The April issue of Christianity Today has an article titled, “How to Save the Christian Bookstore.” Any thought that rumors of the Christian bookstore’s demise may be exaggerated doesn’t resonate with me.

1. Small independent stores are in trouble whether they sell books that are targeted for Christians or they sell widgets. The ubiquitous trend toward consolidation is hard to ignore.

2. Are people reading more or less? Studies done by the National Endowment for the Arts aren’t exactly encouraging for booksellers.

3. Has the internet reached the peak of its impact on brick and mortar stores? Not a chance.

4. Maybe it would be better to have bookstores operated by Christians instead of Christian bookstores. Although I use the term Christian bookstore, I’m not fond of it. I like the word Christian a lot better when it’s a noun than when it’s an adjective.