Live technical help for Churches worldwide 365 days per year 

BELLINGHAM, Wash., Dec. 4, 2018 — Faithlife Corporation opened a new, full-service customer care center, the Church Support Center, in late October. The opening coincided with the launch of Logos 8, the latest version of its popular Bible study software. The Church Support Center offers churches technical support 365 days per year. The center ensures Sunday-morning support for products like Faithlife Proclaim (church presentation software), Faithlife Giving (online and mobile giving), and all the elements of the Faithlife Equip platform for churches.

The support center expands Faithlife’s service to customers using the Faithlife platform of products including Faithlife Proclaim, Faithlife Giving, and Faithlife Sites, as well as it’s church SaaS solution, Faithlife Equip.

As part of the center’s operations, customer support specialists across Faithlife’s product lines are located in a state-of-the-art facility in Washington state. These specialists provide advanced help to customers, like churches and pastors, at times of highest need-such as Sunday mornings.

“By opening the new Church Support Center, we are able to enhance the level of service provided to our customers in significant ways,” says Bob Pritchett, Faithlife CEO. “The new facility puts key team members close together for collaboration, and helps them monitor our services around the world.”

Faithlife Customers can reach the Church Support Center daily by calling 888-634-2038 or +1-360-527-1700. For more information go to Faithlife’s Church Support Center.

About Faithlife:  Faithlife Corporation, based in Bellingham, Washington, has been using technology to equip the Church to grow in the light of the Bible for more than 25 years. Since 1992, Faithlife has developed multiple tools including an integrated church platform, academic study resources, ebooks, and Logos Bible Software.

Contact: Amy Esary, 360-220-2755

New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Amazon, and Publishers Weekly

Nashville, TN (December 5, 2018) — It’s Not Supposed to Be This Way: Finding Unexpected Strength When Disappointments Leave You Shattered (Thomas Nelson) by Lysa TerKeurst debuts after one week of release on seven national general market bestseller lists:

• The New York Times (#4 Advice, How-To & Misc., December 2, 2018, #9 Advice, How-To & Misc., December 9, 2018);
• USA Today (#12, November 22, 2018);
• The Wall Street Journal (#3 Combined, November 23, 2018; #3 Hardcover Non-Fiction, November 23, 2018; #4 Nonfiction E-Book, November 23, 2018);
• Amazon (#6 Most Sold, November 27, 2018);
• Publishers Weekly (#7 Overall, November 26, 2018 and #3 Hardcover Non-Fiction, November 26, 2018).

HarperCollins fully expects It’s Not Supposed to Be This Way to be a fixture on the ECPA Christian Bestsellers in December 2018 for November sales.

“This is so much more than a book for me,” says Lysa TerKeurst. “If I could only give one life message, this would be it. I want people to know that while we trust a God who does allow hurt, we also trust a God who uses hurt for good. Every single time.”

TerKeurst launched It’s Not Supposed to Be This Way, with an exclusive in-studio interview with The Today Show (November 8, 2019). TerKeurst was also featured on national media including Focus on the Family Radio, New Life Live Radio, The 700 Club, The Dave Ramsey Show, Religion News Service, Life Today with James Robison, Charisma.com, KLOVE, The Christian Post, iBelieve.com,  and more. Additonal interviews will come in December and early January 2019 including Carey Nieuwhof Leadership Podcast, The Happy Hour with Jamie Ivey, and Charisma Magazine. Also during January 2019, Proverbs 31 will host an online Bible Study with Lysa for more than 50,000 participants to discuss the themes of It’s Not Supposed to Be This Way.

It’s Not Supposed to Be This Way released alongside companion Bible study resources for individuals or groups.  A six-session DVD features teaching from Lysa TerKeurst, and a softcover Study Guide corresponds with the DVD sessions. The hardcover book, DVD and Study Guide are available separately or as a package. More information at www.ItsNotSupposedToBeThisWay.com.

Lysa TerKeurst is president of Proverbs 31 Ministries and the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Uninvited and The Best Yes. She writes from her sticky farm table and lives with her family in North Carolina. Connect with her at www.LysaTerKeurst.com.

Thomas Nelson is a world-leading publisher and provider of Christian content and has been providing readers with quality inspirational product for more than 200 years. As part of HarperCollins Christian Publishing, Inc., the publishing group provides multiple formats of award-winning Bibles, books, gift books, cookbooks, curriculum and digital content, with distribution of its products in more than 100 countries. Thomas Nelson is headquartered in Nashville, Tenn. For additional information visit www.thomasnelson.com.

Contact: Jana Muntsinger, MMPR, jana@mmpublicrelations.com, 281-251-0480

Acquires Elsevier’s Linn, Missouri Fulfillment and Distribution Center

(December 5, 2018) – The Parable Group is pleased to announce and welcome Franklin Goldberg as Chief Marketing Officer. Goldberg brings 20 years of experience marketing and selling Christian content including books, Bibles, and software.

Goldberg will be responsible for further expanding The Parable Group’s in-demand digital marketing agency, which is currently experiencing rapid growth—more than doubling prior year sales. Goldberg will expand offerings to include new services that boost discoverability such as influencer marketing and customer journey mapping.

Goldberg served as a pastor for 13 years, operated an online Christian bookstore for 12 years, and since 2010, he has held leadership roles in Sales, Marketing, and Product teams at Christian publishing and software companies.

He brings a broad content background ranging from children’s books to textbooks, and having served in Christian ministry, retailing, and publishing environments, Goldberg’s diverse experiences complement The Parable Group’s strengths in retail marketing, digital campaigns, and Christian audience data.

Franklin Goldberg joins the marketing company 4 months after Greg Squires moved into ownership and leadership of The Parable Group. Squires bought the company from Steve Potratz after Potratz had founded and operated the company for over 30 years.

“I am excited and honored to join this team with its commendable legacy of serving the Christian community,” says Goldberg.

Squires added, “Franklin is not only one of the sharpest marketing minds in this industry, he also has a unique passion and uncanny ability to connect content with Christian audiences. I am so pleased to integrate him into our team to contribute towards growth.”

The Parable Group is a privately-owned multi-service Christian marketing agency based in San Luis Obispo, CA. Since 1985, we’ve served over 1,000 Christian brands; including retailers, publishers, churches, non-profits, film studios and more. Today, we pair decades of Christian consumer data with proven business practices, cutting-edge digital technologies, and thoughtful design to drive measurable results for those we serve. For more information, contact sally.ross@parable.com or visit www.parablegroup.com.

Contact: Sally Ross, (805) 329-4020, sally.ross@parable.com

WESTMONT, IL—WORLD Magazine recommended about five hundred books to its readers in 2018 and recently chose from those the top books of the year. The winners were made up of five nonfiction books of the year, four theological honorable mentions, and twenty-five short list honorees, including three InterVarsity Press titles: Last Call for Liberty by Os Guinness, Embodied Hope by Kelly M. Kapic, and Disruptive Witness by Alan Noble.

Last Call for Liberty: How America’s Genius for Freedom Has Become Its Greatest Threat made the short list in the Understanding America category. WORLD Magazine editors wrote: “In this year of battles between Pro-Trumpers and Never-Trumpers, Os Guinness has thoughtful observations that can benefit both camps. Guinness writes, ‘The present obsession with President Trump, whether supporting or opposing him, is a massively distorting factor for a simple reason: Donald Trump is the consequence of the crisis and not the cause.’’

A frequent international speaker and prominent social critic, Guinness argues that the American republic faces a fundamental crisis of freedom as once again America has become a house divided. This grand treatment of history, civics, and ethics in the Jewish and Christian traditions represents Guinness’s definitive exploration of the prospects for human freedom today.

Embodied Hope: A Theological Meditation on Pain and Suffering was one of the short list titles in the Accessible Theology book category. Drawing on his own family’s experience with prolonged physical pain, Kapic reshapes our understanding of suffering into the image of Jesus. Embodied Hope was also chosen as Christianity Today’s 2018 Book of the Year for Theology/Ethics.

Joni Eareckson Tada, founder and CEO, Joni and Friends International Disability Center, said, “I am all too familiar with the topic of this book, having lived as a quadriplegic for nearly fifty years and dealing daily with chronic pain. So I’m always heartened when I stumble upon a rich new resource that really encourages. That describes the remarkable book you hold in your hands. Rather than focus on why, Kelly makes much of how—how to trust God in this world. Best of all, Embodied Hope leads the reader to the foot of the cross, the only place to find true relief and healing.”

Another IVP title that made the short list in the Accessible Theology book category was Disruptive Witness: Speaking Truth in a Distracted Age. In this timely book, Noble looks at our cultural moment, characterized by technological distraction and the growth of secularism, laying out individual, ecclesial, and cultural practices that disrupt our society’s deep-rooted assumptions and point beyond them to the transcendent grace and beauty of Jesus.

Author and podcaster Barnabas Piper said, “While reading Disruptive Witness I got more than a little tired of Alan Noble reading my mind, diagnosing my issues, and jabbing at the nerves of my heart. Page after page he hit on issues of thought, habit, perspective, or lifestyle with which I struggle and in which I fail to be a proper witness for Jesus. Of course what I was really tired of was my own distracted, thin faith. And those are the very things this book helps. Noble clearly and gently diagnoses the problems first and then he offers robust solutions. Disruptive Witness is incisive, substantial, and encouraging for tired, frustrated believers looking for direction.”

For a complete list of IVP award winners visit ivpress.com/award-winners.

Founded in 1947 as an extension of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA, InterVarsity Press serves those in the university, the church and the world by publishing thoughtful Christian books that equip and encourage people to follow Jesus as Savior and Lord in all of life. For more information, visit ivpress.com.

Contact: Krista Clayton, 630.734.4013, kclayton@ivpress.com

Ada, Mich. (December 10, 2018)—Baker Publishing Group is pleased to welcome Rachel McRae to the Baker Publishing family as senior acquisitions editor for Revell Books. Rachel comes to us from LifeWay Christian Stores, her career home for the past eighteen years. Most recently, she served as category director of books, kids, reference, and academic business areas for 170 retail stores. Her industry experience and knowledge base are outpaced only by her passion for serving Christian readers. Rachel will be located in Nashville, Tennessee.

Andrea Doering, editorial director for Revell, stated, “Rachel’s depth of experience serving Christian readers, her desire to provide books that change lives, and her wealth of industry knowledge are exceptional. For years we’ve been privileged to work with Rachel as an industry colleague; we’re thrilled to now have her join Revell and bring her skills to our team.”

Rachel McRae said, “I’ve been a big fan of Baker Publishing Group and Revell in particular for many years, both as a buyer for a chain as well as for my own reading enjoyment. I’m honored to join the Revell team, and I look forward to discovering new projects and authors that will further Revell’s impact on the industry and also bring encouragement and help to readers.”

Revell has a passion for providing books that inspire and equip readers, offering them hope and help for daily life.

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

Contact: Ruth Anderson, (616)676-9185 x8131, randerson@bakerpublishinggroup.com

 

Life to the Extreme to release May 14, 2019

Grand Rapids, Mich., November 27, 2018 – Star of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and the current Trading Spaces reboot, Ty Pennington, has inked a one-book contract with Zondervan. Life to the Extreme: How a Chaotic Kid Became America’s Favorite Carpenter, written with Travis Thrasher, will release in May 2019. Pennington is represented by Bill Stankey of Westport Entertainment. World rights were acquired by Senior Vice President of Author and Partner Development Matthew Baugher and Zondervan Acquisitions Editor Andy Rogers.

For the first time, Pennington shares parts of his personal story with fans. From his early life in Georgia where he built his first treehouse, to being diagnosed with ADHD in his college years, to achieving incredible television success—his life has been one adventure after another. In Life to the Extreme, Pennington will share the life lessons he’s learned through years. Serving others, random acts of kindness, and battling whatever life throws are the hallmarks of building a life that matters.

Pennington has been recognized as a leader in the field of volunteerism for his work on Extreme Makeover and Ty’s Great British Adventure. He served as ambassador for the Sears American Dream campaign. In line with his passion for creative and practical housing, he frequently volunteers time with Abōd Shelters Foundation, a charitable organization whose mission is to provide sustainable, quality housing to areas in need around the world.

“Ty Pennington has spent his career serving others and entertaining people with brilliant designs and an infectious sense of adventure,” says Andy Rogers, acquisitions editor. “He has a rare gift to draw communities together and create positive change. And he does so in a way that’s always … uniquely Ty. He’s also a recognized voice of encouragement for those living with ADHD and other challenges. This book will capture all of that and more.”

Book Details

Life to the Extreme: How a Chaotic Kid Became America’s Favorite Carpenter
By Ty Pennington with Travis Thrasher
Zondervan

ON SALE: May 14, 2019 
$26.99 hardcover
ISBN: 9780310357377

Zondervan is a world leading Bible publisher and provider of Christian communications.  Zondervan, part of HarperCollins Christian Publishing, Inc., delivers transformational Christian experiences through its bestselling Bibles, books, curriculum, academic resources and digital products. The Company’s products are sold worldwide and translated into nearly 200 languages. Zondervan offices are located in Grand Rapids, Mich.  For additional information, please visit www.zondervan.com.

Contact: Robin Barnett, 616-698-3251, robin.barnett@harpercollins.com

WESTMONT, IL—InterVarsity Press is pleased to announce that Library Journal selected Birthing Hope by Rachel Marie Stone for its 2018 Best Books list.

“Rachel Marie Stone is one of the most elegant and perceptive authors I have ever worked with,” said Al Hsu, senior editor, IVP Books. “Her writing makes us reflect deeply on things that matter—birth and death, family and fear, life and hope. I’m delighted that Birthing Hope has been named one of the best books this year, or any year! Congratulations, Rachel.”

In place of the top ten best books list that Library Journal has traditionally released, this year editors sifted through thousands of books that were published in 2018 and put together a larger and more diverse mix of titles across twenty categories, with 188 titles recognized.

Birthing Hope: Giving Fear to the Light was chosen as one of Library Journal ’s top ten books in the religion and spirituality category. The mother of two sons, Stone unpacks how childbirth reveals our anxieties, our physicality, our mortality. She writes, “To bring anything new into the world is to open one’s self and therefore to take on risk, to contaminate oneself with the other, to be made vulnerable. This requires not just courage but many things, among them faith, hope, help, companionship, grace—in a word, love.”

In a June 2018 Library Journal review, Sandra Collins described Birthing Hope this way: “A quiet memoir on hope as the most paradoxical of virtues.”

Rachel Held Evans, author of Searching for Sunday, said, “I’ve been waiting for a book like this one for years, and no one could have written it more beautifully and wisely than Rachel Marie Stone. With the skill of a poet and the patience of a doula, Stone invites the reader to look straight into the face of fear and find in it the spark of hope. There are words and phrases from these pages that I will go on pondering for years. Theologically rich and carefully researched, Birthing Hope is a book for everyone, but as a new mother it proved life changing—the kind of book that leaves you breathless.”

Stone teaches English at the Stony Brook School in Stony Brook, New York. Her writing about food, faith, justice, public health, and maternal health has appeared in the New York Times, theWashington Post, the Huffington Post, Christianity Today, the Christian Century, Books & Culture, Sojourners, In Touch magazine, Religion News Service, Patheos, and more. Her books include the revised More-with-Less cookbook, Telling God’s Story, and Eat with Joy: Redeeming God’s Gift of Food, which won a Christianity Today Book Award and was named by a Religion News Service columnist as one of the year’s ten most intriguing titles in religion.

For a complete list of IVP award winners visit ivpress.com/awardwinners.

Founded in 1947 as an extension of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA, InterVarsity Press serves those in the university, the church, and the world by publishing thoughtful Christian books that equip and encourage people to follow Jesus as Savior and Lord in all of life. For more information, visit ivpress.com.

Colorado Springs, CO – December 3, 2018—Alive Literary Agency today announced its Founder and CEO Rick Christian is stepping down March 1 after 30 years, and that an internal sale of the agency has been executed with its President Bryan Norman and Executive VP Lisa Jackson.

“I am grateful I could spend the bulk of my working years doing what I love with people I adore, realize my dreams, and accomplish the tasks with which I was entrusted,” said Christian. “There is no greater joy than to now pass the baton to such qualified successors.”

“It’s an honor to build on the strong foundation Rick established, and we look forward to leading Alive for the next 30 years,” said Norman, who joined Alive in 2013 after nine years at Thomas Nelson Publishers in Nashville. He rose there through the editorial ranks to become Associate Publisher at one of the industry’s leading nonfiction trade groups.

He reported that he and Jackson will continue operations under the same name with their current business titles. “We are grateful Rick will continue to consult with us for three years to ensure continuity of all things within the author and publishing communities, and enable us to fully replicate everything he’s been doing in the film and TV space.”

Christian’s daughter and 12-year Alive agent Andrea Heinecke will continue her employment with the agency, overseeing existing clients, backlist titles, and assist with the burgeoning publishing and film/TV career of novelist Karen Kingsbury and her son Tyler Russell, the sole clients Christian will personally work with under his consulting relationship.

“We’ve been working on this plan for the past three years with the help of outside consultants, most notably a woman in Denver who built a thriving business advising top corporate and military leaders and consulting with the Pentagon,” said Jackson, who joined Alive in 2015 after a publishing career spanning newspapers, magazines and 15 years as the Associate Publisher of nonfiction at Tyndale Publishing House in Carol Stream, IL. “While we’ve faced unique challenges, the transition has been seamless and a fabulous model by any measure. And yet it is bittersweet to see our dear friend and mentor step away from Alive’s helm after such a distinguished and storied career.”

“We’re told for everything there is a season,” said Christian, who turns 65 December 22. “Three years ago when I first broached the idea of the transition, I placed a walking stick and backpack prominently in my office as a visual reminder to staff and others that our paths would diverge at some point. As for the road ahead, I want to take a long sabbatical season to reread my favorite novels and all of Eugene Peterson’s works, hike and fish the high mountains of Colorado, discover new music and poetry, finish a book I started writing, ski plenty, and give my soul breathing room to allow new things to bubble up and provide direction for my next assignment. My wife Debbie and I are rich with friends and privileged to have a large and close family, and so there’s much to look forward to with them and our 12 grands.”

Christian launched Alive in Los Angeles in 1989 and moved operations to Colorado Springs in 1991. In his tenure, he has 15 New York Times #1 bestsellers to his credit, and books Alive represented have sold more than 250 million copies.

Christian’s efforts on behalf of top authors have been widely chronicled in leading newspapers and magazines, including a cover profile for Christianity Today. His biography and record of achievement have appeared in Who’s Who in America.

Raised in San Diego and a 1977 graduate of Stanford University (communications and creative writing), he also studied at Capernwray Bible School in England and the University of Southern California where he pursued graduate work in professional writing, though he never completed that degree.

Christian launched his publishing career as a newspaper reporter and columnist, followed by a career switch to magazine publishing. He served as associate editor of Campus Life magazine, executive editor of The Saturday Evening Post, and then transitioned to executive leadership in book publishing. Along the way, he wrote several books himself, including the youth devotional Alive, The Woodland Hills Tragedy, A Gift of Life, and Silent Night, which was adapted for the television series “Sue Thomas F.B.Eye.”

It is as a literary agent that Christian became renowned, particularly for his entrepreneurial efforts behind such mega-sellers as Jerry Jenkins’ and Tim LaHaye’s Left Behind series (70 million copies with millions more in 27 languages), Eugene Peterson’s The Message Bible (20 million copies), Karen Kingsbury’s novels (25 million copies), Lisa Beamer’s post 9-11 Let’s Roll (1.5 million copies), and the Life Recovery Bible (3 million copies).

He is also celebrated for his literary efforts on behalf of Brennan Manning, Anne Graham Lotz, Henri Nouwen, Emerson Eggerichs, Elisa Morgan, Dave and Jan Dravecky, Rwanda President Paul Kagame, and select titles from Billy Graham and Philip Yancey, among many others. Other Alive phenoms include Don Miller’s Blue Like Jazz (1 million copies), Ron Hall and Denver Moore’s Same Kind of Different as Me (1 million), and Heaven is for Real (13 million). Additionally, he has championed the adaptation of Alive books for film and TV, including Tri-Star’s hit production of Heaven Is for Real, Paramount’s Same Kind of Different as Me, Karen Kingsbury’s upcoming Baxter Family streaming series with Mark Burnett and Roma Downey, and numerous films for Hallmark Channel and various independent producers.

Christian’s representation of high-profile properties, negotiation for major film and TV adaptations, and pioneering work to develop crossover markets and leverage support across all formats and media earned him and his Alive team its reputation as the premier agency for inspirational content and authors.

Christian also served as the longtime Board Chair of Tirzah International, a grassroots ministry that addresses issues of injustice affecting women and girls worldwide. He and his wife Debbie have a blended family of seven children and live on a ranch in Black Forest, outside of Colorado Springs.

“I was given a leg up by many, and am glad I could pay it forward along the way,” Christian said. “Authors, publishers and retailers face critical challenges, but I’m encouraged that industry sales are largely up in the latest reports and that young parents continue reading to their children who hopefully will become the next-gen authors Alive represents in seasons ahead.”

For more information, contact:  Rick Christian  rchristian@aliveliterary.com  cell: 719-331-7073

December 03, 2018–CHICAGO–LSC Communications (NYSE: LKSD) and The United Church of Canada announced today that they have signed a new multi-year book fulfillment and distribution agreement. As part of the relationship, LSC will provide a range of distribution services for the United Church of Canada from LSC’s Newmarket, Ontario location.