|
|
CHURCH
BOOKSTORES
When I first started Fortress Book Service eleven years ago, a staff worker in a church contacted me about providing books for his church of about a thousand members. The new senior pastor had just arrived and he was very determined to have a nice church bookstore. The pastor's instructions to the staff member were to inventory the pastor's library and order FIVE of everything to get the bookstore started. Needless to say I was thrilled to get the business. However, we quickly discovered that ordering five of everything in the pastor's personal library is not the best approach.
Over the years we at Fortress have gained some wisdom concerning books, book tables, and bookstores, and I would like to share my thoughts with you. Additionally, I would like to encourage your church to consider--if you don't already--making available certain critical books in Christian thinking that cannot be found in secular or religious bookstores today.
What Happened to the Christian Bookstore?
1. The "good old days" of the exclusively Christian bookstore are fading fast because many can no longer compete in the marketplace. Those bookstores which do remain, and are successful, do so because they limit their inventory to mostly the popular works and good sellers. 2. Secular bookstores and the big box industry now realize that the Christian marketplace can be quite lucrative, especially with the heavily marketed and popular items. 3. Visibility of quality Christian literature is scarce for two reasons: 1) Quality Christian literature is not always a best seller. 2) Secular bookstores do not have book buyers who are trained in selecting the best quality, nor would they be hired for that reason. What Can the Local Church Do?
1. Depending on church resources--both financial and volunteer and staff help--most churches can have a book ministry (bookstore, book table, or church library) of some kind. 2. Because most retailers do not carry classical Christian works, churches need to make these works available. This should be seen as another ministry of the church. 3. Churches need to re-think just how their congregations are going to be properly educated. A few thoughts here: although Christian education has as many academic disciplines as secular education does, most church members have never attended a Christian educational institution where these disciplines are taught and learned. However, most have attended or graduated from a secular college or university in order to prepare them for the workplace. What about preparation (in addition to sermons and Sunday school) for the eternal work of the kingdom? In other words, how can churches assist in encouraging missionary service without good missionary biographies for their members to read? How can the understanding of church history be enhanced without having books availalble in this area? Or how can the church assist parents in the teaching of moral and ethical values without the best Christian material available? The simple answer is: it's difficult because we live in a complex society where education, but not necessarily Christian education, is encouraged and provided for. Church leaders must re-think Christian education in the church for the 21st Century. How to Get Started
1. Start small; form a book selection committee; establish a budget; appoint a manager (ordering, receiving, displaying, re-ordering--in some churches this can be done by a staff or volunteer worker; decide on the price of books (suggestion: make sure there is enough profit to cover overhead costs if it is to be non-profit); discuss and decide where books are to be sold (preferably in a high traffic or visible area and where there is coffee); decide how members/guests can get books on Sunday (if the decision is made not to have anyone there actually selling books, a box or offering plate could be made available for contributions--Coral Ridge Presbyterian does this and their manager says they have never lost money).
2. Thoughts on selection of books: Each church has to tailor a book table or bookstore to meet the needs of the local congregation. For instance I supply books for a church in New Orleans where the need for books is in the area of recovery ministry. The local congretational needs should be a starting point. Then, later on, more books in other academic disciplines (eschatology, church history, creeds, sacraments, doctrine, etc.) can be gradually added. It is important for the staff or committee doing the selecting to be in agreement, be very select, and to keep a stock of recommended books available. It is always helpful for the pastoral staff to refer to these works often as some of the finest teaching available in a given area.
There is a philosophy of book selection for the church which I think is important, and it is very simple. The books that a church recommends and makes available should be the "best of the best" in a particular subject area; there should be no question as to the author's loyalty to biblical teaching; the church leaders should be eager to get these fine works into the hands of their members; and finally, the church leadership should understand the seriousness of the availability of these Christian works: Christian bookstores today are no longer carrying many of these classical works (they are not the best sellers) and secular bookstores operate similarly.
|
|
