I recently sought out to purchase a new book and remembering that I had a gift card for The Missing Peace [which is a local Christian bookshop] I went down with a friend to make my purchase. We were quite dismayed to discover that the place had closed down and was no longer open for business, which meant that my gift card was essentially null and void. We speculated when and why it shut down. Was it the high rent costs for small businesses in this city, the products they carried, the interest or lack thereof? That got me thinking that I could never run a successful Christian bookstore, for a few reasons.
- If I were selling books that speak about God and that seek to convey truths about who Christ is, I would consider it a ministry. I don’t know how the two can be separated. I am selling people books that have eternal implication for the souls of those that read them, and that is very serious. For that reason I would never be able to stock the kinds of big selling books and authors that typically lign the shelves at Christian book stores. Some authors that you would not find on my shelves would be TD Jakes, William P Young, Joel Osteen, Joyce Meyer, Benny Hinn, Kenneth Copeland, Brian Mclaren, Doug Paggit, Tony Jones, Rob Bell, and other like-minded ilk. Making a buck off those books is not going to happen. I wouldn’t have any of those authors in my store due to their propagation of elements of biblical heretodoxy that are unsound at best, with the other half being false teachers and straight up heretics at worst. How could I expose people to that and offer my tacit approval through promotion, selling and disseminating ? How could I in good conscience make available through my efforts this literature that offers deceptive opinions on God and the nature and person of Christ? You can also cross off books about people allegedly going to heaven and/or hell and writing their accounts about it.
- I also wouldn’t be able to sell all the goofy Christian trinkets, like pencils with bible verses, testamints, coins with angels on them, any and all precious memories figurines, tiny red-and-white life preservers that announce “Jesus Saves.” Fruit of the Spirit health drink for your soul, flashlights with “Jesus is the light of the world” on them. Coffee cups with verses ripped out of context like Jeremiah 29:11 and pictures of a spotted fawn with Psalm 42 “As a deep pants for water” slapped on. Bumper stickers that say “Jesus is my co-pilot”, t-shirts that say “spirit” Instead of “sprite” and all other kitschy Jesus junk. That’s a huge chunk of store profits, but I’m fairly certain the veins in my forehead would burst before I could engage in such goofiness.
- Don’t even get me started on the Music.
In retrospect, I’m not sure why the Missing Peace stocked their shelves with so many bad books. I don’t remember there being much kitschy stuff there anyway, and I don’t mean to suggest that the Missing Peace sold or supported any of those things. That sort of thing only bothers me a little, but not nearly as much as their seeming affinity for prosperity preachers [Joel Osteen, TBN Crowd] modalism [TD Jakes] and progressive emergence [Brian McLaren] If they did indeed consider their bookstore a ministry of sorts, then unfortunately there didn’t seem to be much discernment. It strikes me as a bad ministry with the promotion of some really bad theology, and if that’s the case then I’m actually kinda glad they went out of business. If they considered themselves simply a secular bookstore that just happened to stock a wide array of religious books, then I don’t have a problem with that, and I really wish I would have been able to redeem my 50$ before they shut down.
Aww, there IS some good “Christian” music out there, I think. The problem when it comes to that is that most “Christian” book stores and such only stock what they think is Christian. You’d rarely see Solid State Records or Facedown Records in a Christian shop, and yet they produce great music and are increasingly successful, even producing bands that are forging new paths in their genres.
Oh well, though. One of the Christian Publications shut down in Calgary… because they couldn’t compete with online prices. I can buy a CD online and have it shipped here for half the price they were asking in-store.
You’re right that there is some good Christian music out there, but most of it is just Christless sentimentality. I could probably stock 90% of what is found in Christian bookstores and not have it prick my conscience, as most of it doesn’t overtly teach heresy. I just find it generally banal, though I suppose there is nothing inherently wrong with that.
Well, so much for your concern over the person who ran The Missing Peace. She gave her life to that store, to service the needs of local Christians – and she DID run it like a ministry. She had to mortgage her house to keep it going! But you wouldn’t understand that. You think that if something is labelled Christian, then it should all be free, and be a ministry. Well, why then don’t Christians get free internet connections to post Christian blogs? Why don’t preachers get free gas? Why don’t YOU give away free bibles? Because everything costs money! Rent isn’t free. Hydro isn’t free. Insurance isn’t free. The shelves are not free. The heat is not free. The staff did work for free sometimes, but they had to buy groceries too. The shipping isn’t free (especially to FM). The business taxes are not free. Do you get it yet?? There is NO WAY anyone can run a Christian Bookstore as a ministry – unless you are a millionaire and want to give all your money away. So then, why are you so concerned about $50? It’s peanuts compared to what the owner lost in trying to run that store for you in the first place!
But then, maybe it would be a good lesson for you to try starting a Christian Bookstore. Maybe then you’d learn a valuable lesson about spouting off about something you have no idea about. Maybe then you would think about your comments before you post them. Maybe you would have offered the owner some encouragement instead.
First of all, welcome to the blog! Its good to have you here, and I hope you stick around for a while as we hash this out.
I think that it can be very sad when people lose their business, especially when they pour their blood and sweat into it. I recognize that it takes an emotional and financial toll, and I wouldn’t wish those hardships on any person.
At the same time, contrary to your assumptions, I don’t think that if something is labeled Christian that it should be free, or that all ministries should be free, and I’m not sure where I gave that impression. I think pastors should be paid a good wage, and I don’t mind paying for books whether they consider themselves a ministry or not. Stuff costs money. I completely understand that.
Do I care that I loss 50$? Yeah, a bit. But saying that I shouldn’t be sad that I lost 50$ because someone out there is sadder and lost more, is like saying I can’t be happy because someone out there is happier. Then again, that’s not the point. The point is that if indeed it was a ministry, why were they selling books with such bad theology? It’s like a pastor telling his congregation that the trinity is a myth. That’s not something I’m going to get behind. I don’t want Christians to listen to such a sermon, and likewise I don’t think it’s wise for Christians to read bad theology and bad books. The fact is that there are good Christian bookstore ministries that don’t compromise on their products and who exhibit discernment with what they sell. A good example would be http://www.monergismbooks.com/ .That’s the crux of the matter, and it’s unfortunate that a nice woman got caught up in it.
I think you’ll find that most Christian bookshop/bookstore owners (and their staff) do consider their work to be a form of ministry — for most of us it’s certainly a labour of love rather than a money-spinner.
Here in the UK — I run the UK Christian Bookshops Directory and blog: christianbookshopsblog.org.uk — we’ve had scores of shops closing over the last few years; but at the same time, a fair number of new shops opening, and the shops that are opening are for the most part wising up to the fact that their ministry must be to the whole church as well as the wider community, not just one sector of it such as the evangelicals or charismatics or catholics etc — and that in turn means having to stock a lot of stuff that the store owner doesn’t personally agree with.
The moment you start narrowing your range of stock simply to meet your own theological preferences, you’re no longer providing a service to the whole church let alone the wider community; and that, to me, is what it’s about…
i understand and would agree with you that i can’t stock just the things i agree with. i would imagine there are tons of books that fall within the orthodox stream that i might not adhere to, and yet i would still stock. that having been said, why would i stock unorthodox books? why would i stock td jakes? so that i can serve the parts of the church and community that don’t believe in the trinity? how about oneness pentecostal authors who believe that speaking in tongues is necessary for salvation? or rob bell whose loves wins is pure universalism, or authors like greg boyd who are open theists and advance the position that god isn’t all knowing?
i might stock some of those books with a big sign that says “reader be cautioned, heretical books” just so that people who want to interact with the original source material can do so, but then i would never keep the profits and would donate them to a discernment ministry or something like fightingforthefaith.com
but again- why would i help and support the spread of bad theology and call that my ministry?
As someone who has been a Christian since 1988, I have had my fair share of Jesus Trinkets and stuff. I still have some things. I have a lot of older Christian music, mainly rock and metal. I really don’t listen to any of the stuff that passes as Christian music today. I remember a day when Christian music didn’t have all the flash that it does. Most of them relied on Love Offerings from the churches that they were having concerts in. Sadly, today its seems to be more about the almighty dollar than God. I used to play bass in my church’s praise band. I was always uncomfortable with the applause after every song as well as the repeating of verses of songs over and over. I just knew in my heart that something was amiss. I said very little to the others in the band because I figured that I would be looked down on harshly. Anyway, the band didn’t last much longer because of a change in pastors and youth ministers. Don’t get me wrong, I like and love playing music. I m just uncomfortable with most of the modern worship music. I own several old hymnals and I like most of the stuff in there but even there are some of those that are sketchy. It has gotten to the point that I haven’t attended church regularly in months. I love the people where I went. I have just become disillusioned with the dog and pony show that we call church here in America. And the sad thing is that it was a big part of my walk as a Christian. Please keep me in your prayers.
I will, Scott. I pray that you might find a church that is authentic and yet imperfect. This is so that her imperfections and weaknesses will sanctify you, while her authenticity sustains you.