Going to a Christian bookstore can be perusing the menu at a fancy restaurant. There are some great meals on offer, but some dishes might leave you feeling hungry, or worse, with a bad taste in your mouth. Books that look good on the shelf can give the reader a very sour experience if God's word ranks lower than the personal philosophy or anecdotes of the author. The best selling books from Koorong, Word and Moore Books contain a fairly mixed diet, with some healthy reads and some that would be better described as junk food.
Unsurprisingly, Moore Books, located just down the road from Moore College, has a top five containing books that are more theologically sound but less representative of what Christian bookstores are selling in large numbers nation wide. Meanwhile, the top five books sold at the more mainstream Christian bookstores, Koorong and Word, have a mix of the helpful, the confusing and the irresponsible.
Books appealing to women's self-esteem were popular on both store's top lists. Captivating: Unveiling the Mystery of a Woman’s Soul by John and Stasi Eldredge featured on both Koorong's and Word's top five lists. Captivating functions as a female sequel or companion book to Eldridge's earlier and controversial book Wild at Heart which was aimed at men. Eldridge has teamed up with his wife, Stasi, to encourage women to connect with their three core desires, which according to the Eldredges are: to be romanced, to play a role in her own adventures and to display beauty. To the book's credit, in an era where gender distinction is not popular, the authors posit the biblical concept that women are special and responsible for uniquely reflecting certain aspects of God’s character. However, the book has been heavily criticised for its misuse or non-use of scripture. Many of the Eldridges's illustrations and conclusions are drawn from personal experiences or contemporary cinema rather than from the life of Jesus or examples of women in the Bible.
Televangelist Joyce Meyer also straddles both Koorong's and Word's top five lists with two different books which fall well into the "Bible-lite' category and again appeal directly to women. The Confident Woman targets the biggest issue facing women today: a lack of confidence, or so the blurb tells us. While Meyer addresses the "self-esteem drought' facing women, conservative evangelicals will likely disagree with her interpretations of numerous biblical passages. Similarly, in Battlefield of the Mind Meyer seems less concerned with protecting the mind from traditional understandings of sin and more concerned with self-help and personal empowerment. Given the scandals that have enveloped Meyer's ministry, readers will want to view her writing with some caution. However, the fact that both books are selling well in broader Christian circles shows many women are desperately seeking a Christian perspective on improving self-image.
After five years in publication Rick Warren's The Purpose Driven Life holds its own in Koorong's top five. Warren's earlier book The Purpose Driven Church has been a model for many churches including Sydney Anglican ones, with numerous leaders using Warren's 40 Days of Purpose as a model for involving members in church growth.
The Purpose Driven Life is a well intentioned but controversial follow up. Many conservative evangelicals have criticised Warren's use of 15 different Bible translations, leaning heavily on contemporary translations and paraphrases, to prove his points. Sadly, there are numerous occasions where Warren could have easily proved his points using the Bible, just not with the verses that he selects. However, there is something undeniably powerful and inspiring about The Purpose Driven Life as it seeks to help the reader discover a more satisfying, worshipful and church-driven life but its occasionally questionable biblical scholarship is an obvious drawback.
More helpful books selling well nation-wide include Gary Chapman's The Five Love Languages which, despite being published over 10 years ago, is still topping Koorong's and Word's charts, proving that people are always keen for advice about how to better relate to their spouse. The book has proved so successful that Chapman has since published specialty editions addressing men, teenagers, children and singles.
Another sound book Koorong best seller is Phillip Yancey's Prayer. It's an excellent reminder that talking to God re-aligns our worldview, and view of ourselves. Yancey states that prayer are not merely a transaction, it is about a relationship with God. Prayer, he writes, shapes our character, our spiritual life, world events and the lives of others. Once again, the author of What's So Amazing About Grace? delivers an honest and balanced insight into how God works.
Sadly, other top-selling books at Word lack Yancey's credibility. Heaven is so Real by Choo Thomas, is rooted in vision-based testimony and shows that some readers are more attracted to accounts of personal experiences than to what is plainly taught in Scripture. Max Lucado's 3:16: The Number of Hope digs deeply into one of the most oft-quoted passages of the Bible " John 3:16. The book veers unsteadily from the insightful to the shallow and gimmicky.
Conversely, Moore Books' top five list, which excludes College text books, includes a range of solid food that is still quite easy to digest.
Surprisingly, the top-seller is children's book, The Big Picture Story Bible by David Helm with illustrations by Gail Schoonmaker. It uses simple words and striking illustrations to unfold the storyline of God’s word and his love for the world from Genesis to Revelation. The book is especially recommended for ages four to eight and its high sales are an indication that if you can make a quality product for children, parents will purchase. The only criticism might be the recommended age range. This book is like biblical theology for kids and so emphasises a number of more complicated themes that are probably well beyond the reach of a four year old. This is also reflected in the duration of the stories, which might stretch well beyond the attention span of a pre-schooler.
Also high in the top five is Married for God by Christopher Ash. Ash examines the Bible's teaching on marriage, while remaining firmly earthed in the twenty-first-century world where messing up, heartbreak, divorce and sexual chaos are distressingly common. Its high sales, though, like the illustrated children's Bible above, may indicate something about the life stage of the majority of college students frequenting Moore Books.
Moore Books' top five includes a worthy addition to the history of missions. Colin Reed's Walking in the Light records the East African Revival and its link to Australia and usefully provides many pointers for those who want to see the revival in our time. The high sales of this book indicate Sydney Anglicans in general and Moore Students in particular continue to be stimulated by the prospects of overseas mission and national revival.
Two Sydney Anglicans round out Moore Books' best sellers. These Matthias Media releases address pressing issues in today's church. As Sydney's Roman Catholic Church prepares to accommodate half a million visitors for World Youth Day, Ray Galea's Nothing in my Hand I Bring serves as a reminder that this faith is not a friendly bigger Christian brother, but rather an international organization that "at almost every distinctive point undermines the person and work of Christ that I have come to love, and want to honour and serve". This short book is for anyone who is confused or uninformed about the differences between Biblical Christianity and Roman Catholicism. It benefits greatly in the opening and closing chapters from Galea's recollections of an early Catholic life, a feature that might have made the theological investigations in between easier to digest.
Making the Most of the Rest of Your Life by John Chapman is a warm-hearted, good-humoured and challenging evangelistic book that explains how we can know about life after death, what the new creation will be like, and whether we can be sure of being part of it. The book is particularly aimed at those of retirement age and provokes people to use their remaining years to glorify God in the best ways possible.
While high sales never assure the quality of a Christian book, the top five sellers at Moore Books indicates that Sydney Anglicans are seeking advice for a better home life with their spouse and children, they have a worldwide mission mindset and they are keen for commentary on contemporary issues facing Christians. And, since books are some of the greatest travellers, there is some hope that these reader's choices will create a greater taste in all people for the best seller behind the best sellers.
