A Listener Letter
Aug.05, 2011 by
in
White Horse Inn
I appreciated your most recent White Horse Inn episode. I recently went to a LifeWay Bookstore to purchase Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion. Lifeway had nothing by Calvin. I went next door to Barnes and Noble and they had a copy! It’s a shame that a secular bookstore has more theology than a Christian bookstore.
-Mike N.
August 5th, 2011 at 10:08 am
I avoid these types of stores like the plague (almost of biblical proportion!). Walking into one is akin to walking into a poorly run television game-show program — oops! — I meant, a so-called ‘worship’ service.
August 5th, 2011 at 10:34 am
Even Christian bookstores are subject to market demands. It is striking, though, that there wouldn’t even be an abridged copy of the Institutes.
The bookshelves are a mirror to what people are reading/requesting. Unfortunately, the mirror reflects narcissism, shallowness, and diverse theological perspectives that exclude the Protestant Reformers. You hope that people will “run in to” a book by Horton, Sproul, or even Alister McGrath, and be influenced enough by the echoes of our Protestant Heritage to investigate further (and, be set free by the Gospel of Jesus Christ!)
August 5th, 2011 at 11:19 am
Christian bookstores will carry Reformed books when Reformed believers shop there.
More of us (Reformed readers) tend to shop online at wtsbooks.com, Monergism, or CBD – perhaps because of our well-deserved, “omni-frugal,” reputations. I think we also tend to be tech-savvy and probably own Nooks and Kindles and now download our books from online.
There are good independent Christian bookstores out there that do carry Reformed books, like MorningStar in New England and New York. However, as long as we continue to shop elsewhere, this is how it will be.
The fact is that the majority of book buyers in Christian bookstores tend to be Pentecostal and Charismatic believers. And Lifeway is owned by the Southern Baptist Church – many of their customers are not fans of Albert Moehler and Mark Dever, much less John Calvin. And many of the chain stores, like Family, Mardel, and Berean are market-driven and will carry what the populace is buying.
Unfortunately, this is the dilemma independents face – they don’t have the deep pockets a chain has to be able to carry books that don’t see frequent sales. And in this economy, where everybody is making tough financial choices, discounters and online stores are becoming the first choice of many.
Maybe we should consider spending our money with fellow believers and support the independent Christian bookstore – our money can make a big difference in the content that will appear on their shelves.
August 5th, 2011 at 1:17 pm
I agree with John and Scott. This is a chicken and egg type problem. You, sadly, might be the first person to look for Calvin’s Institutes there.Unless they sacrificially (financially) want to stock such things just to have a quality selection, despite lack of sales, much of that stuff isn’t going to be there. The answer to the problem, IMO, isn’t to shame the bookstores into carrying it, but to increase the hunger in Christians who might shop there for quality material. If enough people come looking for such things, I guarantee they will stock it.
August 5th, 2011 at 2:20 pm
i would think they are capable of “sacrificially” carrying books that are rarely purchased. I know Lifeway did not believe in theft deterrent systems or alarms while my sister worked there. They believed God would protect them or use the thieve’s actions for good. I would think a belief that theological books were helpful would merit the same willingness for financial loss
August 5th, 2011 at 2:36 pm
I had a similar experience. I went to Family Christian Bookstore and asked for a copy of the Westminster Catechism. The clerk had NO idea what a catechism was. Needless to say, they didn’t have the either kind–or any other catechism for that matter–but they were overflowing with copies of books that would teach me the “7 steps towards improving [my] life every day”. Thank God that our chief end is focussed on glorifying and enjoying Him and not to improve our totally depraved selves!!!
August 5th, 2011 at 4:23 pm
Once at the Family Bookstore, I asked if they carried any books by R.C. Sproul. The clerk said they did not carry his books because he was too controversial. Yet they had a plethora of books by charismatics who not only preach what is not biblical, but many of whom also had lives that more similar to unbelievers than a reflection of Christ.
August 5th, 2011 at 4:26 pm
Stephen, I’m not familiar with this particular bookstore… my comment was in general. They certainly could do so, but if no one came in to buy one, I’m not sure what good it would do. In general, this bookstore situation seems to be a pretty good mirror to US Christianity in general. I think there are a pretty small percentage of people who check or register as Christian in the surveys that would actually qualify as such in any meaningful way. I’m sure if you listen to WHI much, that is obvious. (BTW, I wrote my mini-thesis for my MCS degree on a related topic, and all the reading I did pretty much confirmed the ‘informal’ surveys the WHI often conducts.)
August 7th, 2011 at 4:54 pm
To be fair I went to Lifeway store about two weeks ago and bought:
-Collected Writings on Scripture by DA Carson
-Still Sovereign edited by Schreiner and Ware
-The Secret Providence of God by Calvin
So while the store is not perfect it is still a great resource; if even only to see what others are reading.
August 8th, 2011 at 6:57 am
Just so you know, LifeWay does carry books by Calvin. This may have been a matter of this store not having any in stock. But a majority of LifeWay Christian Stores do carry this book. I would recommend asking a clerk if you can not find the book you are looking for. If they are out of stock or do not have that particular title, they may be able to order it for you.
August 9th, 2011 at 6:44 pm
The closest Christian bookstore to my house is called Servant’s Heart, and the last time I went there, I think I do remember seeing a copy of Calvin’s institutes (can’t remember if it was abridged). Still, I had gone there to look for Tim Keller’s book The Prodigal God and did not find it there, though I did later find it at Barnes and Nobles (or was it Borders? I can’t remember.) Anyway, I found that rather surprising as I would not have thought that Keller’s books would be that controversial amongst evangelicals.
August 10th, 2011 at 6:52 pm
Oh wow… the same exact thing happened to me. I got *my* copy of Calvin’s Institutes at B&N, but I couldn’t find it at Lifeway. So I’m not the only one who notices this.
That just ain’t right.
August 11th, 2011 at 9:26 am
Stephen,
I was a road representative for many years – I sold Christian books to many of the Christian bookstores – mostly independent stores. I sold Reformed and Non-Reformed books. I did this for thirteen years and also worked in Christina bookstores like Berean, Joshua’s (now owned by Family Christian Stores), and independents, too.
The “sacrificial,” buying that you are suggesting bookstores make is naive. Where is the sacrificial purchasing by Christians – especially Reformed ones? Why does it always fall on the store owners, most of whom are not getting wealthy and ARE sacrificing to provide our communities with a Christian bookstore that is not denominationally based and could serve the whole Church?
The fact is that they carry the products for their CUSTOMERS. Give up McDonald’s or Starbucks for a day and pay the regular price on a book instead of purchasing online or at a secular bookstore and you may just find that you will have a robust Reformed section in your store. Economics is about supply and demand. We cannot demand Reformed books and then not supply our resources to support it. It is poor stewardship for them to carry books nobody buys – and also bad business.
They carry curriculum and other materials in these stores and everybody browses but nobody purchases. Instead they use the store for display purposes only, just to end up going on the internet to save money not considering the consequences of such decisions. Maybe it is cheaper and maybe it is more convenient but consider the sacrifice the store owner makes to employ local people, support local ministries, and to serve us, while keeping the tax revenue in our towns. Now consider your own sacrifice and how you can support them in their attempt to give you what you want.
Bookstores didn’t reject the books I was selling because of theological reasons, though some did. They wouldn’t purchase particular publishers from me because it was a poor financial investment for them.
They are hurting more than ever in this economy and in this electronic age. If we would support them and purchase from them, we would see Calvin’s Institutes and RC Sproul’s books on the shelves.
August 13th, 2011 at 12:49 pm
As a Christian bookstore owner and the author of a national blog for Christian bookstore owners and managers in Canada, I am so tempted to jump into this discussion on so many different levels; but instead, I find myself grieving how the isolationist trends in the Reformed community are contributing to a fracturing of the larger Body of Christ, just at a time when it seemed that the next generation of Christians was going to move toward greater unity.
August 13th, 2011 at 2:12 pm
Paul, I guess it depends on what you mean by that. If you mean distancing ourselves from best-sellers like Joel Osteen, Joyce Meyer, or Rob Bell; you gotta do what you gotta do! A ‘body of christ’ which isn’t following what Jesus Christ taught isn’t worth any kind of ‘unity.’ I’m all for unity if there is something concrete and non-heretical to it (there certainly is too much fracture over relatively unimportant things). But much of what I’m seeing in today’s unity movements is an effort to ditch sound doctrine in order to unify over political and social issues. In other words, ditch the true purpose and point of the church to unify chasing other things (however good or bad they may be).
August 13th, 2011 at 6:43 pm
Steve; are we related? Guess not. No argument re. Joel Osteen; rather I’m concerned that, for example, CBD had to create CBD Reformed because certain people would only buy from “their own.” I mean, CBD never had to create CBD Pentecostal, or CBD Baptist did they? I’m concerned that certain people now will only read from the ESV translation, because it’s their translation. Because of its reach into the Reformed community, I hear of churches that will only use Sovereign Grace music; people who will only read other Reformed bloggers; or only attend conferences such as T4G where Reformed speakers dominate. There is a real closing of the ranks going on; and rightly or wrongly, I just think it’s sad.
August 14th, 2011 at 3:47 pm
Hey Paul, related? I’m not sure. My grandparents lived in Canada east of Edmonton near the Alberta border, but relocated to N. Wisconsin in the US before starting their family… so most of my more direct relatives are from that area.
I agree with you on that kind of segregation. That is not good, and yes, sad. I was talking more about the general church culture (especially in the USA) and bookstores. I see it as a chicken & egg type of problem. Lack of Christian education produces surface-Christians who can’t discern good materials and would rather buy self-help books and Christiany trinkets. Bookstores sell that stuff because that is what the Christians come to buy. Hopefully what you are talking about isn’t becoming a trend. That is going too far in the opposite direction.
While I’m a member of a Reformed church, I graduated from Regent College in Vancouver, so I’m pretty familiar with a great number of denominations and working together with them. (If you want an even more segregating issue…. try to educate about the young-earth, old-earth, theistic evolution topic at some churches!
).
August 15th, 2011 at 11:43 am
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May 15th, 2013 at 2:53 am
Great post and some wonderful advice that I will definitely consider next time I got to my favorite Christian bookshops