By Elizabeth Prata
SYNOPSIS: Examining trends in Christian publishing, the article warns that bestselling breakout books often gain popularity through marketing and consumer demand rather than sound doctrine. Because false teaching can spread through widely read titles, believers should approach popular books cautiously, seek counsel, and practice discernment carefully.
Yesterday I wrote about the fact that a sequel is coming to the popular 2008 book The Shack, by William P. Young.
The Shack: A sequel is coming and that is not good news
The tentative title is Return to the Shack: A Journey Into Redemption. It got me thinking about the Christian book publishing industry.
The Christian publishing industry has suffered the last ten to fifteen years, just as the secular book publishing industry has. Steve Laube is a veteran of the Christian bookselling industry with over 45 years of experience and many awards and accolades. He’s seen stuff. According to the Steve Laube Agency, Christian booksellers are desperate for the next breakout book.
I am always concerned about books in the faith because while the pulpit may be strong and true, while ministries such as the Sunday School curriculum and women’s and men’s ministries might also be strong with perceptive and discerning oversight from elders, false doctrine can come in through popular books that the members read outside the church, and then they carry it in with them, like a virus.
Let’s take a look at what makes a “breakout” Christian book, a breakout that Publishers have been desperate for. What have the breakout books have been in the last 10-15 years?
A breakout book is considered one that stays in the top ten lists and sells millions of copies over a long period, whether non-fiction or fiction. Jesus Calling by Sarah Young (2004) and The Shack (2008) are two examples of breakout books. They broke away from the pack and sustained themselves with strong sales over the decade.
Other Christian breakout books, according to the Steve Laube Agency in 2018, long-time bestsellers have been The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman; Boundaries by Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend; The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey; Love and Respect by Dr. Emerson Eggerichs; The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren; The Love Dare by Alex and Stephen Kendrick; and The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel.
In addition, Laube says, the list is replete with authors who regularly appear: Max Lucado, John Maxwell, Karen Kingsbury, Wanda Brunstetter, Beth Moore, and Joyce Meyer.
First of all, discerning Christians notice that most of those authors are false teachers.
More recently a breakout book has been Gentle and Lowly: The Heart of Christ for Sinners and Sufferers by Dane Ortlund (2020) and The Bible Recap by Tara-Leigh Cobble (2020).
Book-Filter lists the most popular and strongest selling books by the decade, and of the 2020’s, we see many familiar names and books:
Top 10 Christian Books 2000s (sorted by popularity)
The Shack, William Paul Young (2007)
The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here for?, Rick Warren (2002)
Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God, Francis Chan (2008)
Blue Like Jazz: Nonreligious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality, Donald Miller (2003)
90 Minutes in Heaven: A True Story of Death and Life, Don Piper (2004)
Same Kind of Different as Me: A Modern-Day Slave Ron Hall (2006)
Have a Little Faith: a True Story, Mitch Albom (2009)
Captivating: Unveiling the Mystery of a Woman’s Soul, John Eldredge (2004)
Wild at Heart: Discovering the Secret of a Man’s Soul, John Eldredge (2001)
Jesus Calling: Enjoying Peace in His Presence, Sarah Young (2003)
You notice with the exception of the mentioned two 2020 books, and that was 6 years ago now, most of these breakout books are old. It’s why Christian booksellers are desperate for the next breakout. While the bookseller industry has always been said to be on the verge of collapse, extinction, or other retail apocalypse predictions, it continues on.
But lately it is limping in a fragile mode, with Lifeway closing all its brick and mortar stores in 2019, and all of Family Christian’s 240 stores closed 18 months before that. Christian books still sell, but increasingly it relies on the same old authors, recycling their once peppy book sales with yet another iteration of the same book.
For example, Tara Leigh Cobble occupies three spots in the top 14 for February 2026, including spot #1 and #2, with three different versions of her Bible Recap. Once publishers find a strong seller, the author becomes her own cottage industry.
Jesus Calling was huge in the publishing sectors so that breakout spawned Jesus Calling for Christmas, Jesus Calling for Moms, Jesus Calling for Easter, Jesus Calling for Graduates, Jesus Always… and the next group, Jesus Listens, with at least 6 of those circulating on best seller lists.
What will be the next, great Christian book that sells millions of copies (and makes Publishers a bundle of money?)? Despite the collapse of LifeWay and other Christian bookstores, demand for religious books is ever-increasing, according to Rare Book Hub. It’s a billion dollar industry.
As the adage goes, ‘following the money’ means giving the Christian public what they want. 2 Timothy 4:3 says there will be a time when the people will heap up false teachers who say what the people want to hear. False teachers spreading their false doctrine would not exist if the people rejected their poison and did not buy it or consume it. Yet the false teachers are only too happy to comply with the undiscerning or false Christian’s desires, because the false teacher’s god is greed, says 2 Peter 2:3. You notice how many false teachers appear on these best selling publisher lists.
Even the conservative ones.
Accelerate Books is a synopsis aggregator in the Christian Book Industry. Accelerate focuses on conservative, Calvinistic books to synopsize. They list “23 books that have shaped this decade” and the decade is 2010-2020:
- 1. Radical by David Platt
- 2. The Explicit Gospel by Matt Chandler
- 3. You Are What You Love by James K. A. Smith
- 4. Making Sense of God by Tim Keller
- 5. The Liturgy of the Ordinary by Tish Warren
- 6. This Changes Everything by Jaquelle Crowe
- 7. The Gospel Comes with a House Key by Rosaria Butterfield
- 8. Stop Asking Jesus Into Your Heart by J. D. Greear
- 9. 12 Ways Your Phone is Changing You by Tony Reinke
- 10. The Bible Trilogy by John Piper
- 11. Everyone’s a Theologian by R. C. Sproul
- 12. Reformed Systematic Theology by Joel Beeke
- 13. Expository Apologetics by Voddie Baucham
- 14. Humble Calvinism by J. A. Medders
- 15. The Whole Christ by Sinclair Ferguson
- 16. Praying the Bible by Donald Whitney
- 17. Fool’s Talk by Os Guiness
- 18. Seeking Allah Finding Jesus by Nabeel Qureshi
- 19. What’s Best Next by Matt Perman
- 20. Visual Theology by Tim Challies
- 21. Onward by Russell Moore
- 22. In His Image by Jen Wilkin
- 23. The Conviction to Lead by Al Mohler
Many of those authors are solid but many more are either false or have fallen due to a moral failure that disqualifies them. Do not trust even ‘conservative’ book publishers and sellers blindly.
But there are great books out there, they are just unknown or unseen.
“The contemporary publishing ecosystem tends to reward books that are easy to market—trend-aligned, platform-driven, and rapid in sales velocity. Works that require reflection, theological literacy, or slow reading rarely fit this template. This creates a gap between literary merit and public visibility, especially within Christian writing“, says Christian Book Excellence Awards in their article Why Great Christian Books Remain Unseen and Undervalued in Today’s Market.
My best advice is this: when you look for a good Christian book to read, whether fiction or non-fiction,
–be suspicious of popular books, heavily promoted books, or books the culture pressures you to read,
–be discerning. Ask a trusted pastor or wise friend, learn to vet books as a Berean. The theology in these books matters, even if it is fiction,
–if you’re unfamiliar with an author, look at the blurbs of fellow authors who have endorsed it. If those authors are false it’s likely the main author is false too. They flock together.
–look for small independent presses. Tim Challies co-founded Cruciform Press some years ago. There’s Free Grace Press, Reformation Heritage Books, Grace Books (founded by John MacArthur), Banner of Truth Bookstore (famously publishing Puritan Paperbacks and Pocket Puritans, among other books), and other publishers. Even with them, still use your wisdom and discernment to vet a book.
Most important of all, keep reading! Christians are people of THE book, but also people of books.
the-end-time.org 