Report from the International Christian Retail Show

The big news this week is the International Christian Retail Show held this year in Orlando, my hometown. If I counted right, this is my 30th show sponsored by the Christian Booksellers Association. When you're in the Christian products industry like we are, this is the big show of the year.

Our industry has changed a lot in the last three decades. Christian books are sold more and more in secular channels, yet the independently owned Christian bookstore remains a very important channel.

The convention is not as large as it's been in the past, but it's still very important. I've had many very important meetings, some of them impromptu, which have resulted in connections and deals that would have never happened otherwise.

The people I talk to are generally upbeat, even though gas prices are up and there is a lot of talk nationally of a sagging economy. It is causing people in our industry to be a little more conservative and that's why some people cut back on the convention by having smaller booths or sending fewer people.

For us at Strang Communications, this has been very important. Of course, we report on it within Christian Retailing magazine and you can click here to read a more detailed update-- the same one we email to the industry professionals who subscribe to our "Christian Etailing" free newsletter.

A highlight for me personally was a breakfast we had with many key people in the industry to teach and update them about our new Christian Advertising Network which allows Christian ministries and organizations to take advantage of reaching the millions of Christians who now use the world wide web. The response was much better than we could have ever expected.

We also had David Tyree, the New York Giants player whose amazing catch won the Super Bowl and is the subject of our new book called More Than Just The Catch. David is a dynamic spiritual Christian and you won't want to miss his book when it's released on September 2.

Judy Jacobs signed her book Don't Miss Your Moment and President Bush impersonator John Morgan signed his book called My Life as a Bush...and My Heart for Imitating Jesus in our booth. Kim Daniels also signed her new book Inside Out. These and many more books are available by clicking here to order direct from us.

One evening there was a great autograph signing party with many artists from various companies. We had more than 16 authors signing books. The hall was crowded and the excitement was high.

At that autograph signing was Martha Munizzi signing her new CD called "Change The World." I've listened to this CD dozens of times. I think it's my favorite Martha Munizzi CD. It is special to me because my wife and I had the privilege of being present when it was recorded live at our church The Gathering Place in Sanford, Florida.

Martha has a special place in my heart as I've known her since she was a young teenager and watched her grow up. For a couple of years she worked for our company in our Production department-- this was before she became so well known as a singer. Her latest album debuted at #4 on Billboard's Gospel Chart and has been in a "Top 10" position over the past 12 weeks (Billboard). I encourage you to check out her website by clicking here to sample each track and purchase the CD for yourself if you haven't already.

Next week is Christians United for Israel's Washington/Israel Summit in Washington DC. I'll be attending and will be reporting from Washington what takes place at that great event.

Meanwhile, I've been promised interviews with both Senator John McCain and Senator Barack Obama and will be reporting on that, not only in Charisma magazine, but in the Strang Report, after those interviews take place.