Guess who owns most of Christian publishing?

The Christian publishing world is abuzz with the announcement today that HarperCollins has purchased Thomas Nelson, making it by far the largest Christian publishing organisation in the world. But this piece of business news is of real interest to anyone who buys and reads a Bible (hope that's you!) or Christian books.

HarperCollins already owns Zondervan - the largest US Christian publisher and US publisher of the NIV, and the HarperOne imprint, which publishes material that is much more in the health, religion/spirituality and self-help sections of the bookshop. Thomas Nelson, originally started in Edinburgh, is now based in Nashville. It publishes the New King James Version, and is believed to be the 7th largest Christian publisher in the world.

What may surprise some readers is that the whole conglomerate is owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp.

What are we to make of this move?

• Commercial: Christian publishing remains big business - especially in the US. One one level, this is just a commercial deal that recognises this truth.
• Consolidation: but the Christian publishing and supply industry is also undergoing a period of consolidation - high-street bookshops are dying a slow death, and the future of the business as a whole must lie with those organisations that help authors develop the content and control the copyright. In the UK we have seen the start of these tremors and readjustments with the collapse of STL and the closure of many bookshops. It is likely to continue, and the companies that can slim down their organisations and consolidate their operations are most likely to survive in the long term.
• Conspiracy: there is a genuine concern that bringing so much of mainstream Christian publishing under the control of one secular organisation is a dangerous thing. Particularly as some News Corp newspapers has shown itself in recent months to be, allegedly, not averse to employing dirty tricks in its pursuit of a story.

But how much does this really matter?

Publishing companies like this are less ideologically motivated than, for example, newspapers would be. They will publish what sells, because that is the bottom line. So long as Christian authors are happy to publish their Bible-centred gospel-hearted encouraging books in the same stable that publishes self-help drivel, or outright heresy, then that is fine - the publisher will not silence the evangelical voice if it can turn a profit at it. And of course, any attempt to stifle that voice would see an exodus of authors away from them. They have an incentive not to rock the boat, and keep things sweet.

But the alternative for authors would be to get involved with a Christian publishing company that had Ministry not money at its heart. A company where they know the commercial gain was ploughed back into Gospel ministry, not into mere mammon. A company where the central drive is to prayerfully get people engaging with scripture, and hearing the word of the Lord with clarity and power, not just producing what sells.

Praise God that there are many smaller publishers like that around. Pray that we at The Good Book Company would remain true to this vision for the future.