Closing Christian bookstores

It appears LifeWay bookstores will all be closed by the end of 2019. They will join Family Christian and Cokesbury who have also closed their bookstores in the last six years. These brick-and-mortar stores were just not able to compete with Amazon, CBD and the various megachurch bookstores.

The closest LifeWay bookstore to me was about an hour's drive away. When we would go into that city I would often stop in and pick up a couple of books, but, like many people, most of what I bought came from Amazon. The prices were hard to beat, and the books would come straight to my front door. I didn't have to drive two hours in hopes of finding a book I wanted.

Still, I hate to hear about the stores closing. They brought employment to some really fine people. Plus, I like to look at a book before I spend my money on it. Online reviews do not always paint a very accurate picture of what is found inside a book. Several that I have bought online, thinking they were one thing, turned out to be something much different when I started reading them. A lot of these I've just tossed. So much for saving money!

It's odd because a week ago I was in that LifeWay store for the first time in months. I told my wife I had heard they were closing, and I wanted to go there one more time. They had completely rearranged the entire store so I had trouble finding anything I was interested in. I also noticed that much of the store was filled with "Jesus Junk." While that might appeal to some, I go to a bookstore to buy books, not stickers to put on my car's rear window. In fact, that stuff had taken over much of the store leaving much less space for books. I still found a couple I thought were good and likely made my last purchase in a LifeWay store.

Years ago we rejoiced at Wal-Mart coming into our town. Within a few months a number of local stores, many of which had been in business for decades, closed. Their empty buildings still sit along Main Street reminding us of a past that future generations will never know. Over the years Wal-Mart has changed, and not for the better, but it remains nearly the only place in town to buy what we want. Those small stores that served the community so well will never be back.

Now we are seeing the same thing happening with Amazon. Local brick-and-mortar stores, even those associated with larger companies, continue to close their doors. Their workers lose their jobs, but the communities lose even more. They lose the connection they once had with their local stores and those who ran them. Their children's sports teams lose their sponsors. The schools lose the financial support many of them provided. None of those connections are possible with a distant online store who might provide good prices and service but cares nothing about the community.

As a capitalist I understand how these things happen. As an older American who remembers what it was like to go into some of these old stores with wooden floors and mammoth cash registers sitting on wood display cases I'm saddened by what is happening.

Thank you LifeWay, Family Christian and Cokesbury for your years of faithful service to the Christian community.