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| 15 | » RE: Thank you! |
| St. Peter was not referring to the Board of General Superintendents or the Nazarene Publishing House when he spoke of God's judgement. I believe the Letter from the Board of General Superintendents reveals the heart of a peacemaker and intercessor...one who, in humility, is able to courageously accept hardship. I am thinking think that the Lord must be so proud of you....of you all. |
| 14 | » RE: Thank you! |
| This is a sad time for the Church of the Nazarene. I have long considered the NPH as the physical and practical "backbone" of the denomination--aside from our theological backbone and distinctiveness. As a fourth generation Nazarene, with relatives at the 1908 Pilot Point "assembly", I cry at this loss. Hopefully, the Board of General Superintendents will seek an agreement with Cokesbury or another Wesleyan Publishing company to continue the HT and other key denominational materials/publications, although they may find that Cokesbury materials for SS are already sufficient. I don't know any details of actions leading to this failure, but if any General Board member or General Superintendent had any behind the scenes dealings which could be considered unscrupulous, I hope they will quickly resign and quietly leave the denomination. It is interesting that this "scandal" arises at a time when our denomination is under attack by rising radical fundamentalism and Calvinist-leaning pastors and other leaders. These fundamentalists are striking out at our Seminary and its leaders and professors, our universities and professors, and actually forcing resignations of professors. The optimistic tradition of encouraging and promoting education and critical Biblical exegesis by the denomination is threatened by this trend to fundamentalism. |
| 13 | » RE: Thank you! |
Despite some attempts to summarize this unfortunate news down to an oversimplified point of presumed failure - this news, of course, culminated from a complex and dynamic causality. Grace and peace to all NPH employees and their families, NPH clients and vendors, the BGS and those working on this transition, and the denomination as a whole. While loss is never easy, I pray that increased solidarity, transparency and grace can be found. Revised 10/9/14 5:14 pm CST by PCJENKINS |
| 12 | » RE: Thank you! |
| 1 Peter 4:17 âFor the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God? This a whole lot more than bad business decisions gone awry. This is about obeying the word of God, this is about bringing in books about contemplative spirituality and other nonsense, resulting in loss of sales from Nazarenes who rejected such foolish books. And this is also about accountability. The Generals must come clean and release a full and complete audit, and any one of them who was involved in anything less than honorable in this matter needs to resign. |
| 11 | » curious about authors |
| My book just released last spring with Beacon Hill. I am currently marketing "Empty Nest" and am saddened to hear this news through the grapevine. What happens to the authors who have published with Beacon Hill? If their is a new model do we have to go through a new contract, or can we get our rights back now? Are there backordered books that we can purchase for upcoming speaking engagements, and will our books be considered remaindered? I hope there is a forum for those of us who have poured ourselves into manuscripts that are now being taken off of life supportâ¦esp. since we didn't even know they were sick. |
| 10 | » RE: Thank you! |
| This is truly a sad day for our church. I appreciate the GS letter but this deal should have been addressed a long time ago. You do not look at a business that is losing $3m a year and say let's take on more debt and leases to become more viable. I just do not understand the decision. This was more than just a bad decision. The only person smelling good on this one is Mr Smith. Our churches look outside the denomination so much for material that you knew something would eventually happen with the viability of the NPH. Now our churches are forced to look outside the denomination and will bring in material that will not be rooted in our holiness doctrine. Some may say that is good...I am not one of them. I am praying that the "New Plan" to be announced is better thought through than this decision. |
| 9 | » NBBC |
| What will become of the rest of the New Beacon Bible Commentary? I was really enjoying those commentaries and have looked forward to each and every one that has come to my hands. I pray that some way these contracts for their publishing will be passed along to someone who can fulfill the production of the rest of the commentaries and pay the authors what they are due. Can Beacon Hill Press be sold to Wesleyan Publishing House? |
| 8 | » RE: So sad... |
| It breaks my heart that NPH is shutting down. I worry for my friends who currently work there. And I worry for what this means for the denomination... Thomas Jay Oord |
| 7 | » RE: Thank you! |
| As one who spent ten years working at NPH and then pastored for 20 years, I am saddened by the closing of NPH. My wife worked for 10 years at the Nazarene Bookstore. It was sad to see it go also. We realize that time are changing. e-books, e-commerce is bigger now than ever. Changes must be made. I always told my churches that they had to use Nazarene curriculum or we would loose our publishing house. Now that is reality. We cannot afford to continue pumping money into a losing business. Pray for our General Superintendents and General Board as they look to the future. How can we continue to have holiness literature and curriculum? Church, we MUST pray. |
| 6 | » RE: Thank you! |
| Would this be time to finalize discussions with our brothers and sisters in other holiness denominations to coordinate and combine our efforts to the glory of God and the advancement of our "watchword and song"? |
| 5 | » NPH news |
| I am deeply saddened by the announcement regarding NPH. I donât think that our churches that quit using NPH for Sunday School and other materials adequately considered what the long-term implications would be for their actions. What alternatives have been created other than publishing materials two quarters ahead? What happens after that? Materials can be printed anywhere and if we don't have the scale to maintain our own capability at NPH, those services as well as distribution can be outsourced. Are we giving up on having Wesleyan-oriented materials for our Sunday Schools and opening the door to lose even more of our distinctiveness? Who is working on these alternative solutions and are they thinking broadly enough? I understand the need to stop the bleeding and make decision and the announcement quickly; but there could have been a document that people could have read with solutions on how the holiness denominations were going to make sure that quality and doctrinally appropriate material could be made available. I am praying that those who are in charge of this situation continue to work through the resolution of how we are going to cover our curriculum needs going forward. There will be a big hole left after NPH closes. How we fill that hole has implications on the future of our holiness denominations. |
| 4 | » RE: Thank you! |
| I would suggest doing what the Free Methodist's did a few years ago. They made an agreement with the Wesleyan Publishing House to handle all of their publishing needs. Their publishing house was losing money, and did not have the volume to make it a profitable endeavor. It has proven to be a win-win for both denominations. Why can't we do the same thing? |
| 3 | » RE: NPH |
| This is a very sad day both for our denomination and especially for our brothers and sisters who will soon be jobless as a result. Our prayers from South Africa are with everyone concerned. I think the GSâs open letter should not lead us to conclude that they alone caused this crisis, or could have single handedly prevented it. Over the years, print has changed radically through new technology. The internet and e-books are a major threat to the print industry, as are all future developments in these fields. Being part of a global economy also has its challenges. Add to this the massive economic crisis the world is in, and you have a recipe for disaster. For those of us in print, it is literally adapt or die. As a possible solution, I urge the GSâs and their team consider developing regional print centres which can service the regions. For many years, our church in America has single handedly borne the burden of producing printed material for the church world-wide. We can never repay them this debt. A few years back, I think South America took on some print production as well. We in South Africa have also done so in a small measure. I donât know what other regions are doing to meet this need. Iâm certain that we have many credible holiness authors throughout the world who can help to meet these needs globally, through the regions. Furthermore, Iâve always believed that the general church should release the digital material of books, Sunday School material etc., to the regions (for a fair price) so we can translate if need be, and print locally at lower costs. May the Lord continue to guide and assist us as we move into an unknown future which is known to Him and in which we can fully trust Him to care for His church. Rev Roy D Oosthuizen South Africa |
| 2 | » RE: Thank you! |
| Thank you for this information. Father, please guide past this action to assure that second blessing holiness is advocated plainly and clearly among our people until Jesus comes. In the name of Jesus I pray, amen. |
| 1 | » Mea Culpa |
| It is good to see this letter from the BGS that admits the problems that were allowed, and even encouraged to fester. While I appreciate this needed step, more must be done. The specific actions taken have resulted in the loss of jobs for many people. This concrete damage should be met with concrete, specific admissions. General "mistakes were made" is an inadequate response. It is political, and sounds only a little better than, "move along, nothing to see here." I hope a thorough, specific recounting with admissions will be forthcoming. And if needed, which I think is obvious, resignations accompany this recountin |
