With the Holy Spirit Can Change Your Life, releasing this month from WaterBrook Press.

Morris has come a long way since then, but says: “I just kind of had that concept that if you talk about the Holy Spirit very much or believe in the Holy Spirit, He’s going to make you into kind of a weird person and so I always had a fear. … Some of us have the concept that He’s a little crazy or a little beyond our personality, and that causes us not to get to know Him as the wonderful person that He really is.”

Some denominational leaders treated the Holy Spirit “a bit like the crazy uncle who shows up at Thanksgiving once every few years and horrifies everyone with his inappropriate behavior,” Morris writes. “You can’t help being related to this uncle, but you hope that if you don’t mention his name or send him a Christmas card, he will stay away.”

While he addresses some of the misconceptions Christians have about the third person of the Trinity, Morris also offers a biblical view of the Spirit as a “wonderful, compassionate and gentle person” and reminds readers that He is, in fact, God. 

Morris urges believers to develop a personal relationship with the Holy Spirit because He is a person, not an “it.” Scriptures shows that the Spirit has thoughts, will and emotions, he said. 

“There are even some theological persuasions that would not see Him as a person but as a force,” he said. “If you don’t see Him as a person, then you’ll never develop a personal relationship with Him.”

As a pastor gave them instruction, Morris and his wife, Debbie, learned about and began to experience more of the Holy Spirit.

“It was just amazing to see how many scriptures are about the Holy Spirit and how the disciples in the New Testament had an ongoing vital passionate relationship with the Holy Spirit all through the book of Acts … as He began to reveal that to us and show us in Scripture, I think our fear and our trepidation (dissipated).”

Morris learned not to be daunted by what God might do through the Spirit. “I don’t think the baptism of the Holy Spirit is anything we need to be afraid of at all,” he said. “We simply need to open up and receive and say, ‘Lord, I want you to fill me and immerse me completely and totally in the Holy Spirit so I can have the power to be the witness that you want me to be.’ ”

Morris also believes that the gifts of the Spirit are for every Christian. “Every gift is for every Christian as the Holy Spirit wills and as we need those gifts,” he said.

Leading Gateway Church in Southlake, Texas, Morris has a very large church with non-Christian visitors present every weekend. In that light, he is careful that there is biblical order in the congregation. 

“We’re doing everything we can to bring them to a point of accepting Jesus as their Savior, so we would not have a tongue in that type of a setting because of our desire to see people come to know the Lord, and they’re unbelievers and they wouldn’t understand,” he explained. “We may have a prophecy, but that prophecy would not be like someone yelling real loudly and shouting like some people have done.”

The songs of worship leader and Dove Award-winning artist Matt Redman are some of the most sung by Christians around the world. His new sixstepsrecords/Sparrow Records release, 10,000 Reasons, comes out this month and is available from EMI CMG Distribution. 

You recorded this album live with 1,000 of your best friends, right? How did this project come about?

We decided to make a live record—as there’s such a special dynamic that happens when the church gathers together and we sing our hearts out to God. I really hope we’ve captured something of that explosive devotion on this album. We recorded it in Atlanta during LIFT, Passion City Church’s first worship leader collective. Louie Giglio and Chris Tomlin hosted, and throughout those couple of days, I had the joy of leading the 1,000 or so worship leaders and pastors there in these 11 brand-new songs. It was such a dynamic experience—some very special memories that will last a very long time. 

Did you write all of the 11 tracks? 

Every song on the album is co-written, and I love the team of friends which has emerged over the years to do this. Friends like Jason Ingram, Jonas Myrin, Chris Tomlin and Matt Maher were all part of various songs—and I know that none of these compositions would have got to where they were without this team dynamic. Co-writing is so vital if we’re going to push creativity and find new ways to talk to God in worship songs. I don’t think many things as church are designed to be done alone.

Could you reflect on one or two?

The “10,000 Reasons” title track was a special one for me. The title comes from a line in the song which says ‘For all Your goodness I will keep on singing; 10,000 reasons for my heart to find.’ The truth is there’s never a time to run out of reasons for God’s praise. As we survey our lives, we see them covered by His goodness and kindness. When we look back over our years, we see nothing but faithfulness. When we look toward God, we see glory and grace dancing together, and mercy and majesty exploding in beautiful harmony. So, if we get up one day and can’t think of a reason to exalt Him, there’s something wrong with our spiritual outlook. His wonders are flying at us daily from every direction.

I think my favorite song on the album is “Holy.” It seemed to explode when we led it live at the LIFT gathering and recording. One of my life’s quests is to search for words and melodies that can help paint a big picture of who God is. This one is a reminder that Jesus is set apart, above all others, and He should take the highest place in our hearts and lives.

In this price-sensitive economy, many customers are looking for budget-friendly book options. Thankfully, there are numerous value-priced titles available in the market today. The key is to find the most effective ways to capitalize on them. Here are some ideas to boost your sales of value-priced books.

Placement of your value-priced book selection is key. Create a display near the front entrance of your store and near your registers. Those are the best places to catch impulse purchases. Be sure to label your section with a nice big sign that says “Bargain Books,” “Great Deals” or something similar. There’s no reason to beat around the bush. Your customers are looking for great buys and you need to highlight them as clearly as possible.

Many publishers, like Barbour, will offer a discount if you purchase budget-priced books in case lots, so why not take advantage of it? You can pass your savings on to your customers by making the prices even lower. Or you could use the inexpensive books as giveaways. Send them to your VIP shoppers, use them to create a holiday-themed gift basket or keep them handy as door prizes. You’ll create some buzz and promote the titles all at the same time.

Contact your local churches to let them know that these titles would make affordable gifts for their Sunday school classes, pastors, congregation members, administrative assistants and Bible study groups. And if you feel you are able, offer them a special, church-only discount. You have the potential to receive some nice orders and also to start building valuable relationships.

Take your assortment of value-priced books and turn it into an event. Group fiction, puzzle books, kids’ books and so forth, and create a “Summer Reading Sidewalk Sale.” The themes you can choose from are endless and can be catered to your specific book selection. Regular sales events will give your shoppers something to look forward to and will bring them back to your store again and again.

Barbour best-selling Value Books are priced at only $1.99 each.

Shalyn Sattler is director of trade marketing at Barbour Publishing.

One of the most anticipated inspirational DVDs of the year arrives in stores next month—Soul Surfer (0-43396-38019-6, $30.99), the true-life story of teen Bethany Hamilton's remarkable return to surfing after losing an arm in a shark attack.

The 106-minute, PG drama features AnnaSophia Robb as Hamilton with Dennis Quaid and Helen Hunt as her parents. With singer Carrie Underwood making her acting debut in the film, Soul Surfer was heavily promoted to the faith-based community on its theatrical release and saw a positive response, said Dave Mechem, sales manager for Affirm Films/Sony Home Pictures Entertainment.

"The biggest thing we were excited about was the CinemaScore rating," he said. "It was an A-plus, the first film to get that this year." With a production budget of $18 million, the film took twice that at the box office within a month of release.

The Aug. 2 release DVD comes with extras that include The Heart of a Soul Surfer documentary, which tells the true story of Hamilton's experience and features interviews with her family. In addition, Soul Sisters looks at the friendship that developed between Hamilton and Robb, while two other featurettes look at how the surfing scenes were filmed and the technology used to "lose" Robb's arm. 

Mechem said that promotional campaigns were being finalized that would see the DVD release being supported in Christian chains with displays also featuring related book releases, like Raising a Soul Surfer by Cheri Hamilton (Regal Books).

Soul Surfer is also available in a two-disc Blu-ray set, retailing for $38.99. To order, call Provident-Integrity at 800-333-9000.