CBA Industry Blog

The First Christian Horror Film?

Friday marks an interesting day in the world of Christian products. That is the day the film House releases nationwide in theaters. The simple release of a film is not what is worth noting though. House, which is based on the novel of the same name by Frank Peretti and Ted Dekker, has been labeled the first ever Christian horror film.

Adding to the buzz surrounding this film is its inked MPAA rating of R. Despite the filmmakers’ multiple appeals to the MPAA, the association remained firm on its rating. So now we have a Christian horror film with an R-rating. One sentence with several contradictory terms.

Or so it seems. When I sat down to talk with Dekker the other week about the film, I didn’t find a man trying to sway the MPAA to change, but rather a man calling the body to action. “Here’s a perfect watershed moment,” Dekker said. “Just because the world gave this film an R-rating, are we going to not sell it in our stores? Are we going to refuse to see it in the theaters just because the world slapped the letter ‘R’ on it despite it being the entire gospel message including salvation?”

The Phenomenon of Fireproof

Late yesterday afternoon Market Watch posted an article on the success to date of the film Fireproof. The article begins by rattling off a number of statistics that, in general, show Fireproof as a hit. Adding to its theatrical accomplishments, The Love Dare, the book featured in the film, has held steady for two weeks in the #1 spot on the New York Times best seller list (paperback – advice).

Having seen the film multiple times in a variety of states prior to its theatrical release, I have yet to actually purchase a ticket and view it in a real theater with a real audience, but through the grapevine, I’ve heard numerous stories of friends and co-workers being tremendously affected by the movie. So much so that some have told me they have gone straight from the theater to the bookstore to purchase multiple copies of The Love Dare. And while I was at Mardel this past weekend, a reporter from the Colorado Springs Gazette called to speak with the manager about the book’s strong sales and how to best position an article about it.

Is Tosca Lee the next William P. Young?

While unexpectedly delayed for many, many hours in LAX this weekend as I watched plane after plane leave without me, all I had on hand to keep me entertained was one book. Having left every electronic gadget at home in exchange for an all too rapid beach weekend, the only form of entertainment that still remained was Tosca Lee’s Demon: A Memoir.

Two of my friends here in Colorado Springs have done nothing but beg me to read this book for the past few months. Not one to really enjoy supernatural fiction thrillers though, I started in slowly reading Demon while at the airport, but before long I could barely put it down long enough to check the status on my perpetually delayed flight. At my small group last night I recommended the book to everyone, adding in the detail that it has affected my concept of God perhaps more so than The Shack, or even Screwtape Letters.

My questions for you now are simple: 1) How is Tosca’s book selling in your stores, and 2) could Tosca be the next William Young?

Would you carry Tyler Perry's films?

Early this morning I had the pleasure of speaking with Tyler Perry about his film, The Family That Preys, which opens in theaters today. If you’ve never seen one of Perry’s movies, then I encourage you to experience his unique filmmaking style this weekend.

My full interview with him will be covered in an upcoming issue of CBA Retailers+Resources so stay tuned for that, but in the meantime, I want to know what you guys think about his films. I was in Target the other day and noticed an entire section of the DVD department is now devoted to his films, but Christian retailers don’t seem to carry any products from Tyler Perry Studios. Or maybe it’s just the Christian retailers out here in Colorado that don’t carry his products? Either way, I’m wondering why this is. What do you guys think?

"Save Money, Live Better" Not Just For Walmart Shoppers

If you haven’t already, check out Walmart’s latest marketing campaign. There’s a commercial Walmart ran last night though during the closing ceremonies at the Olympics that I can’t quite find on the web yet, but the premise of the commercial went something like this… buying a take-out pizza costs $14 on average. Walmart’s take-and-bake pizzas are $8. If your family eats pizza once a week every year, that’s an annual cost savings of more than $300. At least according to Walmart’s statistics.

Honestly, I think it’s a great commercial. It’s practical, simple, and speaks to the core of what this country is fretting over today. While CBA might not have the marketing power behind us like Walmart does, we’re doing the exact same thing for our members – finding ways for them to save money every day.

I just want to hit on two of the major ways members can decrease some of their operating costs almost immediately.

Driving traffic into your store through Operation Christmas Child

Earlier this year, CBA announced a new partnership with Operation Christmas Child, a division of Samaritan’s Purse, as a way for retailers to not only engage their customers in a global ministry effort, but also reach out to the larger community and churches in their areas. When I initially contacted OCC several months ago about this partnership, their first response was, “Are you kidding?!? Of course!!!”

Later in the conversation one of my contacts explained, “CBA stores probably carry the closest products to what we’d like to send overseas. They’re Christ-centered and Christ-honoring products, and while kids in other countries definitely still need general hygiene products and school supplies, what’s really going to change their lives are the products sold within the CBA stores.”

Since announcing our partnership with OCC, I’ve heard from a number of you about how successful this project is for your stores every year. Obviously the ability to give abundantly to a ministry – especially around the Christmas season – is just one privilege of working in this industry. And not to discount those efforts, but what struck me as fascinating is the number of you who told me about the unique business opportunities that developed from this project.

ICRS: Was It Good?

Hi guys... I know it has been a while since we posted anything on here. Our apologies, but when you're working 18 hours every day at ICRS, not everything receives equal attention. Literally every night at ICRS, my head would hit the pillow with one final thought of, "Ah! The blog!" However, the majority of us are back in the office now and we're anxious to continue so much of the work that began last week. (By the way, the August Best Sellers are up.)

To those of you who attended ICRS this year, thank you and it was so great to see you. Earlier this morning I was in a meeting with several local retailers and we were talking about the take-aways we returned home with from Orlando. One of the buyers at the meeting said, "I love ICRS because it always feels like 'old home week' or one big family reunion." Indeed, it is always a pleasure to actually see the faces that belong to the voices we hear throughout the year.

If you missed a session while at ICRS, the free MP3s will be available to download from the Show's web site in the near future. We'll let you know when those files are up. Be sure to check out the one with Anne Graham Lotz though - I wasn't able to hear her speak, but the word on the street is that she was amazing.

Curing Craziness

A few minutes ago I popped my head over my cube wall to ask my co-worker Cathy if we were done yet. Done with what, she wanted to know. “Done being crazy, that’s what.”

This time of year is notorious for making the CBA staff slightly… okay… extraordinarily stressed out and brain dead. (I called my boss the wrong name not once, but twice yesterday!) I’m sure the rest of you are experiencing some of that same frantic commotion these days too.

As crazy as we may all be these next few weeks, I wouldn’t miss it for the world. (And I’m not just saying that because I work for CBA!) Several months ago at a CBA area meeting, I spoke about the upcoming Show and how much I enjoy it. Actually, I think I said something to the effect of its one of my favorite parts of my job and one of my favorites thing I get to do all year. I might not look like I’m enjoying myself come Thursday afternoon, but that’s another story...

So, to share some of my excitement with you, here are a few reason why I’m really looking forward to being in Orlando next week…

Fox’s “The List” and other DVD thoughts…

Last week I had the privilege of reviewing Fox’s latest release, The List. Check it out if you haven’t heard about it yet. Hopefully though it’s selling in your stores already, as I’m slightly behind on some posts here. (Did you know ICRS is a mere three weeks away?)

Now, I say it was a privilege to watch this film because I highly appreciate the work of the Fox team, and the diversity they bring to the DVD category in Christian retail stores is even more appreciated not only by me, but by the viewers too.

(And – slight confession – being a teenager ten years ago meant not being able to escape the TV show phenomenon known as Dawson's Creek, in which Mary Beth Peil always played the ultra-conservative Christian grandmother. Watching Peil act in The List was kind of like taking a walk down memory lane again. Only this time, there were no braces and awkward high school dances.)

In the zone...

Wow! This has been one crazy week. Who gets anything done this time of the year? And to make matters worse, that countdown to ICRS is not stopping! 45 days is not a long time. Not at all.

From within the walls of the CBA building, the annual sighing fest has begun. Those sighs are usually accompanied by an encouraging, “Okay. I can do this. We can do this. It will get done for the Show.”

Earlier this afternoon I took a few extra minutes to run across the street to the Focus on the Family bookstore where some of the Waterbrook team was hanging out with Alex and Brett Harris, authors of the new book, Do Hard Things. The Harris guys were having a book signing so I thought I’d take a moment to connect with them and see how customers reacted to seeing such young faces making such bold statements.