Nashville, Tennessee (September 5, 2017)–B&H Publishing Group and Holman Bibles are working to equip every independent Christian bookstore with extensive training and tools so their employees can be well informed about the newly-revised Christian Standard Bible (CSB).

One of these training initiatives is having every independent store employee–frontliners, managers, and owners–watch a light-hearted, informative CSB training video and take a quiz. Every employee who takes the quiz receives a free LeatherTouch CSB Ultrathin Bible.

The CSB, which launched in March, is a revision of the Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB). The CSB is a highly trustworthy, faithful translation that is proven to be an optimal blend of accuracy and readability. It’s as literal to the original as possible without sacrificing clarity. Holman Bibles has re-released top selling products such as the ECPA award-winning CSB Study Bible, the CSB Apologetics Study Bible and CSB Apologetics Study Bible for Students, as well as new products such as the bestselling She Reads Truth Bible.

“The CSB training video is an example of a resource the store is always looking for to help educate sales associates about new and exciting products available to our customers,” said Andrea Thomas, Book and Gift Buyer for LivingWell Store in Silver Spring, Maryland. Forty-two employees at Living Well have taken the quiz and received a free Bible.

“Not only was it a fun video to present during our staff meeting, it gave our staff confidence in assisting customers in the Bible section.”

Sue Smith, Store Manager of Baker Book House in Grand Rapids, Michigan and Christian Booksellers Association (CBA) Chairman, said her staff also found the training video to be helpful and informative.

“Being knowledgeable book/Bible sellers is important to our customer experience,” Smith said. Twenty-three employees at Baker Book House have completed the training and received a free Bible. “So, covering the key talking points and highlighting the main features in a brief training video made our time with our customers more valuable. The free personal copy for completing the video was a great incentive as well.”

To take the training, visit CSB Retailer Training. For more information about the CSB, visit www.csbible.com.

“We are incredibly grateful for our CBA retail partners and the chance to educate them on the Christian Standard Bible,” said Fred Evans, Senior Vice President of Sales at B&H Publishing Group. “Our hope is to equip retail associates to be as informed as possible so they can serve their customers well, and this retailer training is one way we’re doing that.”

B&H Publishing Group, an imprint of LifeWay Christian Resources, is a team of mission-minded people with a passion for taking God’s Word to the world. Because we believe Every Word Matters^® we seek to provide intentional, Bible-centered content that positively impacts the hearts and minds of people, inspiring them to build a lifelong relationship with Jesus Christ. Among our print and digital releases for the trade, church, and academic markets, titles include The New York Times No. 1 bestsellers The Love Dare and The Vow, No. 1 CBA bestseller I Am a Church Member as well as the newly-revised Christian Standard Bible (CSB) version.

New Hope Publishers to broaden missional reach

(BIRMINGHAM, Ala.) – Aug. 28, 2017 – Iron Stream Media will acquire New Hope^® Publishers effective September 1, 2017, with plans to expand the impact for Christ as more readers engage in relevant, contemporary issues with a missional focus.

“With each book published by New Hope, we pray the content will transform the lives of believers and inspire them on their spiritual journey,” said Sandy Wisdom-Martin, executive director/treasurer of national WMU and publisher of New Hope. “Because of Iron Steam Media’s success in publishing and delivering solid, web-based Bible studies, we believe they are poised to position New Hope books and Bible studies for exponential impact for kingdom growth.”

According to John Herring, president and CEO of Iron Stream Media, his company initially began as a part of Student Life. The titles and studies associated with Student Life Bible Study were sold to NavPress. After a brief time with NavPress and the Navigators, Life Bible Study was born as an independent company and expanded to include content for adults and children in addition to students.

“Now known as Iron Stream Media, we produce curriculum, discipleship materials, educational content and other tools for ministries and missions,” Herring explained. “Much of our content is well-known by missionaries who use our studies at no cost in regions around the world. For our friends in the United States, we deliver incredibly beautiful Bible Study lessons designed to be taught in a variety of ways, keeping God’s Word central in all we do. And, we do it very economically for our church partners.

“The Iron Stream team has a great fondness for New Hope Publishers,” Herring continued. “We share a common love for the Bible. We also share a common love for all things ‘mission.’ The acquisition of New Hope by Iron Stream is a natural merging of ministry minds—a combination that will enable us to grow faster together than we can separately.”

Both New Hope Publishers and Iron Stream media plan for a seamless transition. Iron Stream Media will welcome four New Hope Publishers staff members to their team and will continue to work at 100 Missionary Ridge in Birmingham, Ala., where Iron Stream also operates their business.

Wisdom-Martin said, “The name [New Hope Publishers] will remain the same. The mission will remain the same. The employees our authors talk to will remain the same. I have complete confidence that only God could have orchestrated such details, and we are excited to see where He leads.”

About New Hope Publishers
WMU, auxiliary to the Southern Baptist Convention, began New Hope in 1985 as the book publishing imprint of WMU. In 1997, WMU launched New Hope Publishers as a separate publishing division to take WMU’s evangelistic vision to a broader audience. Their books, fiction and nonfiction, received immediate acclaim and have won several awards. In 2009 and 2015, New Hope was chosen as publisher of the year by the Advanced Writers and Speakers Association (AWSA).

Representing more than 70 authors and more than 200 individual works, New Hope Publishers continues to provide books that challenge readers to understand and be radically involved in the mission of God. New Hope Publishers is a member of the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA) and the Protestant Church-owned Publishers Association (PCPA).

About Iron Stream Media
Iron Stream Media derives its name from Proverbs 27:17, “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” This sharpening describes the process of discipleship, one to another. With this in mind, Iron Stream Media provides a variety of solutions for churches, missionaries, and nonprofits ranging from in-depth Bible study curriculum and Christian book publishing to custom publishing and consultative services. Through our popular Life Bible Study and Student Life Bible Study brands, we provide web-based full-year and short-term Bible study teaching plans as well as printed devotionals, Bibles, and discipleship curriculum.

A special one-night event in select theaters in partnerships with the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA)

Carol Stream, Ill. – On Good Friday, viewers of NBC’s “Today” were riveted by a remarkable segment (http://www.today.com/kindness/i-ll-push-you-man-pushes-wheelchair-bound-best-friend-t110422) narrated by correspondent Jenna Bush Hager that profiled the uncommon friendship between Patrick Gray and Justin Skeesuck (@illpushyou), the authors of I’ll Push You: A Journey of 500 Miles, Two Best Friends, and One Wheelchair (ISBN 978-1-4964-2170-8, $15.99, SC, June 2017, Tyndale Momentum).

On Thursday, November 2, in partnership with the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA), a documentary about Gray and Skeesuck’s unfathomable journey will debut in more than 500 theaters nationwide (via Fathom Events). The entire list of theaters is linked at: https://www.illpushyou.com/p/tickets; and a trailer for the documentary is here: https://www.illpushyou.com/.

I’ll Push You tells the story of two friends who, born in the same hospital two days apart, grew up together, faced life shoulder to shoulder, and were best man in each other’s weddings. But then the unexpected struck—Justin was diagnosed with a progressive neuromuscular disease that robbed him the use of his arms and legs. When Justin shared his dream of traveling the famous Camino de Santiago—a spiritual pilgrimage through the mountains and rough terrain of northern Spain—Patrick immediately volunteered to push Justin in his wheelchair. Their six-week, 500-mile trek, with its physical challenges, host of colorful characters, and deep inner battles, would prove to be the most difficult and important journey either man would take.

Earlier this year the I’ll Push You documentary debuted at the prestigious Newport Beach Film Festival. Originally scheduled for one theater at the festival, it quickly sold out four theaters, and it received the “Audience Award for Documentary” at the conclusion of the festival.

Author Bios:

Born in the same small town just a few days apart, Justin Skeesuck and Patrick Gray have been blessed with a unique relationship. At fifteen years of age, a car accident triggered a dormant disease in Justin’s body, resulting in a life lived in a wheelchair.

In 2014, these lifelong friends did the impossible—together they tackled a 500-mile pilgrimage through Spain known as the Camino de Santiago, or Way of St. James. While most people attempt this epic journey on foot, Justin traveled the entire distance in his wheelchair, pushed by Patrick (and other volunteers along the way). As Patrick physically pushed Justin over mountains, through deserts, and across fields, Justin, in turn,  pushed Patrick, mentally and emotionally, beyond fear and insecurity, into a whole new world of joy and freedom. Their journey is a brilliant metaphor for the lives they have been blessed to live. Just as neither could have accomplished the rigorous trek on his own, their successes in life are largely attributed to the way they have pushed each other and the way they have allowed others to push them. Now they work together, sharing unapologetic words of hope and faith through their writing and speaking as they share the message that we can achieve more when we work together.

Both men love music, road trips, and driving their wives crazy.

Justin lives in Eagle, Idaho, with his wife, Kirstin, and their three children: Jaden, Noah, and Lauren. Patrick lives in nearby Meridian, Idaho, with his wife Donna, and their three children: Cambria, Joshua, and Olivia.

Tyndale House Publishers (@tyndalehouse), founded in 1962, is one of the largest privately held Christian publishers of books, Bibles, and digital media in the world. Tyndale Momentum, Tyndale’s nonfiction imprint, is the publisher of many New York Times bestsellers and is known for integrity in building lasting personal relationships with authors and agents. Tyndale extends the ministry of its authors by contributing most of its profits to the nonprofit Tyndale House Foundation, which makes grants to help meet the physical and spiritual needs of people around the world. Originally founded to publish The Living Bible, a contemporary paraphrase of the Bible that became a global publishing phenomenon, Tyndale now publishes the Holy Bible, New Living Translation (NLT), the translation of choice for millions of people.

“Is Poetry the New Adult Coloring Book?”  If Publishers Weekly’s recent musings on market trends becomes a reality, Paraclete Press is prepared with a deep backlist in this category. With two new releases in poetry every season, the focus on this genre for a religious publisher is unusual.

Publisher Jon M. Sweeney credits the house’s longstanding friendship with the late Phyllis Tickle (1934-2015) as the inspiration for a commitment to poetry that has been a core charism for the house for many years. As Phyllis Tickle said, “Paraclete is a house firmly rooted in presenting and curating religious poetry that has deep resonance and potent significance for the shaping of the surrounding culture itself. It means the on-going giving away and sharing of God with humility through mystery.”

Video trailers and social media buzz have taken a more significant role in launching poetry books in the past year, and Paraclete plans an even greater emphasis on reaching new readers through these platforms in the coming months.

Poetry Editor Mark Burrows’s introduction to the recently published Paraclete Poetry Anthology articulates why poetry is becoming increasingly important in our culture: “Poems awaken to us the sense of wonder by which we discover again and again traces of the beauty that saturates our world.”

Paraclete’s Fall 2017 poetry releases are: Almost Entirely by Jennifer Wallace in November, and What Will Soon Take Place by Tania Runyan in December.

For more information, contact Sr. Antonia Cleverly, srantonia@paracletepress.com, (508) 255-4685 x 329

Ada, Mich. (August 31, 2017)—Always Watching by Lynette Eason won the Reader’s Choice Award in the suspense category at the Killer Nashville annual conference in Franklin, Tennessee, on August 26. Founded in 2006, Killer Nashville is the leading forum for all genres encompassing mystery, thriller, and suspense, and works to connect writers with publishers, agents, publicists, and other authors, both online and through various events.  For the complete list of winners, please click here.

Bestselling author and fan favorite Lynette Eason drops readers right into the action in this fast-paced new series with a unique twist. The bodyguards of Elite Guardians Agency have more than just skill and prowess in common—they’re also all women. When it becomes clear that popular psychiatrist and radio personality Wade Savage has a stalker, his father secretly hires Elite Guardians to protect his son. But when Wade’s bodyguard is attacked and nearly killed, agency owner Olivia Edwards must step in and fill the gap. Olivia’s skills are about to be tested to the limit as Wade’s stalker moves from leaving innocent gifts at his door to threatening those closest to him. Olivia has the feeling that she’s next on the list. And to complicate things even further, she realizes that her heart may be in as much danger as her client.

Lynette Eason is the bestselling author of the Women of Justice series, the Deadly Reunions series, and the Hidden Identity series, as well as Always Watching, Without Warning, Moving Target, and Chasing Secrets in the Elite Guardians series. She is the winner of two ACFW Carol Awards, the Selah Award, and the Inspirational Readers’ Choice Award. She has a master’s degree in education from Converse College and lives in South Carolina.

Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group, offers practical books that bring the Christian faith to everyday life. Whether through fiction, Christian living, self-help, marriage, family, or youth books, each Revell publication reflects relevance, integrity, and excellence.

Baker Publishing Group publishes high-quality writings that represent historic Christianity and serve the diverse interests and concerns of evangelical readers.

Always Watching by Lynette Eason
(Revell; ISBN 9780800723262; ebook ISBN 9781441245502; $14.99)

Contact: Lynnae Lubbers
(616)676-9185 x193  llubbers@bakerpublishinggroup.com

 

 

 

GRAND RAPIDS, MI – Christina Suzann Nelson, author of If We Make It Home: A Novel of Faith and Survival in the Oregon Wilderness, is the Oregon Christian Writers (OCW) 2017 Writer of Promise. The accolade was awarded at the Cascade Awards Ceremony on Thursday, August 17, in Portland, Oregon.

If We Make It Home has also been named by Library Journalas the September Debut of the Month in the category of Christian Fiction and received a starred review. The review notes that “Nelson’s fiction debut is a tension-filled tour de force of suspense and human emotions. Fans of Cheryl Strayed’s Wild and Jon Krakauer’s Into the Wild will love this.”

Regarding the OCW award and the Library Journal praise, Christina remarked, “I’m overwhelmed by the positive response I’ve received this past month. I’ve not only been blessed by the Writer of Promise award, but also by the people behind it who continually support and encourage me. While stories are written alone, successful books are the result of community.”

If We Make It Home is a novel about three women who have embarked on a wilderness adventure and must work together to make it out alive. Each character is beautifully written, and the faith elements are woven in without relying on cliché.

Kregel Publications is an evangelical Christian publisher that aims to develop and distribute—with integrity and excellence—trusted, biblically based resources that lead individuals to know and serve Jesus Christ.

Paraclete Press is pleased to release two new additions to its treasury of titles on St. Francis!

In The Canticle of the Creatures for Saint Francis of Assisi, celebrated Italian poet Luigi Santucci and American artist Br. Martin Erspamer lend heart and imagination to the “Canticle of St. Francis,” one of the most beloved texts in all the writings of St. Francis.

Honoring the spirituality of this holy man who preached and listened to man and beast alike, Santucci takes the sermons that Francis bestowed on the birds, the wolf of Gubbio, and so many other creatures, and allows his wisdom to come back to us through the voices of those creatures, providing us with a new classic of Franciscan spirituality.   [Look inside.]

In the tradition of The St. Francis Prayer Book, Jon M. Sweeney offers an ancient-medieval way of understanding and experiencing the Gospel in The St. Francis Holy Fool Prayer Book.

The countercultural approach of the “Holy Fool” is exemplified in the life and teachings of Francis of Assisi, the most popular Saint in history, and his good friend, Brother Juniper. What does it mean to be a fool for Christ? It meant to St. Francis: being small not strong, valuing joy over pleasure, avoiding positions of power, and enjoying rather than avoiding moments of insecurity, fear, and awkwardness. These practices revealed to the first Franciscans how being foolish in the eyes of the world is a sure way to discover a renewed sense of the presence of God. Includes a week of daily offices focused on the concept of the Holy Fool and spiritual practices for countercultural living.

[Read the introduction to The St. Francis Holy Fool Prayer Book here.]

To request review copies, please contact rachelm@paracletepress.com.

Nashville, Tenn. (September 1, 2017)―Critically-acclaimed modern hymn writers Keith and Kristyn Getty will release their first book Sing! How Worship Transforms Your Life, Family, and Church (September 1, B&H Publishing Group) as part of their Sing! campaign to encourage and reform congregational worship.

The Gettys are best known for reinventing the traditional hymn form, with over 60 songs featured on top 2,000 Christian Copyright Licensing International (CCLI) charts between the U.K. and U.S. Their most popular hymn, “In Christ Alone,” co-written by Keith with Stuart Townend, has been the No. 1 hymn sung in the U.K. for nine consecutive years and is currently the No. 9 song in the U.S. Each year, the Gettys reach tens of millions of people through their tour, music, and ministry.

The book Sing! grew from the Gettys’ passion for congregational singing, and in writing it they have five goals:
• To discover why believers sing and the overwhelming joy and holy privilege that comes with singing
• To consider how singing impacts the hearts, minds, and lives of believers
• To help readers cultivate a culture of family singing in their daily home life
• To equip churches for wholeheartedly singing to the Lord and one another as an expression of unity
• To inspire believers to see congregational singing as a radical witness to the world

“Though maybe misunderstood, regularly a bone of contention, and often under-practiced, congregational singing is one of the greatest and most beautiful tools we have been given to declare God’s ‘excellencies,’ strengthening His Church and sharing His glory with the world,” the Gettys write.

“This book is about singing together as the church in a way that impacts all of your life. It is a conversation for the whole church, including you, whether your singing voice is a close friend to you or more of an awkward stranger. It explores something that is part of the worship life of every follower of Christ.”

In addition to the release of Sing!, the Gettys will host the “Sing! Getty Music Worship Conference,” the first-ever global church music conference September 18-20 in Nashville, Tennessee as part of their Sing! campaign. The conference is for pastors, musicians, and leaders to reform and encourage congregational singing, featuring speakers such as Alistair Begg, D.A. Carson, David Platt, Joni Eareckson Tada, Laura Story, and others.  For more information, visit https://www.gettymusicworshipconference.com.

Sing! can be found everywhere books are sold on September 1. For more information about Sing!, visit www.thesingbook.com.

Keith and Kristyn Getty occupy a unique space in the world of music as [preeminent] modern hymn writers and global ambassadors for the genre. Perhaps best-known for the modern hymn, “In Christ Alone” (written by Keith with Stuart Townend), the Gettys have helped reinvent the traditional hymn form and invigorate the interest in hymns of a whole new generation of people, creating a catalog of songs teaching Christian doctrine and crossing musical genres. Their Sing! campaign is part of a movement to encourage church congregations in their singing. Keith and Kristyn live between Northern Ireland and Nashville with their daughters, Eliza, Charlotte, and Grace.

B&H Publishing Group, an imprint of LifeWay Christian Resources, is a team of mission-minded people with a passion for taking God’s Word to the world. Because we believe Every Word Matters® we seek to provide intentional, Bible-centered content that positively impacts the hearts and minds of people, inspiring them to build a lifelong relationship with Jesus Christ. Among our print and digital releases for the trade, church, and academic markets, titles include The New York Times No. 1 bestsellers The Love Dare and The Vow, No. 1 CBA bestsellers I Am a Church Member and Fervent as well as the newly-revised Christian Standard Bible (CSB) version.

Book information:
• Release date: September 1, 2017 • Hardcover: 176 pages
• ISBN-10: 1462742661 | ISBN-13: 978-1462742660
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.7 x 7.3 inches

Chapter list:
• Chapter 1: Created to…Sing!
• Chapter 2: Commanded to…Sing!
• Chapter 3: Compelled to…Sing!
• Chapter 4: Sing!…with Heart and Mind
• Chapter 5: Sing!…with Your Family
• Chapter 6: Sing!…with the Local Church
• Chapter 7: The Radical Witness When Congregations…Sing!
• Postlude: Will You Sing?

Bonus Tracks:
• Track One: For Pastors and Elders
• Track Two: Worship and Song Leaders
• Track Three: Musicians, Choirs, and Production
• Track Four: Songwriters and Creatives

Media Contact: Jenaye White
Jenaye.White@BHPublishingGroup.com 615-251-2964 www.bhpublishinggroup.com

Nashville, Tenn. (September 1, 2017) – LifeWay Global and its B&H Español division won two book awards and five sales achievement honors at the Spanish Evangelical Publishers Association (SEPA) awards banquet held on August 9 in Miami, Florida during Expolit 2017.

Most notably, B&H Español won the “Original Spanish Book of the Year” award for Sugel Michelen’s latest book De parte de Dios y delante de Dios (From God and Before God) and LifeWay Global won the “Bestselling Books: Bible Study” award for Cuarto de guerra – Estudio bíblico (War Room Bible Study).

The SEPA awards recognize the highest quality and excellence in the publication, sale, and marketing of Christian literature in Spanish. The awards are presented annually during Expolit, the largest annual Christian Spanish literature and music convention in the world.

“LifeWay and B&H exist to serve the church in its mission of making disciples, and we are intentionally looking to partner with indigenous authors around the world to create content that will impact the church in her mission of making disciples,” said Cristopher Garrido, Spanish Publisher for LifeWay.

“We are honored to receive this award, which recognizes the fruit of that work and the gospel impact that Pastor Michelen’s book is having on the Spanish-speaking church.”

LIFEWAY/B&H AWARDS WON:

Best Original Book in Spanish:
De parte de Dios y delante de Dios by Sugel Michelen (July 2016, B&H Libros)

Bestselling Books: Bible Study:
• Cuarto de guerra – Estudio bíblico by Stephen y Alex Kendrick (August 2015, LifeWay Español)

Gallery of Honor (honoring sales achievements):

Silver (more than 100,000 units sold):
• LBLA Nuevo Testamento (Biblias Holman)
• Biblia del Pescador – Tapa Rústica; general editor Dr. Ángel Luis Díaz Pabón (Biblias Holman)
• RVR 1960 Color Max – Hot Pink (Biblias Holman)

Gold (more than 250,000 units sold):
• LBLA Evangelio de Juan (Biblias Holman)

Diamond (more than one million units sold):
• Nuevo Testamento – Hay vida en Jesús RVR 1960 (Biblias Holman)

B&H Publishing Group, an imprint of LifeWay Christian Resources, is a team of mission-minded people with a passion for taking God’s Word to the world. Because we believe Every Word Matters® we seek to provide intentional, Bible-centered content that positively impacts the hearts and minds of people, inspiring them to build a lifelong relationship with Jesus Christ. Among our print and digital releases for the trade, church, and academic markets, titles include The New York Times No. 1 bestsellers The Love Dare and The Vow, No. 1 CBA bestsellers I Am a Church Member and Fervent as well as the newly-revised Christian Standard Bible (CSB) version.

Media Contact: Jenaye White
Jenaye.White@BHPublishingGroup.com  615-251-2964  www.bhpublishinggroup.com