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Christianity Today, April, 2008 |

How to Save the Christian Bookstore

(Hint: Stop making it so religious.)

Cindy Crosby | posted 4/11/2008 10:02AM

The phone rang Saturday night at 8:30, just as we were putting our two toddlers to bed. The caller was a pastor with an emergency: while getting ready for services the next morning, he discovered his ...

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jh	Posted: April 25, 2008 7:46 AM

In visiting my local (national chain) Christian bookstore (in a community of 100,000 plus), I sometimes wonder if it is really a "bookstore" there seems to be more floor space dedicated to trinkets and home decorations, things I seldom buy. I find the staff to be nearly invisable and if I do find someone available, they are not very knowledgable. Most of the bookshelves are dedicated to romance books, feel good theology. and endorsing questionable theology. I have to ask, why pay full price for this, when I can buy at a discount on-line for similar service and better selection, or I can drive an hour to another town with a variety of Christian bookstores dedicated to books and with staff desiring to help and know the products that they have.

Matt Copeland

Posted: April 24, 2008 1:42 PM

Maybe some of the cause for the Christian bookstore demise has to do with the failure of these bookstores to represent any other stream of Christian faith outside an evangelical/fundamentalist/conservative worldview. I stopped going to Christian bookstores because I was sick of seeing rows of Ann Coulter books lambasting liberals and democrats; rows of parenting books by James Dobson, Roy Lessin, Charles Swindol, Ted Tripp, and the Pearls all explaining God's will for you to beat or hit your children with wooden boards, rods, belts, and your hands in order to teach them (eventhough it has been shown that such treatment can cause harm, and despite the fact that there are no biblical passages showing the difference between so called non-abusive biblical CP and abuse.) Not to mention the rows of awful christian fiction like Left Behind. Where are the books by christians like Brennan Manning; Madeline L' Engle; Brian McClaren; Gary Willis? They seem far more reasonable and intelligent.

Brutus

Posted: April 22, 2008 10:55 PM


For Me it is all about price. Quit telling me it is your "ministry." Bookstores in this area are still charging full retail. Amazon.......that's the Christian bookstore I shop.

Roger

Posted: April 22, 2008 7:48 AM

I probably buy 90 percent of my books online, either from Borders, Barnes & Noble, or CBD. Reasons? Price, convenience. It's especially helpful to be able to read parts of the book online, as at Borders. Our local Christian bookstores (part of a larger chain of stores) are especially unhelpful concerning customer service. My daughter tried to order some rings for the girls in our youth group, and after the store got the order messed up 3 different times over 2 months she has given up and is going online. And if you do find something to buy, checking out is normally a long process - I'm not sure why, but the clerks move in slow motion and often don't know what's going on. It's to the place now that I dread the few times I actually do need something from these stores. I just plan on it taking a good half hour or more longer than it should.

Josh	Posted: April 21, 2008 3:01 PM

I stopped going to my local Christian bookstore a few years ago. Over time their selection of books and resources went down. That coupled with their high prices on music made me start shopping other stores and online. I went back a couple of months back and found the store to be a shell of its former self. It seems to have more knick knacks and other stuff than actual books. It makes me sad to think about it, it used to be a great store where you would always see someone that you knew. If you wanted the newest CD or book it was the place to go. At this point I just drive by and look to see if a “going out of business” sign has been posted yet.

David

Posted: April 18, 2008 2:46 PM

I do not use "Christian" bookstores largely because they do not have what I want. Most of what they carry is fluff rather than the works of say John Chyrsostom or Athanasius. If I want anything of theological depth I have to go online. It is also interesting that a Christian bookstore will sell a book by an Orthodox Jew. I think there has been a mixing of secular political ideology and faith. It is also interesting that some of these stores sell books which claim the Roman Catholics are heretics right next to the display of Rosaries and Roman Catholic merchandise. I try to avoid Amazon but I do use online Christian retailers such as Concilliar Press and Light and Life Publishing for items related to church history or theology of the early church. I have tried to purchase books through the books stores only to find that the clerks have no idea of the authors (many who are great pastors of antiquity).

John	Posted: April 17, 2008 3:24 PM

"We have met the enemy and he is us." The historic Christian bookstore can not be saved. The vested interests (publishers and industry gurus) have too much to loose from good books. If people began to think, they would realize these interests operate on a self-interest basis. Sideline businesses might help, but do they transform lives the way a good book does? Another issue related to the salvation of the Christian bookstore is the market. Do you go bankrupt by hiring qualified individuals and paying them a living wage or do you go bankrupt by paying minimum wage and hoping that the lower level of service will not affect your business? Perhaps it is time for the local Christian bookstore to go out of business. We will miss it for a while but eventually we would survive. Besides, there are not enough good books to sell anymore.

c. lynn

Posted: April 17, 2008 10:26 AM


I'm struck by the anger prevalant in many of the letters. The market place sorts everything out. If a particular clothing outlet, for instance, doesn't work for me, I just move on.....without standing and ranting at all that could/should be.

Malcolm

Posted: April 16, 2008 4:14 PM

Good point from MJ Spaulding. Every "Christian" (i.e. Protestant) bookstore I've ever been in has sold nothing but fluff: children's books and glossy self-help books for self-absorbed, middle class women. They're just New Age stores with a Christian twist. They're about consumerism and feeling good, not actually learning. In any case, the internet is going to drive most bookstores out of business. It's just more convenient and more economical. Sad but true.

Thomas

Posted: April 16, 2008 9:50 AM

It also might be helpful if the traditional Christian bookstore could be a little less fundamentalist/conservative. For some reason the local Christian bookstores don't stock copies of any books by Jimmy Carter(!), Jim Wallis, Barbara Brown Taylor, Anne Lamott, Tony Campolo, John Shelby Spong, or other writers who don't fit into the Purpose-Driven -- Willow Creek mold. It is a difficult challenge for anyone to be a one-size-fits-all retailer. The music selections can also be very limiting. No Springsteen. No Mellencamp. No U2. No JS Bach(!) No Mozart(!). But if I want the complete collections of Third Day, Amy Grant, Switchfoot, Rebecca Saint James, etc., I know exactly where to go.

Colin W

Posted: April 14, 2008 12:03 PM

I buy a lot of books, but have to admit that the online options and prices are not only much better, but shopping online is more convenient. I understand and appreciate the challenges the local bookstore faces in terms of competing prices and variety, but I've found the offerings there a tad too predicatable as well - too much of some books/authors/genres, and not enough of others. As someone who don't particularly care for fiction, or the lastest religious fad book, this can be frustrating. I now frequent a used secular bookstore where I can find a fair number of Christian material that interests me, and at good prices too. Also, why do Christian bookstores have to feel so "intimidating"? I can't recall the last time I heard laughter in one of them.

Mike	Posted: April 14, 2008 12:02 PM


Everyone likes to predict the end of bound books, whether it's the legal research market panning the traditional library or the online book crowd saying people are just dying to stare at a computer screen for a few more hours a day v. curling up with a good book on the couch. It both cases, tales of the printed word's demise have been greatly exaggerated.

Jerry

Posted: April 13, 2008 7:30 PM

The Christian bookstore died long ago. As the article points out, most sell only trinkets and verrrrrry bad theology--and I hesitate to use even that word. Most of the shelves are larded with the latest popular speaker, but try to find ANYTHING by Luther or Calvin or Augustine or even more contemporary writers such as C. S. Lewis or J. I. Packer, and you are unsuccessful. The clerks often haven't even heard of the men I mentioned, much less Michael Horton or Gary DeMar or Douglas Wilson. They are always helpful, will look up a title in their software, and offer to order it for me, but more often than not, I can find the book I want at Barnes and Noble!! Several weeks ago, I wanted a copy of "Chosen By God" by R. C. Sproul, and while the local Christian bookstore didn't stock the book, the local B&N did! Until Christian bookstores get back to stocking their shelves with meaty theology, and sweep away all the fluff and outright heresy, they will continue to die.

Keith

Posted: April 13, 2008 6:26 PM

I frequent the local CB store to buy greeting and birthday cards. I usually glance at the promoted wares and much of what I see appeals well to the dumbed down form of Christianity derived from tele-"evangelists" and so many pulpits. When I gently protested to one particular cultist aberation of a book (that taught about two distinct Jesus'), the attendant was unable to assess my complaint or see the need to pass it on. Perhaps I should get my greeting cards on line too.

Brandon

Posted: April 13, 2008 2:33 PM


Christian Bookstores do harm by selling anything that has a Christian label. I think it's time to move on. It must have been a good thing to have when certain items were hard to find, but now with online bookstores, I don't need a specialty store. I'm just looking for price. Word.

Frank Turk

Posted: April 12, 2008 10:49 PM

I'm a Christian bookstore owner and blogger who is posting this comment here from my iPod touch. I think this article identifies all the problems of the worst aspects of traditional CBA stores and overlooks all the problems the innovators are creating. I'm under a word limit restriction here, so to be brief, let me be as brief as possible. I have visited at least one of the innovators in this article, and I know factually that their store is slower than mine most of the time-- because you can get better coffee at the Starbucks up the road, and the book selection is far better at the regional chain in the true "A" location at the interstate. That said, I find it interesting that the advice-by-poll in this article is "don't filter content". If one doesn't filter content, can't match discounts, and one's "service" is that you let people hang out because you leavevtjem alone, there's no place to make any money in retail there. It makes the local retailer irrelevant.

Brian Brock

Posted: April 12, 2008 4:49 PM

In my part of the South, it is not hard to find Christian bookstores. I have enjoyed the more open, lounging atmosphere and opportunities to gather there with authors or helpful meetings. However, I do not agree that the more openess of the Christian bookstore must include content that is directly non-Christian. I have seem "tame" movies at my local stores that do include profanity, (it does still mean that, right?) and questionable content such as indecent dress. I also see "tame" music creeping in with artists who make no committment to uplift anything other than their own status. Christan stores do not need to have exclusively "Christian" merchandise, but I always thought if something was in a Christian store you could fully trust its family quality. Like church, shouldn't it be safe for families to pick up anything there as well as comfortable to shop in? I can discern in the increasingly immoral marketplace by Biblical standards, but must I discern in a Christian bookstore too?

I heart Hearts and Minds

Posted: April 12, 2008 3:20 PM

So glad someone beat me to mentioning Hearts and Minds. I have never made the pilgrimage to Dallastown, PA (nor could I point to it on a map) but Byron is always there at Jubilee Conferences in Pittsburgh, and has often provided book tables for women's ministry gatherings that I've been involved in. As a former bookseller (big box, not Christian) and a current librarian, I can't see driving out to the burbs to a store that is closed on my only day off (Sunday--I know) that has a limited inventory. In college my favorite bookstore was a Christian bookstore that also carried the classics and some of the NYT Bestsellers. It has gone under, but it was a good example of how a store can be missional. My time is limited, so if I go to a bookstore, I want a broad variety, not just Christian books. Madeleine L'Engle said that all great art is Christian--there are many books that I've read that are not "Christian" per se but that renewed my life.

Bev	Posted: April 12, 2008 1:33 PM

It may be a minor point, but why doesn't the pastor buy the communion bread at the local grocery store? Isn't that what Jesus (or his disciples) would have done? What is the purpose of the Christian book store? That will vary with each business and there will probably be more than one. Is it to reach unchurched youth? To provide thought-provoking reading material? Music? Christian romance novels? Communion bread, plates, cups, offering plates, etc?

Eric	Posted: April 12, 2008 1:17 PM

Thank you for the wonderfully informative, though sobering article. Repeating my comments to your sidebar piece: The loss of Christian Bookstores is symptomatic of a values crisis that I find as prevalent among Christians as any other group -- ignoring the value of community based business, local self-reliance, and strong neighborhoods (and independent businesses' greater support for community institutions, whether religious or secular). My friend who owns Gems, a children's bookstore in El Paso, says their Independent Business Alliance, Homegrown El Paso, has helped the independents a lot. I hope more of the Christian business community will engage in these efforts for their own sake. http://AMIBA.net is the national hub of these alliances and helps them start. I don't want my kids to grow up in a world run entirely by amoral corporate chains.

eric	Posted: April 12, 2008 10:32 AM


Maybe if they ACTUALLY SOLD BOOKS! Instead of Christian trinkets...I hate walking through the 3/4 of the store that sell Thomas Kinkade and what-nots to get to the three shelves of books.

Lynn	Posted: April 12, 2008 9:14 AM

This article made me stop and think about my own buying habits. I still want the hard copies, both for myself and our church. Although I use CBD and occasionally the local Christian bookstores, I guess most of my purchases are from Amazon's used books, Sam's Club (a Walmart club), and Hastings' bargain tables (They clear their books after about a year.). Obviously, price is a primary consideration. And I usually know what I'm looking for. I read lots of reviews. Free in-store monthly review fliers and magazines similar to those available at the secular bookstores would be great

Peter F. Benson

Posted: April 12, 2008 7:46 AM

Michaela just hit the key to survival. As I mentioned in the comments sections of that last two related articles, Christian bookstores need to have an online presence as well as a physical location, just like Christian Book Distributors, located in northeastern Massuchusetts. Although their physical store is about 50 miles away, their online presence at Christianbooks.com is a click away, with deliveries coming to my door. As the web editor of UNITYINCHRIST.COM, I am always buying a wide selection of books as resources for the articles I write. CBD (or Amazon.com for history books) get most of my orders. Pete

Di Allan

Posted: April 12, 2008 2:04 AM

In my experience Christians are reading-some more than ever. However, like every other commodity, books, cd's, studies, are readily available on line and arrive within days from overseas venues. I encourage my friends to think of patronising the local store where they can purchase at prices as good as the large chains, sometimes for less and without postage added. The proprietors are very helpful and serving the community by maintaining a visible presence in the CBD. Please think 'local'.

Diane

Posted: April 11, 2008 11:44 PM

I agree that location is key. The store I frequent has a "second store" connected to it for homeschooling families. It is located in Carol Stream, IL, near Wheaton, a great location! I spend hours in there, even when my only intention was to buy a really good greeting card and perhaps a new music CD as a gift. I usually leave with a book or two, more gift items, as well as an accompaniment tracks CD. The atmoshpere is homey without being hokey. I feel I can get in touch with the latest better at that bookstore than searching online.

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