The Healthy Church Staff Podcast
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The Healthy Church Staff Podcast
What a Surge in Bible Sales Reveals About the Church Today
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What if I told you that one man's death caused Bible sales to explode across the country? That's exactly what's happening right now after the tragic passing of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk. But here's the real question for church leaders. What does this mean for your church? This is not a political podcast today, but there's an increase in Bible sales, and we need to think about what should your church be doing during this time where there's some increased spiritual inquiries going on in our society and in our culture. Today we're going to dive into what this cultural moment tells us about spiritual hunger in America and how your church can respond wisely and compassionately and strategically, leaving all the politics out of it. Okay? Stay with me because this conversation may reshape how you think about discipleship and outreach and even evangelism in what everybody widely considers a post-Christian world. Hi there. My name is Todd Rhodes. I'm one of the co-founders of Chemistry Staffing.com. Today we are talking about cultural wake-up call. Everybody knows now about the assassination, sudden death of Charlie Kirk. And since then, it's just been what a little over a month, I think, Christian publishers, all kinds of Christian publishers, are reporting a pretty what they're calling a massive spike in Bible sales. And the Bible's still already the number one selling book in the country, most of the time, but there's been a surge. Some have even seen doubling or tripling of their sales of Bibles within days. And that's not about fandom, it's about longing. People are searching for truth and hope and something eternal in a world that feels increasingly unstable, and they're doing it right now. So what's the takeaway for us? The takeaway for us as church leaders is just this cultural moments still can stir spiritual hunger. Your church has to be ready to meet people where they are when those moments happen. And everybody, we are in one of those moments right now. I don't know how long this window will be opened, but there's something going on. And I think you sense it, I think I sense it, I think a lot of people are sensing it. So ask yourself, when tragedy strikes, in this instance, for example, is your church visible? I'm not asking you to go all political. Boy, oh boy. That opened up a whole can of worms as to what happened in churches when all the social media that went on after that. I don't even want to talk about that. What I'm talking about is are you offering biblical truth in a way that's accessible and not preachy? This surge in Bible sales is what I'd call reactive faith. Okay? People reaching for God when the world is shaky or very shaky. It's emotional, it's authentic, but it's often can be short-lived unless there's follow-up. And churches that are paying attention can turn this reactive curiosity into not just a short-term thing, but into lasting discipleship. Maybe your next sermon series should focus on why scripture still matters. Or maybe your church needs an intro to the Bible night that helps seekers, spiritual seekers, actually open those new Bibles that they just bought. Because when culture gets loud, the church must get clear. And let me be clear right now. This is a great time. This is the time for your church to engage. This is our moment. This is not about politics, it's about the gospel. And when Bible sales surge, it's a signal flare going up that everybody can see that people are spiritually restless. And they're not turning to TikTok for the truth, they're turning to the pages of scripture. How novel is that? So, what's your church doing about it? Do you have a plan to connect people who are exploring faith online? Is your digital presence clear about how someone can begin a relationship with Jesus? Are your small groups and next step pathways ready for seekers who have more questions than answers? This is your opportunity. This is a golden opportunity to bridge cultural curiosity with spiritual formation. It's really a call to return to the word. This moment calls us, church leaders, to recommit to scripture ourselves. It's not just the seekers, it's all the people sitting in the pews, and it's us, the church leaders. If the world is reaching for the Bible, then we better make sure that we're living it and teaching it and embodying it. Don't assume that people know what the basics are. Most of the reports that I've seen are people are buying Bibles that have never had a Bible before, believe it or not. Don't assume that people don't assume that people know the basics. Start with clarity, not complexity. Your community doesn't need more outrage or political talk. They need truth, and they need truth with compassion. So what does this Charlie Kirk Bible surge tell us? Deep down, America is still searching for God. And the church that's prepared, the church that's biblically grounded, the church that's relationally connected and culturally aware can be pivotal and can help people turn curiosity into commitment. I hope this has been challenging for you today. If your church needs help creating a clear discipleship or engagement strategy, maybe your staff just needs to be healthy right now. Tata, how can we even do this when we're struggling? Reach out to me. I'd love to start a conversation. See if there's any way that I can help or any of my colleagues here at Chemistry Staffing can help you. Just reach out to me at podcast at chemistry staffing.com. All right, hope that's been helpful for you today. I'm encouraged. Man, there are some things happening and people are open to the gospel today like they haven't been for a long time. I thought maybe this would happen more during the pandemic, but it really didn't as much as I thought it would. Everybody thought that when the churches open back up, you're gonna have to buy more chairs. I remember seeing posts when the church opens up. Order your chairs now because you're gonna need more chairs for all the butts that are coming to sit in those seats. And it just never materialized. This is something. There are more butts and seats now. I've heard it, I've heard the stories. So make sure that you take what's going on and be ready to speak. Always be willing to speak the gospel. That's it for today. Hope you'll join me again right here tomorrow on the Hellbeat Church Town.
