Mark Gilroy

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Faith, Money, the GOP, and Marriage

What makes for a great marriage? I’m sure the usual suspects of commitment, respect, shared values, mutual attraction, and love are still the major ingredients that blend together to create a great love story. But without regard for the quality of the union, what makes for a marriage that lasts?

A recent Barna Group study (March 31, 2008) indicates:

* 78% of U.S. adults have been married at least once and 33% of those have been divorced at least once
* 84% of born-again Christian adults have tied the knot
* 74% of people aligned with non-Christian faiths
* 65% of atheists and agnostics

Who has the highest divorce rates?

* 39% of downscale adults
* 38% of Baby Boomers
* 38% of those aligned with a non-Christian faith
* 36% of African-Americans
* 37% of people who define themselves to be socially and politically liberal

The lowest likelihood of divorce?

* 28% of Catholics
* 26% of Evangelicals
* 22% of upscale adults
* 28% of those who deem themselves socially and politically conservative

The difference between those most likely and least likely to divorce is 17 points and a 45% swing, which is significant. But without running cross-tabulations and looking at these numbers over time it’s impossible to draw any empirical conclusions.

But that’s never stopped me before!

My modest suggestion for giving your marriage a stimulus package is more focus on your career and your faith – and strongly consider voting Republican in the next election.

A Modest (and Slightly Defensive) Defense of Church Attendance

Not only does church attendance in America continue to decline – now less than 17% on a given Sunday – but the trajectory is even worse when you consider population growth. The attendance line is going south while the population line is inching north.

I’ve heard all the reasons for not going to church – I can experience God anywhere, too much hypocrisy, it’s boring, it’s not relevant, it hasn’t kept up with social patterns, etc. – and I’ve probably uttered more than a few variations of the above comments myself.

But even if all the above reasons to not to go to church are true in varying degrees, don’t you suspect, in light of human nature, some of the objections are simple rationalizations based on people having different interests and priorities? It sounds better to say I don’t attend church because it isn’t what it’s supposed to be rather than I want to go to the lake or get to the game in time for tail-gating.

Interestingly, a lot of religious thinkers are the ones that speak most negatively about the church as problematic, including the charge that church is just too religious. (Okay. I know I’m more spiritual if I say Christianity is a relationship not a religion, but … just saying.) I’m not sure that persona of honest transparency and sophisticated thought does anything to fix real and perceived problems or attract new attenders  –  and the self-flagellation is possibly more effective at pushing even more once-regular attenders away. If it’s that bad, why go?

One local church in my metropolitan advertises on the radio that they are the church for people that don’t like church because they don’t like church either. (My paraphrase, but fairly close.) My guess is if you attend there it will actually feel a lot like … uh, church. I asked someone that attends and they confirmed there is a sermon, some singing, an offering, encouragement to join a small group, and other things that sound an awful lot like every church I’ve ever attended, despite the promise of this being something entirely different. The person I asked was quick to point out they are very friendly. I’ve gone to lots of very friendly churches. Maybe you can drink coffee and wear shorts in the sanctuary but I forgot to ask. But what I find interesting is that in order to invite new people to come to their church, a church would use a marketing premise that basically says many other churches aren’t very good places to be. Arrogant? Irresponsible?

By the way, I know some preachers preach better and some worship leaders lead music better. Some teachers teach better if you go to a Bible class. Some facilities are much better too. But without throwing a guilt trip out there, shouldn’t some of the appeal to attend church be based on what you bring to the table? (Literally.) Oh, and, shouldn’t we regularly show up at a place that emphasizes the importance of God even if some humans facilitate a more conducive setting to experiencing God than others?

On the subject of guilt, I probably shouldn’t bring up what a casual to negligent attitude toward attending church says to the kids.

My point is that some of the most dismissive critics of the church take for granted their own church upbringing. They have a base of understanding and nurture where they don’t have to attend a Bible study or hear a sermon to know quite a lot about God and Jesus Christ and the Bible, but they sure aren’t encouraging someone with no (or limited) religious framework to experience corporate Christian fellowship sufficiently to make up their own minds. At least give someone an opportunity to reject Christ and Christians without warning them off before they show up.

I understand your church experience may have been crummy. I’m sure there’s been abuse, hypocrisy, irrelevance, and so forth. But where else are you going to go?

I’m not trying to be holier-than-thou. I confess I’ve gone to church many times with less than stellar motives and attitudes. But sometimes something special has happened for me despite myself.

I think the writer of Hebrews – who was alarmed that the church of his day was losing its faith – has something powerful to say those of us who have spiritually evolved enough to claim church attendance as an optional activity:

And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
Hebrews 10:24-24, NIV

How Healthy Is the Christian fiction Category?

Publishing professional and friend, Dan Balow, recently took a look at the Christian fiction category in his blog for the Steve Laube Agency. His analysis includes some counterintuitive insights for publishers and some very specific advice to retailers that I wanted to share here. (Since my novels are considered “tweeners” – somewhere between the Christian and general markets, I especially appreciated what he had to say.) Dan – thanks for permission to use the following!

Just how well is Christian fiction doing?

Last year, two Christian publishers downsized or suspended their fiction programs. Currently, some Christian publishers are nervous about fiction and in a wait-and-see mode before they attempt to expand it or try new things. Others are excited about growth potential in the category and are taking an aggressive stance toward it.

Similarly, some Christian retailers are doing quite well with fiction, others are lukewarm with it and some are not doing well at all.

The answer to the question, “Is Christian fiction thriving?” is no, but it is certainly interesting to explore the reason behind such widely diverse opinions on the subject of Christian fiction today.  How can one group see great potential and another see little or none?

Here is why I think Christian Fiction is causing some publisher and retailer confusion right now:

First and foremost, fiction is the segment of book publishing and retailing most affected by the sales of eBooks. In some cases, 50% or more of unit sales on a particular title can be digital.  Because eBooks are cheaper than printed editions, overall revenues to the publisher will decrease or remain flat, all the while readership increases. For a particular novel, digital sales might be 50% of the units and 20% of the revenue.

A new business model eventually emerges, but it takes time for publishers and retailers to adjust to new realities.

Retailers can easily recall how the decline in physical product sales were affected by music downloads (iTunes started in 2001), video download/streaming and audio book downloads. The migration to digital delivery in music, video and audio resulted in a corresponding drop in physical product sales at retail.  But knowing the cause doesn’t make it easier to handle.

The second major contributor to publisher and retail confusion about fiction is the relatively small number of titles published.  Even in good years, the total output of new Christian fictions titles by the main ECPA Christian publishers are not more than 250-300 annually.  (I am not counting the various Harlequin Love Inspired and Heartsong mass market lines which publish over 200 titles per year.)

According to R.R. Bowker data from a couple years ago, the entire U.S. publishing industry (not self-publishing) released over 250,000 new titles annually, of which about 40,000 are novels. There is no completely accurate data available on Christian publishers, but not long ago the total output of books from Christian publishers was around 10,000 new books annually. If Christian publishers followed the same ratios in fiction as the general market, there should be over 1,000 new novels each year, not 250-300.  Not every category growth problem is solved by doing more books, but in this case, I believe it has something to do with it.

Similarly at retail, when a category suffers a slowdown, reducing shelf-space for the category only hastens the decline.  The huge disparity between fiction in the general market retail and that in the Christian market would leave one to wonder whether some are giving up too early on it.

The final reason for confusion about fiction is there are a limited number of genres published by Christian publishers. For reasons that may or may not be obvious, Christian publishers cannot publish in as many genres as a general market publisher.  For instance, erotica will never be a category in Christian publishing, while it is a major category in the general market.

Combine these three things…eroding physical sales due to digital delivery, a small number of titles in relatively few categories  and maybe we can understand why it is rather confusing time in the Christian fiction category.

What can retailers do about it? (other than stocking current best-sellers and new titles)

  • Begin with the inventory. Carry the classic backlist.  Not just In His Steps or Pilgrim’s Progress but the authors who made the category successful over the last 30 years … Janette Oke, Frank Peretti, Jerry Jenkins/Tim LaHaye, Bodie and Brock Thoene, and Francine Rivers to name a few.
  •  Decide to add a new genre of fiction that heretofore you have not carried or promoted.  This is to grow your customer’s taste for a wider type of fiction.
  • Consider rearranging the fiction section by genre to help readers find new authors. Perhaps using a variation of the umbrella categories that the Christy Awards uses to separate the genres.
  • Encourage fiction reader groups among your customers. This will show how fiction can communicate spiritual truth in an effective manner.

Steve Laube, the founder and owner of the literary agency with whom I work, was a Christian retailer himself before getting into the publisher side of the equation over 20 years ago.  In 1989, his Berean Store in Phoenix, Arizona was named the CBA Store of the Year.  I asked him to give his perspective on how retailers can sell more fiction:

The key was that great story that got people telling their friends. Word-of-Mouth.  Second was a staff that was knowledgeable about the various fiction offerings. Hand-selling is still a critical piece of what makes the physical store a destination. Hand-selling is a form of word-of-mouth. For example, when Mrs. Sally came in the store each month and asked us, ‘What’s new?’ we could direct her to the latest and greatest because we knew the type of stories she liked and the type of stories that were on our shelves.  That principle has not changed over the years. I am always attracted to the part of any bookstore that has a ‘Staff Recommendations’ section. I find it fascinating to see what other people think is worthwhile to read.

Keep in mind, that if readers don’t find what they need in the Christian store, they will look elsewhere and personally, I’d rather they find a lot of great reads among titles from Christian publishers in Christian bookstores.