According to the official Kirk announcement, three bids were considered for St Andrew Press and the Mission and Discipleship Council, which is responsible for the Press, felt that the bid from HM&A was “the best option” with a final decision due to be made by the Council of Assembly. The Revd Mark Johnstone, Convener of the Mission and Discipleship Council, described it as “a win win situation for the Church as we get to retain our valuable St Andrew Press brand, increase our market reach and raise money for the Church, all at no cost to us.”
Perhaps he is right, if that’s what winning is about. The press release makes no mention of what a handover of operations to HM&A might cost the sole surviving member of staff or what the implications might be for booksellers in terms of trade representation: at present St Andrew Press is represented by the SPCK-led Christian Publishers Representatives (CPR) team.
If — as seems likely — the deal with HM&A goes through then St Andrew Press would seem set to become part of the growing Norwich Books & Music distribution portfolio alongside Church House Publishing and Darton Longmann & Todd, amongst others. Whilst it will remain possible to place orders via the PubEasy network, it will no longer be possible to pay invoices or process returns via batch.co.uk as NB&M have yet to sign up to batch.
If you, beloved reader, are a batch.co.uk user, perhaps now would be a good time to contact NB&M and gently encourage them to join.
Barbara Roberts, Author and Publisher at Maschil Press
Regular readers may recognise Barbara Roberts’ name as an occasional commenter here — but she’s also an author and publisher. Here she tells us the story of her journey from abuse through divorce and remarriage to freedom and the tough decision to publish her own book when no established publisher seemed willing to take it on board…
The subject of Not Under Bondage is a hot potato to say the least. Domestic abuse is heavy stuff, and the doctrine of divorce is likely to raise contention, with personal experience tending to colour whatever is read.
Maschil Press aims to expose and advocate against sub-biblical views which have caused pain and grief to the Christian community and the wider population. Why Maschil? It’s a Hebrew word which is thought to mean prudent or insightful and I hope that’s what I’m doing: giving insight into the little-understood scriptural dilemmas of the victim of domestic abuse, and how those dilemmas can be resolved when the scriptures are rightly understood.
How did I get into writing about domestic abuse? I wrote Not Under Bondage because there was a gap in the market. When I left my abusive husband for the last time, I couldn’t find a book that adequately answered my questions about divorce for domestic abuse.
Not Under Bondage: Biblical Divorce for Abuse, Adultery and Desertion
Here’s the back story: I became a Christian in 1981 but for a long time had minimal biblical teaching and lingering confusion due to a swag of new age beliefs I had soaked myself in for years. Becoming sidetracked into other areas soon after my conversion, I didn’t get to church for nearly 14 years. I wouldn’t recommend taking such a long time in the wilderness!
Unaware that Christians should avoid marrying non-Christians, I married an unbeliever in 1989 and we had a daughter. The marriage gradually became abusive and I occasionally took refuge in a women’s refuge. My marriage was the most common type of abusive marriage (according to the research on abusive marriages) – my husband was violent several times a year, but there was an undercurrent of emotional abuse from him all the time. There were also elements that I’d categorise as social abuse (isolation from friends and family) and sexual abuse.
In 1994 I left my husband with the help of a protection order from the courts, and started attending church and reading the Bible seriously. That was when I became a professing Christian. A family court battle eventually led to me being granted custody and my husband granted fortnightly access to our daughter.
After four years my separated husband made a profession of faith and we reconciled as a married couple. The abuse recurred, this time with the added element of spiritual abuse, because my husband learnt to twist scriptures against me. I separated for the last time in 1999, divorcing a few years after that.
In 2001 the stress in my household diminished markedly when access visits between my daughter and her father ceased. It’s a long story.
We have a few chooks in the back yard and a cute black dog who has a lot more emotional empathy than some Christians.
I am working on a second book – a companion volume to Not Under Bondage – that will deal with other scriptural dilemmas which Christian victims of domestic abuse face apart from the divorce dilemma. I live in Ballarat, Australia, and am now happily married to a wonderful man who suffered domestic abuse in a former marriage. We have a few chooks in the back yard and a cute black dog who has a lot more emotional empathy than some Christians.
After praying not to become a publisher, I’m rather glad to be a publisher because I have full control of my work. When not writing, I’m advocating for victims of domestic abuse, and trying to educate the Christian world so they are better equipped to respond to victim/survivors. My website has lots of links and articles that are helpful for anyone dealing with domestic abuse in a Christian context.
THANK YOU to Geoff Wallace of Maranatha Christian Bookshop, Uxbridge, for this follow on to Joy McIlroy’s recent note (in the Trade Notes section) about RHP’s £1 Classics Series. I have to confess that I haven’t tried them at LST yet, but I’ll certainly make sure that my successor knows about them for when I’m gone. A series that sells as well as Geoff and Joy have each found has to be a winner, methinks — and might well make the difference between make or break!
The good news is that they are now all available from CLC Wholesale.
If shops are struggling with sales then stocking these books would really help. The new titles were only published in August but at Maranatha we have already sold nearly 100 copies across the 6 titles and more with the previous titles. They outsell our other books all the time.
Most of the customers who buy them buy copies for themselves and more copies to give away. We have sold 100s of copies of the previous 6 titles including 360 copies of Hungry for More of Jesus and 325 copies of Hallowed Be Thy Names (both by David Wilkerson and both superb books)
We devote a whole shelf to these books and they are the most popular shelf in the shop. At £1 they are amazing value especially as some of the books are over 260 pages long.
My thanks and apologies to the Rev Becky Troke whose recent comment on the former Wesley Owen > Southampton page has come as a timely reminder that I’ve allowed those pages to become a little out of date. Over the next few days I’ll therefore be focusing on those and clearing up a few other loose ends: normal blogging will resume shortly.
American Patriot's Bible: The Word of God and the Shaping of America
I first came across this Bible courtesy of our cousins across the pond at STL USA (who themselves now face the indignity of being put up for sale by Biblica, with reassurances from Doug Lockhart that sound eerily reminiscent of Keith Danby’s reassurances about STL UK last year — but that’s another story…).
I hoped and prayed that it was some sort of sad joke — after all, who (apart from Israel) could truly lay claim to the Bible as part and parcel of their national heritage? But no, this aberration, complete with USA flag blended into the cover, is all too real; and now — according to a recent report in Christian Retailing — The American Patriot’s Bible has reached the terrifying position of being one of North America’s bestsellers, reaching No. 5 on amazon.com’s bestseller lists. Despite the title, there really is more than one American patriot.
In an age of global terror threats, when we should surely be seeking ways to bridge the gap between different cultures rather than to push them further apart, the last thing the world needs is a Bible branded with America’s — or any other country’s — identity. If the Bible is the Word of God, it is surely God’s Word for all people, for all nations. Is that not what scripture itself, what Jesus himself, teaches us? No doubt Thomas Nelson’s marketing people had only the best of intentions in mind in their shaping of this nightmare: to encourage the American people; but are their minds really so detached from reality that they can’t see the message that something like this conveys to the rest of the world?
If the “de-Christianisation” of Living Oasis means making a clean break from this sort of insanity, then I am so with Andy Twilley now; but if product such as this is the true face of Christianity in the 21st century then I am, indeed, ashamed of the Gospel. Becky Garrison is right: this must surely be one of those things that makes Jesus look at his Dad and go, “I died for this?”
I suppose we should be thankful for small mercies: they could have featured US Army tanks invading Iraq or Afghanistan on the cover…
Update 25/08/2010: Not US Army tanks, just a specially packaged pocket version for the troops, cunningly designed to match the uniforms. From the Nelson Newsroom:
A condensed pocket edition, bound in the new official MultiCam® fabric used on the U.S. Military’s uniforms and packs, minus the government’s infrared technology, is also available to inspire today’s modern-day patriots in the trenches.
Any bookshops who have not already received a free sample pack of Christian youth fiction books from Dernier Publishing, get in touch and we’ll send you one! More info: www.dernierpublishing.com or find our FB page and contact us there!
“Yes, please,” I said — and within a couple of days an attractively packaged little bundle of books arrived tied up with a red ribbon. I’ll tell you more about them another time; for the moment, I’ll simply say this: if you’re a bookseller who has yet to respond, what are you waiting for? You won’t be disappointed.
I invited Janet to tell us more:
I’m nervous about writing this, it makes it sound like I have delusions of grandeur. “Oh yes, I started a new publishing company, for Christian youth fiction, you know.”
Mm. Well, if you’re still reading this, let me assure you that it’s only me, not to worry, it may be slightly embarrassing, but it’s true!
You know how an idea won’t go away? At first I ignored the call, it seemed too ridiculous (having three children and been in youth work since I can remember, I saw the need, I just didn’t think I could do it), but then a few years ago, my husband died, suddenly. The stark realisation hit me that none of us know how long we have on this earth… if the Lord had called me to publish youth fiction, then I’d better get on with it.
Dernier Publishing
So I gradually got myself, and the business, together: Dernier Publishing was born.
Having started with two of my own books (just to make sure I didn’t ruin anyone else’s great stories while on that sharp learning curve), last autumn we released Beech Bank Girls, a brilliant chick-lit novel by Eleanor Watkins, a respected name in youth fiction. Now, nearly a year later, we have six books out, for 8-11s and 12 +, with three wonderful authors on our books and more in the pipeline! When I look back at how far we have come, I can scarcely believe what the Lord has done; it’s nothing short of a miracle, and by His grace alone … well, that grace does include an exceptionally gracious and wonderful team of people, including editors, production, design, IT and many more, for whose input I am extremely grateful.
So what’s so amazing about youth fiction? (I’m assuming you haven’t read our books… ) Well, for one thing, since Harry Potter burst on the scene, children are reading. According to an article in the Bookseller.com, 75% of children read for pleasure. That’s a lot of kids. Plus, Jesus told stories! Not fibs of course, not that kind of story-telling! He told stories to illustrate a truth. All were rooted in the culture he lived in at the time – farmers and seeds, bread and yeast, a Samaritan who was kind to a stranger. People could understand what Jesus was talking about because his stories made things “come to life”. That’s the aim of our books! One girl wrote to tell me that The Treasure Hunt (mystery adventure involving four Christian kids) was the best book she had ever read. Another 12-year-old recently came to know the Lord after reading our books. They loved our books, because they spoke to them, just where they are.
We can not overestimate the power of good stories to make kids think, to sow seeds and even change lives, and everyone can be involved; you don’t have to be a youth worker to give a child a present! (By the way, buy with confidence, we only produce excellent, fun, exciting novels; nothing threatening, cringy, preachy or boring.)
We also produce posters and prayer booklets – you can find them all on our website, www.dernierpublishing.com. And of course, you can buy our books from good bookshops everywhere! (Kingsway and Gazelle distribute for us.)
However, we only have a small window of opportunity before our children, grandchildren, neighbours’ and colleagues’ children, well, all children, grow up… freedom of speech is being eroded in our land too. Who knows how long we will still be able to freely distribute books to children that state that Jesus Christ is the only way? Our aim is to produce as many books as we can, while we can, to encourage and inspire young people in their faith and show non-church kids what they are missing. Every now and then we hear more depressing statistics about young people leaving the church; anything we can do to show them that it’s great to be a Christian has got to be good and according to Gavin Calver of Youth for Christ, three out of four committed Christians come to faith before they are 20, so we can’t afford to be complacent.
Our children’s faith is priceless. One day “the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord.” We so want our kids to be there.
CONGRATULATIONS to all involved as today, Saturday 14th August 2010, sees Britain’s newest Christian Bookshop and Café, Cornerstone, open its doors in St Neots, Cambridgeshire — but rather than me tell you about it, here’s a video:
We plan to be different in many ways, offering the finest Fair Trade coffee, really excellent light bites using locally sourced supplies, and home made cakes.
There will also be a selection of books, locally made crafts, greeting cards, gifts and more. There are other facilities including a meeting room and – most important – there will always be a warm welcome.
We want Cornerstone to be a place for good conversation and social interaction amongst our customers and between customers and staff. We expect it to be a place where the sun will shine even on rainy days, a place that’s colourful, relaxing, welcoming and fun.
Becky Garrison, author of Jesus Died for This? kindly invited me to the facebook launch event for her book — so I invited her right back to tell us all about it. Here, in an excerpt adapted from the book, Becky reflects on her pilgrimage to the UK and Ireland where one of her highlights was connecting with Grace, a London-based Christian alternative worship community/network:
Jonny Baker, one of the leaders of Grace, and his buddies like international missiologist Andrew Jones and Steve Collins, a blogger who chronicles alternative worship/emerging church history showed me how they had moved from planning worship services to forming Christian communities. While my late father’s (the Rev. Dr. Karl Claudius Garrison, Jr.) forays into the Jesus revolution in the sixties seemed focused on finding inner peace, these folks sought to live out their faith by putting Christ’s teachings into practice. These were the type of gatherings my heart had been longing for ever since the US Episcopal charismatic bubble burst back in the 1980s.
Since I’ve used Grace’s liturgies and Jonny’s music for my own personal devotions, this was my one must-see stop when I came to London. Steve’s warm welcome and Jonny Baker’s ambient music, coupled with the video projections and beanbag chair, made this church sanctuary feel like—well, like “home.”
Like a number of other UK communities I’ve met, the members of Grace inform the ethos of their gatherings by bringing in the technologies and media of their everyday lives—TV, video, iPods, computers, face-to-face-conversations. They employ these tools not to create cool worship but so they can connect with each other, using those particular pieces that speak to them. Instead of eschewing culture, communities like Grace seek to follow the example of Jesus, who both immersed himself in the culture of his day and challenged it. Each group is shaped by the uniqueness of its specific setting; a community based in, say, London, Manchester, or Oxford will take on the vibe of that particular city’s cultural milieu.
Placing my candle on a set of feet, I prayed I would find the strength to walk with Christ without being quite so bowlegged.
That night’s gathering reflect on the Rule of Life for the Grace community: create, participate, engage, and risk. During the service we gathered into small groups around cutout drawings of footprints. Then we were given a candle and asked to reflect on what prayers we needed for where we were going on our journey. Placing my candle on a set of feet, I prayed I would find the strength to walk with Christ without being quite so bowlegged.
Afterward, we gathered for a bit of wine, food, and fellowship. Worshiping with my online UK buddies reminded me of the need to connect with each other not only virtually but also face-to-face. The televangelists might claim that they can cure for cash through the TV, but all throughout his ministry, Jesus healed people one touch at a time (Matthew 9:18-26; Mark 5:21-43; Luke :41-56). No matter how plugged-in we get, I can’t hug my laptop. And the ritual partaking of the Last Supper entails that we feed each other actual bread and wine.
IF YOU’RE OBSERVANT you may have noticed a couple of new/resurrected links in the menu bar across the top of each page:
Publishers: new and, to be more precise, Publisher Profiles: a growing library of information from publishers telling us who they are and why. If you’re a Christian publisher who hasn’t been featured yet, you’ll probably be hearing from me soon, but if you’d like to get a head start, please feel free to get in touch…
Trade Notes: resurrected, hopefully self-explanatory, but to clarify, it’s simply a place where you can leave (or find) notes about supplier address changes, new distribution arrangements, the appointment of new cleaning staff or the departure of a CEO: odd snippets of useful info that don’t necessarily warrant a blog post but are worth knowing about.
To make room for these, I’ve archived the Swap Shop page: it hasn’t seen much use recently, but it’s still available if anyone does want to avail themselves of it; and likewise the Wesley Owen pages, archived but still available.
Suggestions for new sections and/or features are always very welcome; and if at any point you lose track of where things are, please visit the Q&A page.
WHY UKCBD, AND WHY SUBSCRIBE?
UKCBD is a free online resource which exists to promote the Christian faith by providing a two-way service to the Christian community: an easy way for visitors to find their nearest Christian Bookshop, and an easy way for Christian Bookshops to develop their online presence.
My aim with UKCBD is to provide as comprehensive and up-to-date a guide to the UK’s Christian Bookshops as is humanly possible, with this blog running alongside the Directory as a forum for discussion, news, reviews and trade information.
Every shop listed is indexed by name and by location, and every shop whose entry has been updated during the last couple of years has its own dedicated page. Some are bare-bones entries, others are fully descriptive with contact details, opening times, shop logo and links to their own websites, facebook pages and twitter. I’d like to bring every entry up to date and up to the same standard, and your subscription will help to make this possible.
As well as helping to support the site’s ongoing development, however, subscribing shops benefit directly as follows:
Standard free entries are supported by Google and other advertising; subscriber entries are ad-free.
Subscriber entries can also include a shop photograph.
Subscriber entries will be prioritised for updates.
Subscribers are entitled to an @christianbookshops.org.uk email address.
And the cost of that subscription? £10 per year.
UKCBD exists to support you in your ministry as a Christian bookshop: and UKCBD in turn needs your support: we are stronger together, weaker apart. If you are in a position to do so, please donate or subscribe now via PayPal.
LATEST: New Trade Distribution Arrangement with CLC Wholesale
In line with Sovereign World’s heart for Christian mission and service to ministry we have made the decision to move our wholesale supply of books to CLC Wholesale. Sovereign World will also continue to serve shops direct and all our titles remain available from New Wine Ministries. In the interests of our new wholesale arrangement with CLC and New Wine Ministries we have made the difficult decision to no longer supply STL, who over many years have carried our titles. We acknowledge STL’s history with our company and we are grateful for their contribution…
If you’ve been involved in the Christian book trade for any length of time, you’ve almost certainly come across Sovereign World publishing — but what makes a company like Sovereign World tick? And has the company’s vision changed since its acquisition by The Christian Trust back in 2006? I invited Paul Stanier, Managing Director, to enlighten us:
It was August 1986 that Chris Mungeam first established Sovereign World Limited. Having enjoyed twenty-three years in Christian publishing, and now newly baptized in the Spirit, Chris voiced concern for reaching the church with books emphasizing a balance of the Word and the Spirit. The aim of the company was to specialize in books relating to the worldwide moving of the Holy Spirit. The focus was on subjects such as repentance, prayer, fasting, gifts and ministries of God’s Spirit, spiritual warfare, deliverance and healing as well as basic Bible study material. Twenty years later, in April 2006, Sovereign World Ltd was acquired by The Christian Trust, the Registered Charity responsible for the growing work of Ellel Ministries International, to continue the precious work of publishing outstanding Christian teaching. Ellel Ministries was founded in 1986, the same year as Sovereign World, and the future was a divine knitting together of these two organizations, both of which share the vision to proclaim the Kingdom of God by preaching the good news, healing the broken-hearted and setting the captives free.
Today the vision for the type of books Sovereign World publishes remains unchanged. With the added dimension of Ellel Ministries we are now publishing powerful biographical stories of God’s transforming power to rescue and heal those in the darkest situations, as demonstrated in Frida, In Rebel Hands and Sarah. Out of Ellel Ministries’ extensive teaching in the healing ministry, more books are being produced that will help equip the Church to deal with a wide range of life’s most complicated, and for many, unhealed issues. Pastoral care is one of the most sought after needs of any congregation, yet so many churches are unable to meet that need. Sovereign World is a vital resource to enable this. For instance, our Truth & Freedom series opens doors of healing to many. It is our privilege to publish authors with deep experience in the faith and to help them spread the great hope found through Jesus Christ.
The world is changing dramatically, but God’s Word never changes. As we look to the future the relevance of Sovereign World has never been more important. We are on the threshold of an exciting new horizon. Scripture shows time and again that it is usually from a dark place that man most comprehends the magnificence of God’s redemptive work on mankind. God is moving in increasingly clear ways as this world’s darkness encroaches. As it gets darker, God’s light seems brighter and easier to navigate to. For times such as these I believe the message of God’s redemption of Israel can be applied to us. Christians need to join together in common truth and be willing to walk a path of holiness before there can be true unity. Zephaniah 3:9 (NIV) says:
Then will I purify the lips of the peoples,
that all of them may call on the name of the LORD
and serve him shoulder to shoulder.
We believe Sovereign World has been placed in a position on the front line of God’s agenda in giving people the tools they need. We want to help bring believers shoulder to shoulder – in unity to serve God. The fulfilment of Sovereign World’s vision is to see corporate transformation take place both within and outside the church. We are therefore looking to publish a broad range of titles with authors either known or unknown who want to partner with us in this vision. Our goal is to bring people together under the common truth of the Kingdom of God and see people healed and equipped to serve God for His purposes.
Our goal is to bring people together under the common truth of the Kingdom of God and see people healed and equipped to serve God for His purposes.
One of the greatest challenges facing Sovereign World is the sheer volume of Christian literature now being written and published. It is estimated there are 1000 new titles being released each month in the UK alone. Yet we believe our role in Christian book publishing is a discerning one. Please take the time to review the descriptions of our list of books. You will find that we are reaching into the very heart of the issues of the Church and Christian life today. As a company, we feel called to meet the needs of the church in a way we believe is vital.
In reaching out to you, the bookshops or reader, my hope is that you are envisioned by the possibility of equipping your local churches with Sovereign World books that can bring a wealth of fruit into their congregations – to bring renewal and transformation through healing, discipleship and holiness.
While holding fast to God’s calling on Sovereign World we rely on the Body of Christ to express support of our vision through the purchase of our books. This has a two-fold effect. Firstly, every book sale we make enables Sovereign World to publish the next book, thus continuing what we believe is an essential mission. Secondly, and most importantly, each purchase has the capacity to change lives and even communities. I am hoping you want to join with us in faith to see God work in this way.
Sovereign World Ltd, PO Box 784, Ellel, Lancaster, LA1 9DA, United Kingdom
Tel: 01524 753805 / Email: info [at] sovereignworld.com*
RT @notbovvered: Storehouse, Watford's Christian Bookshop, is looking for a new manager: details on the Christian Gateway Watford... htt ... 2 days ago
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) Well, for one thing, since Harry Potter burst on the scene, children are reading. According to an article in the Bookseller.com, 75% of children read for pleasure. That’s a lot of kids. Plus, Jesus told stories! Not fibs of course, not that kind of story-telling! He told stories to illustrate a truth. All were rooted in the culture he lived in at the time – farmers and seeds, bread and yeast, a Samaritan who was kind to a stranger. People could understand what Jesus was talking about because his stories made things “come to life”. That’s the aim of our books! One girl wrote to tell me that 
