I read a tweet this morning by Jonathan Merritt that spoke triumphally of the fact that LifeWay was closing all its stores. He pointed out that while LifeWay was closing, Jen Hatmaker and others whose books LifeWay had stopped selling were still going strong. As is normal in the Twittersphere, there was a piling-on without much attempt to garner facts. The prevailing idea was that LifeWay was going under and to them, it was just desserts for LifeWay’s failure to embrace the LGBTQ+ and progressive Christian agenda. Others in the so-called progressive Christian movement have joined in the celebration, dancing on LifeWay’s grave.
The problem is, LifeWay isn’t dying. From what I’ve read, LifeWay’s phone and online sales are doing well. It was the brick and mortar stores that were dragging things down and a decision was made not to subsidize them anymore. As one friend said yesterday, if LifeWay was just a bookstore, they’d be going under. They are not.
Sorry, folks. The celebration is premature. As I have heard so many times, “Facts are our friends.”
LifeWay is going to focus on online and phone sales and will likely be continuing to contribute money to the SBC’s coffers for some time to come. They are not teetering on the edge of bankruptcy. They made a business decision that causes a lot of people a lot of pain, yes, but it is not an indication that the entire company is dying. Sorry to burst your bubble.
I have been conversing with friends and reading online discussions since this news hit. I have no inside information here, so what I am about to say is just my opinion, based on what I know and what I’ve surmised. Here’s the facts, as I see them.
1. The failure of the brick and mortar stores is not hard to explain. Brick and mortar bookstores are failing all over the country.
- The reason for the failure of brick and mortar LifeWay stores can be summarized by a statement a good friend made in a private discussion. “I can’t remember the last time I bought a book there that wasn’t on clearance.” That’s my paraphrase.
- There are online sources like Amazon, CBD, and others that can beat their prices. I am a cheapskate and I’m not paying 24.95 for a book I can get for 14.95 online.
- There is a Barnes and Noble less than a mile from me. I shop there often – when they put stuff on 75% off. The only time I purchased something at full price there was when I needed something in a hurry and couldn’t wait for it to be shipped. I’ve gone in, seen something, and ordered it on Amazon. Yes, I said I’m cheap.
- I saw a comment from someone yesterday who complained about something similar. When he needed something last minute he’d not be able to run over to LifeWay and pick it up. True. But that kind of business couldn’t sustain a brick and mortar store.
- I googled articles about the demise of bookstores yesterday. This is not a LifeWay problem. To pretend that LifeWay has failed in its management because it couldn’t make a chain of brick and mortar stores work is counterfactual.
While there isn’t a LifeWay store within 250 miles of me, it is people like me who are responsible for this. I am a “frugal shopper” who pays my annual Amazon Prime membership and makes the most of it. LifeWay focusing on online shopping is not a bad idea. That’s the future, folks.
2. LifeWay is a denominational entity. Their goal is not to outsell everyone else or to become the biggest retailer of Christian goods. They are a Baptist publishing house and they are bound by our confessional statement.
- See Dave open a can of worms. Open, Dave. Open! LifeWay has been criticized repeatedly for their decisions about which books they will carry and which ones they will not. I haven’t always agreed with their decisions but those editorial decisions are not the point here. LifeWay does not carry every best seller out there. There are bestselling authors who could make money for LifeWay but are clearly not in line with our Baptist Faith & Message.
- We have a debate in the SBC about homosexuality, and it is intense. But that debate is not over whether homosexual behavior is a sin. We have made our position clear. We believe that homosexuality is contrary to God’s will. If you decide to rewrite the Scriptures as many have done, you will likely sell a lot of books, but it will not be through LifeWay. LifeWay is a Southern Baptist entity.
- I chided a commenter a couple of days ago for saying that the SBC’s problems were because we didn’t embrace the egalitarianism she valued so highly. This is a common and unhelpful response. When there’s bad news, we trot out our hobby horses and work them. “We are in this mess because of ________.”
- Frankly, I think if LifeWay just sold more New York Yankee stuff, this wouldn’t have been necessary!
3. There are plenty of questions that have been raised over the last 24 hours, and they are legitimate.
- William Thornton raised the question on a comment stream here as to whether there were profitable LifeWay stores and whether they could have simply trimmed those stores that were losing money and kept the ones that were making money. I do not know the answer, but I suspect that LifeWay felt that enough of the stores were failing that the entire division needed the ax. I also suspect we aren’t getting the answer to that question.
- Many have raised questions about how the stores were operated. The most common complaint I’ve heard is about the prevalence of “Jesus Junk” at stores, rather than serious books. Of course, I talk to pastors who want book stores to smell musty and stock volumes of the church fathers and Puritans.
- I have heard several strong criticisms of the LifeWay website. Since I’ve not been on it recently, I have no direct knowledge. If LifeWay is going to be an online-focused business, then these criticisms should be dealt with seriously.
- One question I’ve seen raised often is whether this reveals greater financial issues at LifeWay. I believe they have answered this, but it is understandable that such a question would be raised. Statements have made it clear that LifeWay is on solid financial footing in general, but as Baptists, we always have the right to ask.
The biggest tragedy of this, of course, is that many people will be losing their jobs in the near future. Some people will be inconvenienced by not having a local LifeWay store where they can shop. But life(Way) goes on. Our Baptist publishing house will continue to produce Bibles, books, and literature, and it will contribute generously to Baptist life. Its online presence will still be strong. This is not the end of the line for LifeWay, just a speed bump.
Again, I have no insider info here. I’ve listened and read and formed opinions. These are my conclusions.
I will miss not having a Lifeway to go to to check out a new bible…Before I order it from Amazon or CBD. I do wonder if, outside of Sunday School and VBS material, if Lifeway will be successful unless they can lower their prices to be in the same ballpark as Amazon and CBD.
Cheapskates of the world, unite!
They do price match.
I agree with you, Dave. LifeWay is eliminating its retail locations for a confluence of reasons which have nothing to do with their decision not to sell Jen Hatmaker books or works from other “progressive” authors. My guess is that folks who are eager to buy those types of books aren’t likely to go to LifeWay as their first shopping choice even if they were available there. More importantly, the commercial success or failure of a book or store isn’t an indication of the truth of its position. Just because Hatmaker sells a lot of books doesn’t mean she’s right. Correct theology is an objective standard found in the Bible rather than reflected in sales data.
That is a good point. The pro-LGBTQ crowd isn’t likely to wander into the local LifeWay to shop.
Dave Miller,
Good post. The truth is, long before there became a “Jonathan” and long before there became a “LGBTQ+ and progressive Christian agenda” and the debate that entails, there was and has been discussion within the administration and trustee body of the BSSB/LifeWay about shutting down the book stores. I served as a trustee for two terms. It hardly ever failed that at every meeting, someone addressed the issue to lost revenue among the book stores and why we needed to close them.
This decision was about the money and really has nothing to do with hot topic theological issues among the rank and file of Southern Baptists.
Perhaps the closing of the stores will free up money to do some of the other things LifeWay needs to do.
Having had the opportunity to listen to some of the folks there, I think that is the plan.
Good points Dave. We have to face it, the days of multiple brick and mortar bookstores in one town or area is dwindling swiftly. Times are changing and businesses operate to at least pay their way. Very sad for the employees and for us who love a book store. Just one of those changes that come
I can always go to Borders to shop…oh wait, never mind.
Or Family Christian Bookstore…oh wait. I think I see a trend here.
I were/am a Life Way Book Store customer and feel sad a bout Life Way is going to close the all stores. If, we SBC and local churches can keep up opening the Life Way Book Store including online purchasing. Or merging Christian Book Store and Life Way into one ‘ Christian Books Store ‘. Thank you.
The difficulty with closing some but not all is that you still need a logistical framework and you’re up against the change in your ordering/wholesale processes. If you need 10 copies of the latest book for 170 stores, you’re buying 1700 and can get discount A from the publisher.
If you’re ordering 10 for 25 stores, you’re buying 250 and get discount B. Which is nice, but not as good as A, and therefore changes the profit structure.
And the “it’s because they wouldn’t sell…” is fun, because you can find on social media: too much progressivism, not enough of it; too much dry, old theology, not enough of it; too many popular but shaky theology books, not enough of them; too much ‘Jesus junk’ and not enough of it…
There is a general problem in Christian books of celebrity crash-and-burn, from Driscoll to MacDonald to whoever’s the next one to crash, but that’s not enough to do in the whole chain.
It’s the overall fact that Lifeway stores were not making enough money to meet their expenses: churches, individuals were not buying enough. That last minute run for a VBS book? Yes, you spent $20, but is that enough? That I bought 1 copy each of 6 Bible studies? Not enough, since I then went to Lifeway.com, reloaded it a dozen times, dealt with 3 errors, and finally got to order the 15 copies I needed of the 3 I chose. For every $100 I’ve spent in-store, I’ve spent $300 online, and that doesn’t count standing literature orders. (Don’t tell my finance team how much I’ve spent at Lifeway.)
There are small bookstores that still endure, but you have to be very localized, specialized, and adapt to your market. It doesn’t work for a mid-size chain. There are giant chains that are holding on–Barnes and Noble–but many that have collapsed–Borders, a few others I don’t even remember.
It was a necessary business decision. I hope that since it was made by a company with some still very strong financials in other areas, that Lifeway is being excessively generous in caring for departing employees. It’s the necessary move for the future to close the stores, but it is also necessary to care for the folks who have invested their hours serving through the retail stores.
Good article. I don’t buy that Lifeway is going under… Although I do think they held on to their brick and mortar stores a little too long.
I haven’t experienced problems with the website itself… I’d be curious to hear what Complaints are coming regarding that?
I do agree with another commenter that if LifeWay is going to start actively and exclusively competing with online retailers like Amazon and Christianbook.com … I suggest they start by coming into the ballpark of their prices… And chill with the exorbitant shipping and handling charges. (Maybe offer a feature like amazon prime – where a reasonable one time fee gets free shipping and priority delivery)
Lifeway’s website is great if you know exactly what you’re looking for…but as a simple problem: you can’t exclude ebooks from your search and it’s therefore cluttered. Go try and browse for a Bible study for adults and see if you can find a way to narrow the 1000+ results that include audio lessons, ebooks in Polish, and so forth.
There’s some definite needs if the browsing experience at Lifeway.com is going to improve. It’s fine, except on the days when it errors out a half-dozen times, if you know what you want. It’s lousy if you aren’t sure.
I think they really tried to make the stores go. The argument that they held on too long is not without merit.
I do not believe they are going to try to compete with Amazon.
I think that LifeWay is going to focus on its wheelhouse business. Publishing. Producing literature. Selling what it publishes. But I do not think that becoming the Baptist Amazon is necessarily the goal.
Dave Miller, you may be correct about the focus on publishing…,
Doug,
Oh I get it now about the website… I wouldn’t know how difficult it is for people to use who aren’t sure what they’re looking for… Because I never go to Lifeway.com or Amazon.com for that matter unless I know exactly what I’m looking for and can put it in the search bar or otherwise go right to it… I don’t just browse at any retail website….or actual store for that matter…
“Get in and get out as quick as you walked (or logged) in with exactly, and only, what I went for” is my general shopping mentality. 😉
The shipping costs Lifeway demand are exorbitant compared with any other retailer. This may only be on Bible Study material, because I haven’t purchased any other books from them, due to their over-pricing. If they are not willing to bring down their shipping costs, or move to a “Prime” style of membership (as Dave alluded to) they will continue to lose business.
I heard complaints about LifeWay shipping and handling costs from my Secretary often.
It’s not unusual to see a triple digit shipping and handling charge on Sunday school material…
Related question. What’s the best place to browse online for theological books and refernce texts?
Christianbook.com
Kregel.com
Half price books
Monergism.com
Cvbbs.com
Eerdmans.com
Abebooks.com. Prob the best of all price wise
You got caught in one of our filters there, Bill. Two or more links trips a wire and puts your comment in time out.
If that happens, just give it time. One of us will generally release it from jail. Usually.
I would add wtsbooks if you want to support a store with a much narrower doctrinal guideline than Lifeway (albeit mostly reformed/presbyterian though they do have plenty of baptist materials) who does try very hard to meet the prices of amazon and Christianbooks.
Amazon – in the Used Category. You can literally buy books that have never been opened for pennies on the dollar. Many will still ship via Prime. I buy most of my books this way, and rarely been disappointed. Also, I prefer Hardbacks and this is a great spot to find them as well.
I also want to say as one who favors actually holding a book in my hand as I read… And study… That I fear this is part of a larger cultural movement away from printed books to the eventual exclusive digital formats…
In other words I think that the days of buying an actual book from any place… Even online …. are coming to an end. That’s a shame for many reasons and downright scary for others.
The idea that books and knowledge could be completely shut down (or controlled) by a govt. or group interfering with the Internet is a bit terrifying – at least when there are printed copies in our homes and offices if certain or all books were to be banned – they would at least have to come get them or in someway force us to turn them in… Once everything is online – censorship, control, and all that comes with that will be much easier.
I’m Taking off my tinfoil hat and going to make a few visits now… LOL
Dave, I believe you are right on target. Amazon and Christian Book Distributors basically killed the LifeWay bookstores. I feel sorry for the helpful and cheerful employees who will lose their jobs. Actually, the “bookstores” did not carry many books. I asked about that one time, and the manager said, “Books don’t sell.” An exception to that is the LifeWay stores on or near the seminary campuses.
I think paperback and hardback book sales are actually up. It’s just that people are buying them online from distributors that don’t have to spend money on local retail stores.
Actually, things like Bibles and commentaries were 20% off at Lifeway. Plus, if you were faculty/staff you got an extra discount. I love my amazon membership, but often the prices were very similar for books/bibles they had in stock. I prophecy that the retail arm of lifeway.com will also fail unless they can compete with fast and cheap shipping. Why bother with lifeway otherwise? I only use cbd.com when there is something that has a big enough discount over amazon to justify the shipping costs. The reason lifeway.com is profitable is church orders for sunday school supplies, vbs, and similar things for small groups. Perhaps also the music services. Other than that, anything at lifeway is cheaper at amazon and you can get it in 2 days!
Lifeway bookstores have been around as long as I can remember. As a kid we would make the 25 mile drive to the nearest Lifeway bookstore and load up on books. I was not a Southern Baptist then, but Independent Baptist and my father would take us there once a month. I do shop at the Lifeway bookstore online and purchased some CD’s at the convention last year that I gave my younger sister who died of a brain tumor last September. Lifeway walk in bookstores will be missed.
You know, in nearly 40 years of ministry I have never lived in a place where a LifeWay store was within reasonable driving distance.
I suppose that is why this is not emotional for me at all. LifeWay explains the financial aspects, they make sense, and I think, Yeah! Those of you who shopped regularly at these 170 stores are the ones who are going to have the “feelings” about it.
This makes sense, I suppose.
Well, reasonable has gotten farther away now that we have horseless carriages.
Surely this talk of horseless carriages is sorcery and witchcraft.
What if someone does not have anyone to guide them on what types of books to buy?
What about liberal commentaries and people who are unlearned? Do you want them buying some of the trash out there?
You don’t have to go to a Christian bookstore or Amazon to buy a Christian (or Christian-lite) book these days. The Publix grocery store I shop at in Birmingham has a revolving rack or two with a variety of titles. Walmart usually carries a decent selection of the latest “hot” sellers (Joel Osteen anyone?). Not to mention drug stores, discount stores, etc. The general public likely won’t even notice that Lifeway is gone. I saw a Lifeway store in Meridian, MS, while traveling and wondered if the population base there was big enough to support a specialty book store. Same thing for Temple, TX, Oxford, AL, , etc. Could it be they expanded into too many markets? I certainly don’t know. But I hate to see people lose their jobs.
Thanks for the valuable article. If LifeWay were going under, we would have heard about it long ago. It would show up in the balance sheets and income statements etc., and it would be operating at a deficit.
It would be good for our culture if we continued to have a presence so that people could see and shop with us. LifeWay probably serves Christians across the denominational spectrum. Having a brick and mortar presence helped that, as in many places, we may have been the only game in town.
If a Christian of any stripe needed a Bible, they could go to the LifeWay store and look at them.
It may be harder for us to build and maintain a brand presence online. But we will have to work hard to do that.
It’s probably too expensive to maintain something that is not financially viable in this area.
My mom worked at the Baptist Bookstore on Sunset Dr in Miami in the late 70s and 80s. My wife worked at the LifeWay store in Salt Lake City 1999-2004 and again from 2010-15. They closed the Utah store several years ago on one of the previous downsizing waves. So my perspective, in context, is of the impact this decision has on the employees and their families. My heart breaks for the employees, but not because they are out of work. They will land on their feet and find other jobs. They are great people with a heart for ministry. God will be with them as they find their next place to serve.
What grieves them is the lost opportunities they will not have anymore. Daily, my wife would come home from the store with stories of praying with a grieving person looking for comfort in a book or CD. Stories of helping a new believer pick out a Bible they can understand and start their discipleship journey. Opportunities to refer a searching unbeliever to, not only a resource that might answer a question, but to escort that searcher to a pastor in the store that happened to be buying offering envelopes at the exact same time and seeing the two of them sit down, converse, and pray together. Being one of the only Christian bookstore in the west, the store was often visited by lost people that would never darken the doors of our churches uninvited.
I’ve heard these stories repeated by LifeWay employees often, and what grieves me is these opportunities are lost in an online retail environment. The ministry side of LifeWay continues and will thrive. But the segment of ministry that only can be done in asiles of the store with real, human salespeople that viewed their work as ministry will be lost in this decision.
Thank you for that point of view in this sad situation. That is certainly true, and I grieve for those future lost opportunities to minister to others. I am heartbroken to learn of the closings of stores, as we have one in my city.
I wonder how long until these closings actually happen?
I did not read the timeline on this. Perhaps one of our readers was more observant than I.
I just went in to commiserate with the employees. (and buy $5 books) Last day for rewards is Thursday and sales, I believe, start Friday. The Athens, GA location will close in May/June.
Blake, I had $22 in rewards built up, so I went in and used them this morning. The employees seemed somber… but hey, why wouldn’t they?
Update: Injist spent my $7 in rewards money. Got a genuine leather ESV reference bible for less than $30 by the time they price matched with Amazon. That will be my last purchase there….until the liquidation sale hits 70%.
Dave, I was at a Missouri Director of Missions retreat yesterday and the news was announced by the regional LifeWay rep at about the time the press release was being sent out on BP and Lifeway.com. He said LifeWay bookstore division as a whole lost $10 million last year. That is a lot of cash. It’s kind of like the Glorieta decision. It was a nice place, but we couldn’t afford to keep it running when it consistently lost money. So I’m sorry not to have a Lifeway store in Kansas City or St. Louis anymore, but I understand why they had to lose the bookstores. It’s kind of an Amazon like seismic culture shift. In my rural town of 17,000 in north Missouri we are on pins and needles hoping we won’t lose our Penney’s store. We’ve watched several stores (including a Hastings Bookstore and our Sears store) go under already. Brick and morter versus online is a very present reality. We are almost used to the idea here in the hinterlands because we have to do it so much already. My guess is we will pony up and order our VBS stuff online–most of our churches already do. We will shop online for our books and our Jesus merch. We will be ok.
Almost every Christian bookstore chain in the country has closed. We lived in a suburb in Pennsylvania that had both a Cokesbury Book Store and a Family Christian Store, and both of them closed in the past five years, both chains gone. I’m not sure how much business comes from browsers like me, who wind up coming out of the store with more than I intended to buy when I went in, but its probably not enough to warrant keeping stores open.
Lifeway is pretty much a regional chain, with most of their stores being in the South. You’re more likely to have one close if you live there than in other parts of the country. We have one here in Chicago, but it is also the campus bookstore for Moody Bible Institute. Wonder what will happen to that now?
Good article Dave.
Sorry to hear that LifeWay is closing its stores. But fully understand.
I love book stores. To get to go to a Christian book store was something of a treat. So many fond memories! I guess the brick-n-mortar stores are all becoming a thing of the past. But online shopping just ain’t the same.
A former employee just left a comment blasting LifeWay. It was anonymous. If you would like to resubmit that comment under your name, I will post it.